Long Shot Wins Derby - Too Good to Be True?

50 to 1 long shot, Mine That Bird pulled off a giant upset yesterday at Churchill Downs in the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby.

Costing $9,500 and coming from dead last to win the race by 6 and 3/4 lengths is an incredible story....possibly an unbelievable one. When pre race favorite, I Want Revenge, trained by now suspended Jeff Mullins, pulled out of the race earlier in the day, Friesan Fire then became the favorite. However, that horse would finish second to last. How could the so-called experts be so wrong?

Earlier in the week, The New York Times inquired with the 20 owners what medications, if any, their horses were using. Only three owners responded. One reason given for not sharing their veterinary records was to protect the horse's privacy. 15% of the owners responded - this after a year in which the curtain was removed from the general public's eyes with the secrets of horse racing: steroids, legal, yet morally questionable, injections and a Congressional hearing. After all that, one would expect more transparency. Apparently, the owners in this year's Derby did not get that memo.

Of course the owners of Mine That Bird did not disclose any information to the NYT. Is this story too good to be true or the fairy tale ending the sport needed to get over the death of Eight Belles?

Trainer of Derby Favorite Suspended

Kentucky Derby favorite, I Want Revenge, will have the services of trainer, Jeff Mullins. Mullins was suspended for seven days and fined $2,500 yesterday by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board. The suspension will start May 3rd; the day after the Kentucky Derby...very convenient. Apparently, the timing of the suspension was negotiated since Mullins agreed he would not appeal the decision.

Mullins was seen injecting Gato Go Win with a cough remedy substance in the detention barn before the $200,000 Bay Shore race. Giving any medication to a horse while waiting in the detention barn is against the New York racing rules.

The suspension timing is odd, but there was no way a Derby favorite would be without the services of its trainer leading up to the first leg of the Triple Crown. Mullins misstep was injecting a horse with a cough remedy several hours before a race. If a horse is suffering from a cough, should it even be racing? Is that animal cruelty? Horse racing needs to step their game up in protecting the animals, but like other sports, the money is too great and everyone is benefiting...everyone except the horses.

3 Breakdowns a Day Since the Derby

According to Nancy Heitzeg, a professor at St. Catherine’s University in Minnesota, that's how many horses are breaking down daily since Eight Belles was euthanized on the track at last year's Kentucky Derby. The question that people need to be asking is why?


William Rhoden of The New York Times attempts to address this issue in his column from today's paper. In it, he looks at whether or not legal medications are allowing race horses the ability to perform when in another era they would not be out on the track.

Rhoden cites that since January there have been seven fatal breakdowns at New York's Aqueduct Race Track. The breakdowns are not reserved to race conditions at the Aqueduct, a dirt surface; Santa Anita in California, a synthetic surface, has also seen seven fatal horse breakdowns since late December.

Paul J. Campo, the vice president and director of racing for the New York Racing Association, believes there is no rhyme or reason for the recent surge in fatal breakdowns. “I don’t think there is any explanation to it. It’s an unfortunate part of our industry that we don’t like. But we try to minimize any type of breakdowns we have using all the policies and procedures we have in place.”

I think I’ve heard that type of thinking before from other sports leagues in the past. Deny, deny, deny and think that all protections and procedures are in place when in reality they are not. Far from it, especially in a sport like horse racing when the horses have no say in what goes in their bodies. Rhoden lays out three types of legal drugs that should be curtailed. They are: Lasix (race-day drug used to prevent bleeding of the lungs), nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (i.e. phenylbutazone, flunixin and ketoprofen since they mask deficiencies in certain horses) and steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (used to decrease inflammation).

If more fatal breakdowns occur on horse racing’s biggest stage, look for more outcry leading to even more change for the sport. Hopefully, the leaders will look at the numbers and instead of citing bad luck, realize that there is something bigger and more pronounced going on and that they have the ability to curtail more horse breakdowns in the future. Perhaps policies and procedures will need to change…again.

Kentucky Derby to "Super Test" Winning Horses

It's been awhile since my last two posts on horse racing, but the sport is making news two months before the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downs in a release this past Monday said it will implement new safety measures for this year's Derby and all of its tracks. All winning horses will get a "super test" for more than 100 types of drugs exceeding the previously required amount. Other safety measures included are extending the safety tests for track surfaces, banning certain types of whips and prohibiting horses younger than 24 months old from racing.

Good for Churchill Downs for instituting the "super test", but one has to wonder why not provide the test for all participants? If the goal is to prevent all the cheats, super test everyone, not just the winners.

Any good news is a step in the right direction for this sport after the year horse racing had. Since last year's Derby, there was a Congressional hearing, another suspension for trainer Rick Dutrow, the euthanizing on the track last year of Derby runner up, Eight Belles, and the realization that Derby winner Big Brown was roided out of its mind on Winstrol and didn't win the Triple Crown when he wasn't on the juice.

This racing season will probably have its share of drama, shocking revelations and a suspension or two. In other words, business as usual.

Congress Sets Sights on MLB & Horse Racing

Congress is ready to jump back into the PED fray over the next two weeks and is targeting MLB and horse racing. The horse hearing will be held next week while Congress awaits responses from a letter issued to MLB and the players union within two weeks.

The horse racing hearing was called due to the public outcry over Eight Belles being euthanized on the track after the Kentucky Derby. A statement from the committee called that recent deaths "point to a persistent and widespread problem, raising significant questions about the sport and its governance."

Controversial Big Brown trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr., will testify at the hearing. He has admitted publicly that he injects his horses with Winstrol on the 15th of each month. Steroids are legal in 28 of 38 racing jurisdictions including the three where the Triple Crown takes place.

He stated that Big Brown did not receive an injection in May. There has been much speculation that the reason why Big Brown finished last at the Belmont and did not have the "kick" that he normally has, was due to the lack of roids. Dutrow is aware that the committee will ask him about roids which is why he'll have his veterinarian with him so he answers the questions "fully and informed."

A world class trainer who has been shooting up his horses with roids needs his vet to be there so he can answer questions fully and be informed? Are you kidding me, RD Jr.? No one pops pills or puts anything in their body without "being informed". You make your living by training horses and I would assume you are already fully informed of the benefits and consequences of each steroid you inject in your animals. Something does not add up, and Dutrow can sense that the committee will see this. A little misdirection and preparing to be the sacrificial lamb for his sport seems like a nice p.r. stunt.

"I'm also interested in answering the questions about surfaces and fatal injuries. I'm coming here in good faith. And if they want to kill me, I'm going try to be prepared for that." Answering questions about surfaces? Congress does not call hearings regarding surfaces in horse racing. The topic is recent deaths and governance issues in the sport. Stay on topic or prepare for death, Mr. Dutrow, because Congress will be looking for blood.


"MLB has "done it once again" by appearing to be less than forthright in their 2005 Congressional testimony. Both MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and the head of the players union, Donald Fehr appear to have contradicted the Mitchell Report findings when they testified in 2005.

The issue at the center of the controversy is MLB's claim that positive PED test results were dramatically reduced from 2003 to 2004 (from more than 100 to 12). What MLB and the players union failed to disclose in their testimony was drug testing in 2004 was suspended for a portion of the season. Congress wants to know, if the program was suspended, why this information was not disclosed in their testimony. Congress also asked whether some players were given advance notice of upcoming tests and if this was the case, why this information was not disclosed in their testimony.

In the Mitchell Report, it was uncovered and confirmed by baseball and union officials that the random drug testing program was suspended for a large part of the 2004 season. Also in the report, at least one player was informed by Gene Orza, the chief operating officer for the players union, that he would be tested within two weeks.

Donald Fehr and MLB were both on the same page regarding the integrity of the testing program in 2005. Fehr said, "no player knew when he was going to be tested" and Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations, wrote to the Congressional committee in 2005 "no notice was provided to players prior to testing."

The testing was suspended in 2004 after the 2003 positive results were seized as part of the BALCO investigation in April 2004. For the players who tested positive in 2003, they were not tested until the end of the 2004 season. It was determined that those players were not to be tested until they had been notified that their results had been seized. Orza did not notify the players until late in the season, leaving little time for the annual test to occur.

It doesn't take an average IQ MLB'er, who still thinks the pie in the face is high hilarity, to know when it's time to cycle off the juice. This group of 100 players who were being notified late in the season, already tested positive in 2003 and more than likely were still using. Orza already advised one player that he would be tested in two weeks, how many other players did he notify?

Gene Orza declined to provide additional details to George Mitchell when he declined Mitchell's interview request. Nice work on the transparency and legitimatizing your constituency Mr. Orza. You served your people well.

Eight Belles Negative for Roids

Now that the test results came back negative for Eight Belles, we can breathe a sigh of a relief and know that the sport is clean. Well, not exactly. It turns out, Eight Bells was the only horse tested for steroids.

A closer reading of the article states that all horses from the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks including winner Big Brown, tested negative for all banned substances, but that only Eight Belles was tested for steroids. What's interesting about that statement: it's a tacit admission that roids are not considered banned substances.

After Big Brown's easy victory at the Preakness, perhaps Eight Belles should have been on monthly injections of Winstrol like Big Brown was, as mentioned here last week. Winstrol might have given the win to Eight Belles then; it's certainly been beneficial to Big Brown.

Big Brown Trainer Admits to Roiding Horses

The trainer for the Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, Rick Dutrow Jr., has admitted to legally using the steroid Winstrol on his horses. This is the same steroid that Barry Bonds was allegedly using per "Game of Shadows". Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel also confirmed this story on the program that aired on May 13th.

Per the article from HBPA.com, the Feb. 27th House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection's hearing on PED's was uneventful until Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) shed some light on the current situation in horse racing. Whitfield advised that rampant drug use requires a universal drug-testing program to eradicate doping in the sport.

"Trainers and vets make the decisions, and the horse cannot say no," Whitfield said. "England, for instance, banned steroids in racing over 30 years ago." He also said steroids are contributing to the injuries of the racehorses. Eight Belles broke both front ankles and had to be euthanized after finishing the Kentucky Derby.

Dr. George Maylin, the director of the NY State Racing and Wagering Board drug testing and research program at Cornell University, is optimistic that the sport can clean up on its own. I do not share the doctor's optimism. It was this same optimistic thought that has baseball still backpedalling from their Congressional hearings in 2005.

As for trainer Rick Dutrow Jr., he gives his horses Winstrol on the 15th of every month. If authorities advise the trainer he cannot use the steroid, he'll cease using it. Dutrow does believe doping is going on in the sport. "I don't know how but I'm sure it happens every day. Some people just want to make their horses run faster."

Mr. Dutrow, sure you don't know how the doping is taking place. Abusing steroids, such as Winstrol, would be considered doping. It's comforting to know that the MLB home run champ and the Kentucky Derby champ are roiding up on Winstrol.

Good luck to you and Big Brown at the Preakness....Barry will be pulling for you.

Horse To Be Tested For Steroids

After the tragedy that befell Eight Belles, the runner up in last week's Kentucky Derby, the trainer of the horse ordered drug testing as a part of the autopsy to dispel any notion that the horse was 'roided up.

Larry Jones, the trainer, "guaranteed" that there were never any steroids on the horse. Jones was responding to the criticism that the horse was so large.

I don't know if there is roid testing in horse racing. If there isn't testing, there should be. Just as Larry, you better be right in your guarantee or your backpedaling act will be more entertaining to watch than the Preakness.