Very unforgiving
 

I can't believe they've suspended this guy for so few violations!! No one can ever accuse the New York Racing and Wagering board of tolerance and forgiveness.

http://www.drf.com/news/harness-raci...ion-violations

Fool me 1,719 times..

This is the biggest bunch of nonsense to come out of the NYSRWB yet !!! What, now they can call a "virtual positive" ? Those horses all tested clean post race, which means any lingering medication in the urine and blood was below the legal threshold limits-meaning no effect on performance. They think the guy is dirty and they can't catch him, so they are inventing a way to get rid of him. Everyone in this business should be very, very worried. The gestapo tactics are way out of control and this charade will surely be laughed out of court.

I know very little about harness racing or Pena himself, but this attack by the SRWB's of NY and NJ is beyond ridiculous. As an aside, what statement does it make about the efficacy of the testing procedures when they (Racing commissions) resort to this tactic ?

It is still America we live in is it not ?

My favorite part is that he's facing like $50 million in fines. That's one way to fix the state budget shortfall, I guess.

Is this number higher or lower than Dutrow?

It s the Al Capone theory.

I'd love to know what the withdrawl time for magnesium sulfate is. In laymans terms it is called Epsom salts.

I don't believe Pena is legitimate but it is a slippery slope when you start including epsom salts as a $25000 offense.

Epsom salts are about as harmless as bicarbonate.

Wonder if it's used as a masking agent?!

It isn't. The entire premise that masking agents are needed is pointless in reality and pretty much without merit. Horses are tested at far more stringent levels than humans and they are still only testing on most occasions for a laughably small number of pretty commonly known and used drugs anyway. None of the medications they are stating as infractions are the miracle drugs that turned Mr Pena into a genius trainer.

But as always you can choose to believe whatever you would like.

Dude, you so badly misread my meaning. Holy cow. I thought my position on masking agents was pretty clear, but in case it isn't, I think the whole concept of masking agents is ridiculous.

Come to think of it, the whole point of this thread is ridiculous. 1700+ violations? I mean what, did he just suddenly have those violations? If not, why wasn't #1647 the one that triggered the problems for Pena? And 25k per fine? Really?? 25k x 1700 = WTF? Sounds like someone has it in for him.

But as always, you can choose to believe you still are always right.

I don't see where there is a right or wrong other than your implying that somehow this was being used as a masking agent which would be wrong. Forgive me for not having the handy guide to all of your stated positions on topics of the day available. You do understand that none of these violations are traditional positives but after the fact, paper violations right?

Yes, I get that!

And that is exactly what I find to be so bizarre about this whole thing. It seems so implausible.

Just to spell it out further for you, we are agreeing on this topic.

Like the timing of the CHRB decision on O'Neill and the head of the NM racing commission saying that he hopes they get a lot of positive tests, it is just another attempt by mostly inept regulators to "prove" their worth by "getting tough". They have absolutely no idea of what is really going on so they come up with these after the fact, technical violations though I have no idea why the vets who are licensed as well aren't being punished since they are the actual individuals who are delivering the 1700 illegal medications.

As I said before Pena is almost assuredly not innocent but I am skeptical about the ability of regulators to more or less decide guilt on evidence that surely will be trashed once this gets to court. Of course many people will be happy that a guy like Pena is eliminated regardless of the method but the fact remains that now trainers and vets will be more diligent in covering their tracks and more importantly they still aren't any closer to figuring out the real ingredients in the magic wand.

Lou Pena guilty?
By Derick Giwner

http://www.drf.com/blogs/lou-pena-guilty

Steve, I think this quote from more than 90 years ago that I posted in another thread yesterday basically sums it all up ...




Stringent rules prohibiting drugs in horse racing will always be in place -- but they will always be powerless to stamp it out.

Just as more tests will come with technology -- more ways to beat the system will come as well.

Like "Salvator" said 90 years ago -- horse racing will always have its "submerged tenth" just as society as a whole generally always does as well.