wps on 1 in 4th
wps on 8 in 5th.
trying a couple tri-keys as well :0008
Finally, some six months after the suspicious death of Giddy Up Lucky, justice of a sort has come in the form of the New Jersey Racing Commission?s recent actions against those involved. And in another case of delayed justice, a trainer and veterinarian have been held accountable by the Indiana Horse Racing Commission in the July 8, 2009, death of a much less prominent racer named JJ Pilgrim at HoosierPark.
In the Indiana case, JJ Pilgrim died immediately after receiving an injection of ?Clotol?, a non-salix diuretic. In an IHRC ruling on March 7, 2012, veterinarian Jerrilee Anne Cave was handed a 1462 day suspension (backdated to July 8, 2009, through July 8, 2013) for providing the loaded syringe and needle to trainer James L. Byers. For his part in JJ Pilgrim?s death, Byers IHRC license has been summarily suspended pending a hearing which the trainer is entitled to request.
In the New Jersey decision, trainer Josh Green received a $5,000 fine and a 90 day suspension (May 1 through July 29, 2012) for ?Conduct Detrimental to the Best Interest of Horse Racing? for allowing his second trainer, Boyd Hudson, Jr., to inject the iron supplement (allegedly pig iron) which killed Giddy Up Lucky. Hudson and veterinarian Jan Henriksen each were dealt 365 day suspensions beginning May 1, 2012, and running through April 30, 2013. Hudson received a $1,000 fine for injecting the horse, while Henriksen was fined $5,000 for providing ?a loaded syringe and needle to be administered by a trainer which resulted in the death of a horse?. Perhaps the bigger mystery surrounding Giddy Up Lucky?s death involves the horse?s earlier suspension due to an EPO positive and the possible use of pig iron as a masking agent in advance of any scheduled repeat testing.
While you may think these rulings will at least temporarily remove a few bad apples from the trainer and veterinarian baskets, a look at theYonkers card for Tuesday, May 1, should give you cause to reconsider this thought. There you will see at least one horse racing under the auspices of trainer Josh Green. As might be expected, Mr. Green has denied any wrongdoing and appealed his suspension. And if the ruling is upheld, we will surely see Mr. Green?s charges continuing to come to the track. As in almost every recent regulatory case, both in the US and in Canada, the suspended trainer will simply hand over his/her responsibilities to that most essential aide, the ?paper? trainer sometimes referred to as the ?beard?. We?ve certainly been down this road before, most recently after last December?s extensive NYRA suspensions were announced and again in March, 2012, when Casie Coleman was fined $5,000 and suspended for 45 days for an Ephedrine positive on her trainee Reibercrombie. The horse was allowed to participate in the George Morton Levy series at Yonkers thanks to an appeal on his behalf and, aside from the name shown on the trainers listings, little has changed in the Coleman barn. As with the NYRA trainers, many of whom have begun reappearing at Yonkers, life goes on in the trainer game.
