Pletcher Views on Steroids

[BitPlayer]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2008/05/22/2008-05-22_the_day_at_the_races-1.html

[miff]

\"All my horses race within the rules of racing,\" said Pletcher, who won last year\'s Belmont with the super filly Rags to Riches.

Pletcher wouldn\'t answer the question of whether Cowboy Cal and Monba raced on steroids in the Kentucky Derby won by Big Brown, but hopes that the rules governing steroids will be the same throughout the country

Bit,

Did he have to answer the steroid question? Many of his horses are barrel chested,thick necked and muscular thru the shoulder area like Barry Bonds. I noticed that years ago.Amazing that he\'s 0-30 in the derby, no factor in most BC events, with a multi million dollar barn to boot.

Absolute proof, imo, that he does not have the magic bullet as claimed by many here.


Mike

[Silver Charm]

He said a lot but also said nothing.

When asked if his horses used Steroids he declined to answer.

He said Regulators need to quit talking and start acting.

He said his horses race clean.

Then why was he serving a 60 day suspension a year ago last Jan-Feb

[bobphilo]

Yeah sure, steroids don\'t effect horses like they do humans. Why does he think they can ban a drug for human use based on animal studies? I\'d like to see Pletcher cite a veterinary text that says that anabolic steroids are not performance enhancing and dangerous in equines. Anabolic means body building in any species.

Pletcher won\'t answer the question of whether his horses run on steroids and Dutrow practically brags about it. On the other hand, Dutrow claims ignorance of their effects and Pletcher tries to come off as an expert with no proof.

They both stink.

Bob

[Silver Charm]

About 10 years ago I was having some sinus/allergy problems. I went to see a physician who gave me a couple of medications one of which was a nasal spray.

When I went back for my check-up I told the Doctor that some of the drugs he gave me made me feel like Superman.

He said, \"The Nasal Spray contains a Steroid. That\'s what it is\".........

[sighthound]

All drugs are not the same.

All anabolic steroids are not the same.
 
All species do not react the same to the same drugs.
   
Which specific drug you are talking about matters.
 
The dose and length of use of that drug matters.

For the thousands of horses Pletcher runs, as long as he\'s been running, he\'s had one positive.  

That positive was for a miniscule overage of mepivicaine.  An amount of mepivicaine so small, that that level couldn\'t possibly affect the horse, a level that was, immediately after Pletcher\'s appeal, changed to be legally allowable, as it has zero possible impact on performance.

[sighthound]

If you feel like superman on the tiny amount of steroid in a topical nasal spray (which is a corticosteroid, not an anabolic steroid) I have some great placebo pills to sell you

[TGJB]

Yep, then he must not be doing anything. Because racing would never allow trainers to use drugs which are performance enhancers.

[miff]

Hi Sight,

You will never convince the conspiracy theorists or the Kool Aid drinkers,I\'ve tried re TAP.He ran a $3.2 Million filly yesterday,a NW1x in NY that got swallowed up by 7 lengths in the stretch in spite of the steroids and all the other illegal stuff he allegedly uses.

You better contact him, I think he could use some held from a professional vet and knowledgeable horse person.


Regards,
Mike

[TGJB]

Miff-- let me get this straight. A few posts back you said you have known for years that Pletcher was using steroids. Now you are saying what?

One of the problems, as I have said umpteen times here, is that trainers MAY not be breaking the rules, but the rules themselves allow them to move up horses with drugs. I mean allowing steroid use, an artificially high threshold level for a TCO2 positive, every place but California allowing Clenbuterol to be used as a raceday drug, etc.

If they go to a 34 threshold for TCO2 (and there are ways to do that and still protect the innocent), test quantitatively for Clenbuterol like California does, ban steroid use close to a race, and start freezing blood samples, you will see some big changes in winning percentages.

Pretty ironic that we are seeing these posts at the same time the track and field stuff is breaking.

[sighthound]

Pletcher has very professional vets

All we can do is keep supporting the development of increasingly sophisticated testing methodologies - cobra venom, illegal steroids (and a horse on these drugs regularly is pretty dangerous, btw, let alone being too muscle-bound to be fast), blood doping, etc.

[miff]

JB,

You must know that MANY outfits use legal steroids, including TAP.On point, steroids are legal and found to be beneficial by several well informed vets.Now illegal/abused/designer stuff are the ones they must stop.

The ones that help these animals recover and eat should be left alone.Whats the problem with that?

mike

[TGJB]

Miff--there is no problem IF THAT\'S ALL THEY DO. If they do other things, the game becomes (or rather has become) a chemistry contest.

[miff]

JB,

Yes I agree, and that is why people that spew innuendo about trainers who have no Class 1 positives should put up or shut up.


Mike

[rosewood]

Miff,

It\'s not hard to stay clear of Class 1 positives unless the trainer and vet are dumb as a post.If TCO2 or Clenbuterol aren\'t even tested for or when they do test,  the cut off for TCO2 is at 39 or such other outrageous number, why even run the test?

The problem has never been steroid use as a reliableation aid for horses that have been injuried or that are not in training.

The problem is EPO,Darbepoetin, etc and all the other  blood packing steriods that are proteins and can\'t be easily detected being used also. Not to mention the designer roids that can\'t  even be detected.

Is Winstrol and Lasix masking anything else or do you believe Dutrow, Mullins and the other trainers that have been convicted would never do anything that is not currently allowed?