NYSRWB Installs Strict Protocols for Belmont Stakes Horses

[Sightseek]

I've never been a big O'Neil fan but I think his appoach to all of this scrutiny and extra standards being put in place has been really outstanding.

Certain other trainers would have been whining to everyone about being a victim.

[TouchOfGrey]

Originally Posted by Sightseek

I've never been a big O'Neil fan but I think his appoach to all of this scrutiny and extra standards being put in place has been really outstanding.

Certain other trainers would have been whining to everyone about being a victim.

You got that right, babe.

[Honu]

Originally Posted by Sightseek

I've never been a big O'Neil fan but I think his appoach to all of this scrutiny and extra standards being put in place has been really outstanding.

Certain other trainers would have been whining to everyone about being a victim.

How else is Dougie going to respond to the fact that NY wants to make sure that if this horse wins the TC that there is no bad test, given his track record and all. Most other trainers dont have as many infractions as Doug, besides the obvious guys.

[3kings]

Originally Posted by Sightseek

I've never been a big O'Neil fan but I think his appoach to all of this scrutiny and extra standards being put in place has been really outstanding.

Certain other trainers would have been whining to everyone about being a victim.

I agree but I think his disposition is being helped by the fact he thinks he has the best horse.

[TouchOfGrey]

DRF|Belmont Stakes 2012: Security barn irks trainers

ELMONT, N.Y. – The requirement that all horses in the Belmont Stakes reside in a detention barn for 72 hours before the race has angered a number of trainers in the race who say that those staffing the barn lack necessary horse sense and that the atmosphere is not conducive to horses performing at their optimum.

The latest contretemps occurred Wednesday afternoon, when the security staff at the barn told Doug O’Neill, trainer of I’ll Have Another, and Michael Matz, trainer of Union Rags, that they could not cook their oats before feeding their horses. O’Neill, who has outwardly maintained an even keel over all the hoops he has been required to jump through leading up to this race – no nasal strip for his horse, moving to the security barn, exhaustive requirements for licensing for his personnel – finally had enough and threatened to pull his horse from the race, pointing out that I’ll Have Another needs his oats cooked to avoid colic.

Minutes later, permission was granted to cook oats, so Oatgate was averted.

“They yell about Lasix and things like that, but the biggest problem is uniformity,” Matz said Thursday morning. “Why can’t we have the same rules for the Triple Crown races? They didn’t have this for the Derby. They didn’t have this for the Preakness. Why are they making a big deal here?”

[pointman]

What a d'bag Sabini came off as on ATR yesterday. Steve, great job expressing some common sense and asking some tough questions which made Sabini run behind the cloak of he can't comment due to pending investigations.

[ateamstupid]

Watchmaker, of all people, summed this ridiculousness up well the other day.

As a racing fan and bettor, what I find especially ridiculous about all of this is, without taking it all the way up to DEFCON 1, this Belmont Stakes was going to be the cleanest race in New York this year, anyway. Really, outside of the movies, what thief would try to steal when everyone in the world is watching? It’s all the other races, the non-Belmonts, the cheaper races that attract less attention and scrutiny, and thus might crack the door open to wrongdoing, that need the higher level of security. But of course, cheap races don’t get Belmont Stakes-level security because it costs too much. And that is why this all smacks of grandstanding."

I'm sure they'll make up for it with a Doug O'Neill bobblehead. Hipster approved.

[Danzig]

i read an opinion that ny need only have done as churchill does for the derby-assign security to the runners themselves. that way, trainers don't have two areas to worry about, they don't have personnel and horses in two different places, etc. made sense to me. especially considering that they had them move so far ahead of the race. i didn't think about all the logistics when it was originally presented.
i also read that some are saying IHA shouldn't be allowed to run because he was 3 mins late moving. gimme a break.

[Sightseek]

I thought Lukas had a great point as well --

“What happens if a horse gets stirred up in there for two or three days? A guy is betting his money believing a horse will run like he did in the past out of his own barn, so how is that protecting the public?”

[dagolfer33]

Can we just shorten the protocol and can this " The Jeff Mullins Rule"?