Ask The Experts
General Category => Ask the Experts => Topic started by: Silver Charm on September 19, 2007, 07:57:18 AM
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The Biancone hearing is going to be occurring sometime soon.
http://www.drf.com/news/article/88650.html
The Vet has already been given a five year sentence which is assuredly career ending. Spend all of those years getting an education and building a book of business and piss it all away. A couple of in-the-know-winners surely could not have been worth it now. Ask Martha Stewart or Sam Wachsel.
Now Biancone is fighting for his career. Again. Seems like a very affable, likable fellow but has a deviant side that makes him want to cheat. Starts from within you know.
Now that the Vet has been hammered there is no excuse that the testing was wrong. Which is always excuse number one. Excuse number two is the \"I did not know what was going on inside my barn.\" Someone should be sentenced for the utter stupidity of this argument.
Think about it.
If the cops walked into the house on anyone reading this and discovered a quantity of dope hidden underneath the kitchen sink would this same argument work? If the CFO of a major corporation was cooking the books isn\'t it the responsibility of the CEO to police this and turn his own guy in. Or at least fire the f**king guy with cause.
The credibility of Kentucky Racing rests on this case. Kentucky has always been perceived as a place where cheaters win. Where the medication rules are some of the most liberal in the world. When the Ky Racing Commission reaches their decision they will be in a position to send a message.
Question is, which message will they send.......
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Silver:
Thank you for the informative link. A couple of observations on my part.
Yes, innocent until proven guilty. One asterisk here-- Patrick Biancone has
already been banned from participating in racing in Hong Kong.
The article notes that 3 of the substances are considered Class 1 performance
enhancing substances which can not currently be detected by testing. That\'s
quite a problem in itself, that substances can be identified as performance
enhancing, but not tested for.
Where is the shock and outrage over the fact that Biancone, who has won
millions of dollars in purses in graded races, increasing the residual value
of many of his runners by more millions of dollars, has likely done so by
utilizing \"designer\" drugs? As I have said before, do not expect to see
anything other than straight reporting in DRF, basically the industry house
organ, which, unfortunately, lacks a strong editorial voice. Ditto the Blood
Horse, the advertising revenues of which come strictly from the industry.
TGJB and Barry Irwin also must temper their reaction to cheating for business
reasons,so once again I feel it necessary to appreciate the fact that TGJB,
while he must sometimes mute his own voice, provides a forum where we can all
raise ours. And we should.
A final word. John Veitch is the Chief Kentucky Steward. John Veitch was tossed
out of Calumet Farm by JT Lundy, who knew only greed. Veitch trained many
champions for Calumet, including Before Dawn and Alydar, who were world beaters
(but couldn\'t beat Laz Barrera\'s Its in the Air and Affirmed). Veitch then went
on to train for Darby Dan Farms, where he saddled Proud Truth to a Breeder\'s
Cup win in 1985.
Between Sunshine Forever\'s brilliant turf campaign in 1988 and Veitch being
named Kentucky Chief Steward in 2003, Hall of Fame trainer and third generation
horseman John Veitch cast about without having much impact on the racing game.
People like the Markeys and the Wolfsons and the Galbreaths were replaced by a
different breed of horse owner, who apparently brought into the game a
different breed of trainer, and there was less call for a trainer of Veitch\'s
dignity and respect for the game.
If Biancone is given a long suspension, or a lifetime ban, in some ways it will
be a reaffirmation of the game the way it used to be played, when John Veitch
was playing it as well as anyone.
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Aaaaah the DRF and Bloodhorse are in a bit of box aren\'t they.
Start exposing trainers as horse doping crooks and start to see the barn door closed every time one of your reporters comes around to get a story.
But in the long run does this do the sport any good. Will the sport be better off or worse if Biancone pleads he thought the Cobra Venom vials were filled with saline solution and replaceable contact lens and gets 14-30 days to save his career.
As I said before he seems like a nice guy. But people said the same thing about Ted Bundy. They both are/were Serial Criminals.
The good guys are making a comeback. Mott, Violette and others. Lets make sure it stays that way.
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Biancone\'s vet\'s lawyer raised the issue of cobra venom having non-nefarious uses. Giving props to the poster on the Derby List who first went down this road, one has to wonder if there is a mongoose running loose in Biancone\'s barn.
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Silver Charm Wrote:
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> Aaaaah the DRF and Bloodhorse are in a bit of box
> aren\'t they.
>
> Start exposing trainers as horse doping crooks and
> start to see the barn door closed every time one
> of your reporters comes around to get a story.
Worse than that. The BH (or TBT, forget which) ran a pedigree/breeding article that one of the biggest Lex farms thought was uncomplimentary towards their stallion, so they pulled their advertising. Remember when the Sheik got mad and pulled advertising for being criticized by Beyer for Bernardini\'s early retirement?
We can expect any real journalism in racing, only fluff, because racing\'s press have their hands tied.
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Street Sense wrote,
\"We can expect any real journalism in racing, only fluff, because racing\'s press have their hands tied.\"
The media does not do themselves any good when they go on an ESPN Horse Racing Telecast as Randy Moss did and unequivocally state that, \"Trainer Patrick Biancone has told me there is absolutly nothing to the Cobra Venom story.\" This might have been when they ran the American Oaks because only two days before Biancone won the Cash Call Mile. As though this Grade I win was evidence he doesn\'t cheat.
Moss essentially called the Kentucky Racing Commission, John Veitch and Lisa Underwood vigilante investigators and liars on National Television. Jerry Bailey quietly sat next to him and said nothing.
Another prime example is when Kurt Hoover (does he qualify as media) stated on HRTV or perhaps a fill in day on ESPN if he had a bunch of horses and raced them on the east coast Rick Dutrow would be his trainer.
Dutrow was promptly given a six month suspension.
Why whore oneself for access to information. I just don\'t get it.
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The reporters for DRF, Bloodhorse, etc. need to realize that their reporting (their definition) of a trainers sound bite that has been said over and over is useless anyway. Why not report on what is really happening. Heck, you might even win an Eclipse!
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Agreed on the Eclipse. There is a considerable amount of talent on all those teams.
Take advantage of it.
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Unfortunately, the Eclipse Awards are given by...
...the same folks who want you to believe that the best horses in the game are
running on hay, oats and water.
No way a bunch of owners, breeders and trainers dressed in tuxes and evening
gowns are going to thank any journalist for exposing racing for what it really
is. Too much denial, too much culpability.
Maybe a Pulitzer Prize for Journalism. But not an Eclipse.
There is a great story in the Calumet based book Wild Ride concerning the 1991
Eclipse Awards, Wayne Lukas, Tim Conway and a champagne fueled Calumet Farm
heiress who thought she wasn\'t getting enough recognition. Would love to recount
it, but as the song says \"I owe, I owe, its off to work I go\".
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richiebee Wrote:
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> Unfortunately, the Eclipse Awards are given by...
>
> ...the same folks who want you to believe that the
> best horses in the game are
> running on hay, oats and water.
>
> No way a bunch of owners, breeders and trainers
> dressed in tuxes and evening
> gowns are going to thank any journalist for
> exposing racing for what it really
> is. Too much denial, too much culpability.
>
> Maybe a Pulitzer Prize for Journalism. But not an
> Eclipse.
>
> There is a great story in the Calumet based book
> Wild Ride concerning the 1991
> Eclipse Awards, Wayne Lukas, Tim Conway and a
> champagne fueled Calumet Farm
> heiress who thought she wasn\'t getting enough
> recognition. Would love to recount
> it, but as the song says \"I owe, I owe, its off to
> work I go\".
Actually, Richie, the Eclipses aren\'t voted on by breeders, owners, trainers, and such. It\'s the members of the racing press along with a few NTRA and track honchos who vote on the Eclipses.
You\'ve made me curious about the story though. Guess we\'ll have to wait til you\'re home from work.
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Street:
A good point, but maybe a mere technicality, because the \"racing press, the
NTRA and track honchos\" owe their existence to the folks in the tuxes and gowns.
If I get the opportunity, I will try to review the Eclipse Awards given for
Journalism in the past. Would be shocked to see a single winner which cast
Racing in anything but a positive light.
I would love to be wrong about this.
\"Confessions of a Master Race Fixer\", Sports Illustrated\'s cover story in the
first week of November 1978, was, as I have mentioned on this board, one of the
most powerful pieces of journalism I have ever read, relating to racing or
anything else. Well written, well documented, absolutely terrifying. Will have
to try to verify if it was even considered for a journalism Eclipse if one was
given in 1978.
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I didn\'t read the book, but I saw and heard the entire episode from that famous Eclipse Award dinner on live television. I remember telling my husband that the \"heiress\" wasn\'t drunk - something was going on and she wanted to let the world know. Even Lukas tried to stop her, but it just made it more obvious.
When Alydar died, I immediately knew that there had to be more to the story because of that televised dinner. Having since learned more than I really wanted to know about the entire situation from a family friend, I no longer find the antics at the dinner as funny as they once were, but more to the point frightening ala the \"original\" Martha Stewart, wife of the former Attorney General who was also \"silenced\"!
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Delmar Deb:
I will not make a statement regarding Alydar\'s death because I am still not
convinced either way.
What is certain is that author Ann Hagedorn Auerbach is able to document how JT
Lundy almost singlehandedly took estates and a farm valued at over $250
million,and turned it into a farm which had claims in bankruptcy totaling over
$167 million dollars, and left the heirs of Lucille Parker Wright Markey
penniless.
The Eclipse Dinner is described as a watershed event of sorts in that when
Lundy and Lukas failed to recognize the Wright family in their acceptance
speeches (Criminal Type was Champion Handicap Horse and Horse of the Year)
(apparently they weren\'t even aware that Bertha Wright was in attendance), Ms.
Wright finally got angry enough to look into what her son-in-law, JT Lundy, was
doing with Calumet. At that point she realized that her trust in Lundy was
misplaced,and it was far too late to do anything about it.
Tim Conway of course was able to provide a little comic relief. In the middle of
interrupting a slightly exasperated D Wayne Lukas\' acceptance speech, Bertha
Wright suddenly looked up at Conway and \"said with a wide grin, \'I love you as
a comedian, I think you\'re great\'.\"
\"Conway, easing tensions, leaned over the podium: \"You didn\'t have time to talk,
with everybody up here screwing around collecting awards\'\".
Once again, Wild Ride is a must read. This great farm was so short of cash that
when the final horses were sold at auction at Keeneland, they were hand walked
the three miles from Calumet to the sales pavillion. The author paints a
poignant picture of this slow sad procession.
Also very sad is reading how trainer John Ward, called in by the Wrights to try
to save the farm, gradually comes to realize that Calumet\'s debt load will
dictate that liquidation of the farm and the bloodstock is the only real option.
The book is not without humor, as author shares with reader a raucous joke the
punch line for which gave the colt So Tell Me Laddie his name.
Buy the book. If I tell any more stories from it the author won\'t send me my
check.
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Deb,
Scandals in sports seem to be everywhere these days. Racing is no different. Actually racing may be in the early-stages of being better off because they appear to be doing something about.
There is always a catch-22 of sorts when exposing rule breaking or corruption from within. However it is a way of life whether in sports, politics or business. Usually changes only occur when there is public exposure. Sarbanes-Oxley would not be here if there had not been Enron and others.
I put up an earlier post regarding some ESPN dialogue on the Biancone alledged cheating that I am sure did go well with this host. Let me say this. Randy Moss is outstanding as the lead anchor on those ESPN telecasts and is an encyclopedia of knowledge. Jerry Bailey is one of the best spokes people the sport has ever had. Bailey was in a no-win situation in this incident. Damned if you do damned if you don\'t.
However there are two sides to this story. To give National TV credibility to Mr. Biancones side of the story, someone who has been suspended and banned for cheating numerous times already is both wrong and one-sided. I happen to personally know the lead Investigator in the case and another family member is an extremely close personal friend. I trust their integrity far more than Mr Biancones. This is not a witch hunt. This is serious business.
If in fact Mr. Biancone is found guilty and a suspension is handed down, there is proof there really was something to the story. The fact the Vet was handed a five year ban should be enough proof already. Some of the people involved in this case are the types of agents of change the sport has so longly needed.
To go on National TV and shoot them and their investigation down before the case is even complete is the wrong message to preventing bringing charges for cheating.
If the verdict comes in guilty a national TV apology is the least someone could do...........
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Richiebee,
Do you remember from when you worked in KY,
the motel across the street from the gate to Calumet?
I am thinkin\' Black and Gold, or Black Gold?
skip
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Skip:
I\'m no help here because the 2 trainers I primarily worked for in KY (the fairly
eccentric Bernard S. Flint and the extremely eccentric Ronnie Warren) both
stabled at Churchill. And since I am dropping names here at a record pace I
might as well mention that my last Kentucky racetrack job (Fall 1983) was
working for Del Carroll. The guy working next to me was a very pleasant kid from
Lexington-- Kiaran McSomething.
I never spent any significant time in Lexington. Basically, the receiving barn,
the paddock and if I was lucky, the winners circle. I have a book of winners
circle pictures at my desk here and I am remembering that Bernard was very
successful in the Spring of 1983. I think he and Eduardo Inda tied for leading
trainer that year and then after the meet it was announced that one of Inda\'s
horses tested positive and Bernard was the top guy all by himself. Or maybe
Bernard was one behind and the Inda positive put them in a tie.
In any case, I haven\'t been in KY since 1983. Mike Battaglia was trying to call
the races at Churchill (nice guy, awful race caller) and Keeneland did not even
have a race caller.
The only motel I know about in Lexington is the one that the 2 guys who were
trying to keep tabs on James Bond (the secret agent, not the trainer) were
staying in in the movie Goldfinger.
Man I\'m getting old. Ask me what time it is and I will tell you the history of
Big Ben, and I didn\'t even come close to answering your question. The recently
returned NC Tony may be able to give you the information you need.
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Another day maker;
richiebee Wrote:
> Man I\'m getting old. Ask me what time it is and I
> will tell you the history of
> Big Ben, and I didn\'t even come close to answering
> your question. The recently
> returned NC Tony may be able to give you the
> information you need.
I remember the way Devil\'s Bag looked coming off the turn in a 5/8th work,
and I did just happen to be standing next to Woody, (in AWE),
and the way Graustark looked when he worked 1/2 in 44 on a good track,
and being in the company of the statesman of timers, Edwin Peterson, but I can\'t
remember if I should look for my date book, or write a note on the edge
of the form here telling me to find my date book. I think I decided, but
I can\'t remember for sure. I DO KNOW that I would offer \"betty\" in the coming up
feature at a rather generous price compared to the ML. To save paper here,
Miff, How can you look like a rider, riding this guy\'s horses? That\'s all I am saying, and I am not dodging the paperwork to establish whether it\'s the horse or rider, I just am not competent to do so. Both, I would buy, but not just the rider. Owners aren\'t always fair, even fair judges of stuff like this. Angel, when asked what goes first, your thighs, said emphatically, your clients.
I turned to Mr. Peterson, with my mouth open and said, \"GOD DAMN, SIR, DID YOU EVER SEE A HORSE THIS FAST?\" to which he dryly repsonded, yes. I said, WHO.
And he gave me the name of a mare that raced in 1920, as if it had been yesterday. I am younger by about 20 years than he was that day, but I don\'t remmeber the mare\'s name, although I do remember that one from 20 years old, as did he. The one by Ribot, from Flower Bowl, and don\'t need Online Inquiry to recall that.
Later that week, when he broke his maiden I was standing with Tony Milano, whose real name was Tony Amadeo, who owned Milano\'s at State and Division, where liqour was served after hours (2Am in Chgo) for decades. He gave me 400 to bet on Graustark which I promptly put in my pocket because, hey it\'s percentage, and the horse was 1/5 in his debut. He romped, and when he was at the 5/8th pole, I turned to Tony and said, THis is the Derby winner, what will you give me on the $40. He said, 40/1 kid, are you nuts?
The next Spring, I was at Leonard Wood, took a couple days to return to the Windy, and the horse was 3/5 in the future book. Now, I NEED the money, and of course you know the rest of the story. Tony bought me dinner.
PS: I am so sure it\'s fun to ride Betty now, instead of ALbertrani\'s horse.