Another NY trainer caught....

[Riot]

What about current or future hall of famers like Pletcher, Zito and Mandella? Where do you draw that line?

Horse racing has a zero-tolerance policy on some drugs (those with no purpose other than to improve performance - cobra venom, heroin, amphetamines, etc), recognizes some drugs "could" improve performance, and that some drugs do not and cannot.

There are penalties for positives in all those categories. The penalties differ, and they differ for a reason - because all "positives" are not the same, not all positives change or could possibly change a horses performance - and not all positives could defraud the public regarding gambling.

Should Biancone (cobra venom - stops the pain of soreness) be treated differently than Pletcher (mepivicaine, at a level later changed to "allowable on race day" as it can't affect performance at that blood level), than Mandella (a non-therapeutic trace level that cannot affect performance)?

I see them differently.