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Originally Posted by RolloTomasi
So basically, what you're saying is that a guy who's had two seperate horses (that won or placed in races) with significant levels of local anesthetic in their systems during the immediate post-race period looks rosier than a guy who had an unused vial of illegal medication sitting in a refridgerator.
That's like saying you'd prefer to be driving along the freeway with a drunk driver, rather than a guy with a dimebag in his glove compartment.
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The levels were not "significant". They were low.
Pletcher had a positive for mepivicaine, a Class 2 therapeutic drug (a therapeutic med that has "potential to impact performance") at such a low level that it is now legal.
And he has a positive for procaine, a Class 3 therapeutic med with "little to no ability to impact performance".
Biancone was guilty of having prohibited drugs on the racetrack grounds in his barn. It wasn't just cobra venom, it was also levodopa and carbidopa (last two drugs used to treat nerve tremors in humans with Parkinson's).
All three drugs being Class A violations (the ultimate) for simply having them on racetrack grounds; Class A drugs have "the highest potential to impact racing performance with zero therapeutic benefit to horses".
There are currently no tests whatsoever to detect these three drugs in the horse. Cobra venom is a local anesthetic that's been around for some time. It's only use at the racetrack is to try and create anesthesia that cannot be detected.
Yes. I absolutely view Pletcher's violations as far less serious than Biancone's. As a veterinarian, I don't take a violation of the racing rules, or potential horse abuse, lightly.
To use your analogy, Pletcher is driving after having a Coors Light; while Biancones glove compartment is filled with heroin and angel dust, and he's speeding down the highway in the wrong lane with his eyes closed.