Big Brown and Winstrol....questions

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

I wouldn't have such a problem with steroids, if guys were using them judiciously with only the horses that need them. But unfortunately that's not the case. You have guys abusing them.

I agree with you that getting rid of steroids certainly isn't a "cure all" for drugs in racing, but I don't think it's a bad place to start. They have to start somewhere. I wish they would get rid of all the drugs. But even if they banned all the drugs, the cheating trainers would still be using undetectable drugs that aren't tested for. That's why we really need to do something similar to Hong Kong where there are cameras everywhere and the barn area is very secure. I know it would be expensive but I think it would pay huge dividends in the long run. I think the handle would increase dramatically once the public had the confidence that the sport was clean.

Absolutely. What would likely happen is that it would be costly to begin with and some owners and trainers of cheaper horses would go out of business as well as some of the race tracks that depend on them to run.

The drug issue is a bottom up problem. The widespread use and abuse is most prevalent at the lower levels and since penalties are not tough, you are going to have many cheating at all levels.

Too many bad racetracks running too many bad races for too many bad horses.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Here is the view of one farm owner:

Cynthia McGinnes, the co-owner of Thornmar in Chestertown, Md., a 280-acre spread that is one of the state's largest commercial breeding farms, said she was so distressed by an apparent rise in steroid use that she was considering quitting the business.

''I would guess that up to 80 percent of the fillies coming off the track to our farm are on steroids,'' she said. ''They come off the race track so messed up that you can't breed them for a year, and some of them never fully recover. It ruins them. The whole situation is unbelievable and very, very discouraging.''

Here is the entire article:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...pagewanted=all

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

Here is the view of one farm owner:

Cynthia McGinnes, the co-owner of Thornmar in Chestertown, Md., a 280-acre spread that is one of the state's largest commercial breeding farms, said she was so distressed by an apparent rise in steroid use that she was considering quitting the business.

''I would guess that up to 80 percent of the fillies coming off the track to our farm are on steroids,'' she said. ''They come off the race track so messed up that you can't breed them for a year, and some of them never fully recover. It ruins them. The whole situation is unbelievable and very, very discouraging.''

Here is the entire article:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...pagewanted=all

I have 2 mares that have been out of training for a long time that I bred this spring. Neither has gotten in foal after 2 tries. Neither has had a shot of steroids since i had them (at least 2 years). I suppose if I had no history with these fillies I would be blaming steroids. I have also claimed tons of fillies off the track that went right to the shed and got in foal no problem and i am positive that many of them had been getting steroids. I may also add that the article you posted was 18 years old and I have not heard of any major problems in getting mares in foal. As a matter of fact the percentage of mares that get in foal now is higher than ever according to many of the breeders I deal with.