Clearly the frequency of these violations together with the fact these individuals continue to train while suspended, regardless of the offense, demonstrates how ludicrous the North American system of penalty enforcement and severity is.
Time and time again these trainers circumvent the rules and are rewarded for their penchant to cheat with punishments that all too often are in name only; their stables remain open and their horses are permitted to race, typically under the name of a trustworthy assistant.
In 2006, for example, when Asmussen (pictured here with Tapiture) was suspended by Louisiana authorities when a filly he trained tested 750 times over the legal limit for the local anesthetic mepivacaine, which can deaden pain in a horse’s legs, he turned his horses over to Scott Blasi, his longtime assistant.
Blasi won 198 races in 2006 as the Asmussen stable finished the year with more than $14 million in earnings. [11]
Moreover, the frequency of violations seems not to factor into the equation either.
"And it takes a near-miracle for a trainer to be permanently barred. Rick Dutrow, trainer of the 2008 Derby winner Big Brown (who raced on then-permitted steroids before his inexplicable non-performance in that year’s Belmont Stakes) has accumulated more than 60 violations in his career.
Yet it was only earlier this year that the Kentucky Racing Commission revoked his license, and he continues to train while that decision is on appeal and while he awaits a hearing in New York, the result of which will also almost certainly be appealed." [12]
Obviously the punishment does not fit the crime.
While the North American horse racing industry is making some progress in its struggle to rid itself of a number of illegal drugs, it remains to have little control of the rampant use of legal medications particularly those, which in the minds of many, are perfectly harmless – the so-called therapeutics – Lasix, Bute and corticosteroids for example.
It is however these very drugs that are contributing to the escalating rise in injury rates.
Many of these injuries are a result of pre-existing conditions that have occurred from repetitive overuse during training and racing. With repeated use and abuse of these drugs, these trainers and owners force these horses to race to exhaustion on injured or fractured limbs never giving time to heal the underlying damage.
Unfortunately the punishment for this carnage is not harsh enough or significant enough to discourage people from using these debilitating measures in pursuit of any means, above-board or not, to gain an edge.
As Dan Metzger, The TOBA (Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association) puts it "when you get a slap on the wrist, for a lot of people it’s just the cost of doing business." [13]
While the trainers bear the brunt of the liability associated with any positive indication of drugs, where do the attending veterinarians and owners feature in this scenario?
In the big scheme of things aren’t these individuals equally accountable? Certainly they should be held responsible as they are endemic to the whole.
"Many people believe the real culprits are veterinarians, the ones actually dispensing the drugs. As things now stand, there is very little accountability in regard to vets. Every time a horse is entered, a trainer should be required to put down the name of the veterinarian that is treating the horse. If some vet's name keeps popping up in connection with horse after horse that records a stunning form reversal then track security will know it had better start asking some questions and putting some pressure on that vet." [14]
Herein lies the corruption that feeds the moral crisis of the horse racing industry in North America - it is a money proposition. These veterinarians are highly educated individuals yet continue to chronically administer these drugs to allow these horses to compete at all costs, most notably their lives.
Why? They make small fortunes marketing and selling these medications and it seems nothing stops them from treating these horses as mere commodities.
"The Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg told a Congressional subcommittee last June that training horses had become 'chemical warfare.' Arthur Hancock, a fourth-generation breeder and owner, said that after routinely receiving medication bills for more than $1,000 per horse, he told his vet to give his horses drugs only when they were sick.
'You want to win races, don’t you, Arthur?' Hancock said the vet replied.
". . . . The monthly bills for routine care for some horses surpass $1,000." [15]
And it is by no means only the trainers and veterinarians at the core of this debacle. Thoroughbred owners are also a pivotal element in this deadly game of "Chemical Warfare".
Horses are routinely administered medications whether called for or not. What’s more, there is no transparency as many are loathe to disclosing their medication records.
An article written by Joe Drape prior to the running of the 2009 Kentucky Derby says it all.
"Of the 20 owners or their trainers who as of Monday intended to run a horse in the Derby, only three shared their veterinary records with The New York Times.
"The 17 owners unwilling to show the records offered a variety of reasons for their refusal. Some talked about competitive pressures, and one trainer cited his horse’s privacy.
"David Lanzman, co-owner of the Derby favorite, I Want Revenge, referred the inquiry to his trainer, Jeff Mullins.
"I'm a mortgage banker," Lanzman said. "I don’t know what goes on back there.'
"Mullins declined to provide the records.
"The owners’ responses make it impossible to tell what practices even racing’s most prominent and accomplished people follow when using chemistry to improve their horses’ performance." [16]
It is hardly difficult to imagine why many of these records remain locked and sealed without public scrutiny. Basically we would be privy to testimony that would unveil the virtual "walking apothecaries" these horses have become.
It is not the illegal drugs such as cobra venom (yes, snake venom), the opiates, EPO (erythropoietin), anabolic steroids or stimulants, for example, that are at stake here, but rather the persistent use of painkillers such as the NSAIDs (e.g. Bute) and corticosteroids as well as Lasix and other adjunct anti-bleeding medicines.
More to the point, this begs the question as to whether these medications should even be allowed during training. Breakdowns occur equally as frequently during training exercises as on race day.
Sadly, these seldom are reported and belie the actual carnage that occurs on the track. These drugs should only be used for what they are intended – as therapies to heal injuries not as crutches that will see these vulnerable creatures to the finish line without heed to their welfare – betrayed of their loyalty, abused and discarded.
Aside from the obvious and intentional manipulation of the race horse, this also brings us to the legal angle of the game – the bettor and the integrity of the industry itself. Drug enhancement is not only a detriment to the horses but is also problematic since it has the potential to significantly skew racing statistics.
Anyone placing bets based on odds as well as the historical performance of a horse is risking more than the obvious.
What’s missing in the equation is the uncertainty of drug use – were previous outstanding races a result of performance-enhancing drugs or those that mask pain? Do they run on the same drugs at each and every race? How long ago did they receive that anabolic steroid fix?
In particular, many of the therapeutics can be administered in such a way as to modify a horse’s performance so that consistency of form is compromised. This can introduce unpredictability in race-to-race performance so the bettor is at a disadvantage for each and every bet that is placed.
Unlike most other sports, the use of drugs in horse racing is acutely deleterious since the fans money is at stake.
"Brian Stewart, head of veterinary regulation for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said that while it was impossible to scientifically link drugs to injuries, 'we believe medication adds a risk factor, not only to injury, but to inconsistent racing performance." [17]
There is currently no tangible means of eliminating this ambiguity; as it exists today the horse racing industry can be likened to a charade for animal cruelty and blatant fraudulence in terms of the betting public.
Without transparency in drug records the bettors are being defrauded. Fraud is a crime punishable by law.
"We talk to our bettors, (drug cheating) is a big issue," Willmot, who runs the country's largest racing operation, said yesterday in an interview. "We've seen double-digit declines in (wagering) the past 18 months and it's not just because people wanted to stop betting.
"Something happened to make them stop, especially the big bettors. They are voting with their wallets.
"The racetracks and the regulators are doing their very best to deal with it. But if the horsemen don't become totally vigilant and do everything they can to minimize this, they might not have an industry. It is that threatening.
"We can't have any tolerance for cheats. It has to be our duty to do everything we can to ensure our racing is honest and free of fraud." [18]
Apart from these issues, a fundamental component of the medication dilemma is the testing itself. Unlike other countries such as Europe, England and Canada for example where testing is centralized, the US has a total of 18 test labs each in different states where the tracks are situated. Moreover, of these, only four are accredited.
Without accreditation the scope of standardization is greatly compromised.
Adding to this quandary is the glaring issue of all but non-existent pre-race testing.
It is widely known that many performance-enhancing drugs given in the right dosage can only be detected before a race and hence promote exploitation by those endeavoring to do so.
Clearly, the unpredictable combination of North America’s fragmented regulatory bodies, indiscriminate penalties for drug violations and deceitful racing trainers and others involved in the industry create a disquieting venue for adequate drug regulation.
The long history of the racing industry’s tendency to sweep the drug issues under the rug is well established on a national as well as global level. If the industry is to survive here in the US the need for reform is imminent.