And so it begins

[bstaubs22]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/kentucky-derby-winning-trainer-doug-o-neill-face-suspension-total-carbon-dioxide-violation-article-1.1074154

[trackjohn]

Not surprised...IMO, just the beginning..imagine this...IWR wins the Preakness...goes for the Triple Crown...the NYT continues their \'investigative equine reporting but concentrating their efforts on IWR\'s trainer...it will be interesting if they find out what his \'nickname\' is...Comments??

John

[richiebee]

Trackjohn:

I\'ve been watchinfg the races for 40 years. In that time, three of the best
trainers I have watched are the late Bobby Frankel, Bill Mott and H. Allen
Jerkens.

I think they have two (2) Triple Crown race wins among the three of them.

In the last five years, Rick Dutrow, Jr and Doug O\'Neill have three (3) Triple
Crown race wins between them.

Just sayin..

[plasticman]

John, can i venture a guess at the nickname?

The Loan Shark.

Oh wait, that\'s not the trainer\'s nickname....nevermind, must be someone else i\'m thinking about.

[sighthound]

Good.   No way in hell 39.4 millimoles/liter can occur naturally.


QUICK!  Look over THERE!  LASIX!

[TGJB]

Sight--

1-- Yeah. And it\'s no coincidence the hammer came down on someone in California, where Rick Arthur means business. Again,keep this in mind-- Kentucky made milkshakes illegal in the late 90\'s, announced they would BEGIN testing in 2006. Pennsylvania announced they would BEGIN testing for TCO2 in 2010. As of 2008, Maryland was testing only 2 horses a day, for anything, and doing TCO2 testing post-race-- you don\'t need me to tell you what that means.

2-- I don\'t think it\'s intentional, but again yeah. There\'s unbelievable confusion and conflation when it comes to the drug issue. (I think Don King said that, maybe Walt Frazier). And there\'s way too many people who think banning things is going to solve the problems. People-- the drugs being used to move up horses ARE BANNED NOW.

Serious testing, transparency, enforcement.

[Beau]

JB,

Just curious to know if you were asked to testify at the recent congressional hearing that took place? In my opinion you are a perfect example of someone who is very knowledgeable, experienced, and has no monetary issue (owner, breeder, or trainer) in the debate. You can give an objective view opposed to all the one sided views that are being told.

Thanks,

Beau

[plasticman]

I was reading some stuff online that says not only can baking soda help performance, but it can also mask other drugs. People say lasix masks other drugs, but i\'ve never heard baking soda masks stuff too, anyone know if Baking soda can mask other PEDs?

[TGJB]

No, but there\'s a chance I could be at the next one, which would be the Senate hearing. If not me, it will be others who have a clue.

[sighthound]

Lasix used to mask drugs when our drug testing was bad decades ago.  Lasix makes you pee, and that urine dilution could dilute the percentage of drug in a urine sample.  Not true now, our testing is too good.

CO2 attempts to change the blood acid/base balance, to a more \"basic\" level, so that the normal acidotic physiology of exercise (such as lactic acid buildup) is dampened down so the horse has more \"stamina\" and can last longer before it\'s muscles tire.  

Now, as soon as you put a base into the body, the body\'s normal compensation mechanisms start to do their thing, as the body only works within a very, very narrow pH range (7.35 to 7.45).

So \"it covers other drugs\" isn\'t really happening.  The pH change in the blood isn\'t significant enough to change a drug inside the bloodstream to a metabolite that would be undetectable.

[sighthound]

I\'ve decided to retire from this medicine gig and be a private morning workout observer and Race Horse Whisperer.  Wanna hire me?  I\'m expensive.

[plasticman]

You might be expensive, but if you\'re +ev, one could say that hiring you is \'good value\'.

How about posting a few \'workout observations\' for all of us and we can judge if you\'re worth hiring? ;-)

[sighthound]

I\'d like to start in Australia ...

[trackjohn]

Richie:

  Couldn\'t agree more...(been watching myself since 1973)..makes you wonder what the hell has happened to this game...JB is quite correct...Testing, Transparency, and proper punishment when caught...problem is who will do it??  I never thought that I\'d say this but in might be time for federal legislation/agency to manage on a national basis...It would have to be an improvement over the current situation...BUT then, I think of the US Postal Service, the IRS, Congress, etc...I better be careful of what I wish for...

  The only hope is that the racing \'powers-that-be\' should, at this point, be quite scared of federal oversight and will be forced to make the necessary changes...I\'m not holding my breath...Comments??  

John