Giving it Away Now

Why, why, why, do all in horse racing that must know better skirt the real issue? Or don't they know what it is? Either nobody knows anything about their horses any more or everyone is dishonest. I'm disgusted. I was a new fan. I don't think I'm a fan anymore. I'm a fan of the horse racing of yesteryear. 

The very notion of "therapeutic medication" is the problem. Lasix was brought in to cover that fact up. Yes, only 5% or less of healthy, sound, horses bleed - but most horses running are not healthy and sound. That's why they require banamine and bute and all the other crap they are given to mask pain of injury or soreness. But the pain killers and other drugs can't mask the bleeding - because a SORE HORSE WILL BLEED. A sore horse on MEDS will bleed even more. Lasix stops the bleeding that comes from a sore horse running or the bleeding that comes from the NSAIDs and corticosteroids. But it won't stop a REAL bleeder from bleeding. That's why so many scientific studies say it is ineffective - because the real scientists are testing it on real bleeders. 

I'm so done. I've wasted so much time that could be my daughter's time with me discussing the problems in this sport. None of you really want change. If you did, you would talk about the real problems instead of just making yourselves look busy by not having idle hands. Click click click goes the keyboard but it won't stop the tick tick ticking of the clock that shows how the time is running out on this here sport of kingpins.  

A New FB Page for Senior Stars by Kyle M. Rothfus

https://www.facebook.com/senioranimalsrule

Thanks Kyle!!!!

Who Are They Helping, Really?

     I can't believe that I am still writing about this. I thought that the first post that I wrote about Star of Rome would be a learning experience for all involved. Boy, was I wrong.
     A long time ago, and friend of mine - who was an activist in a completely different area of life at the time - warned me that activists could be very shady. I was kind of incredulous when he said that. I believed that activists were justice-loving people who truly cared about others. He said, "Believe me Beth - they are not all out to do what's in the best interests of the victims involved. A lot of them are in this for their ego, whether they realize it or not." That statement is ringing in my ears now, loud and clear.
     Once again, noisy social media folks have gotten Star of Rome barred from racing. This time at Fort Erie Race Track. Star was entered in the first race on tomorrow's card - a $4,000 claimer. This is the type of race that Star has always run in. Star is not a stakes horse. Star never was a stakes horse. Star is a home bred and a pet. Star is the only horse that his owner, Mike Progno, has running. Yes, Star of Rome is 15, and it is a tribute to the loving care that his owner has given him that he still CAN race, and Star races because Star loves to run. Star, by the way, looks like he is about 6 years old. So why shouldn't Star enjoy the time he has left to do what he loves?
     Historically speaking, Star is NOT an anomaly. But in these times, when horses are pumped full of bone weakening drugs, and subjected to debilitating "two year old-in-training" breezing sales, racing at 15 is unheard of. Star never lived in that world. 
     I see it kind of like my dog and I. If my dog loved agility trials, and he was getting old but still loved it - and his vet said he was up to the task: I'd sure as hell keep going. I wouldn't care what anybody said. If that's what makes my faithful companion happy, that's what I'm going to enable him to do. If someone said to me, "Sorry, Huckleberry can't compete. People are complaining, Huck is too old." And poor Hucky was waiting by the door with his leash in his mouth - waiting to hop in the car to get to the competition - I'd be pissed as Hell. I'd rant and rave and go crazy on these people. But Mike Progno is a better person than I am.
     Mike is just confounded. He doesn't understand what these people are trying to do and why. He doesn't understand why those concerned wouldn't just ask around before calling the track to complain. He can't understand why Star isn't held up as a wonderful example of the potential longevity of the horse when well-cared for - and when not run at too early of an age. He doesn't understand why these people are going after him and his horse - a horse that rests all winter at their home in a big old grass filled paddock - a horse that is happy, sound and healthy - instead of going after cases of abuse.
     Mike thinks racing should be rid of drugs. Mike thinks horses should wait to race till the age of four. Mike thinks that horse slaughter wouldn't be such a problem if this happened, because re-homing a horse when necessary wouldn't be such an overwhelming commitment for people to make if horses retired in their teen-age years. He's right. It would also be easier to fill the race cards without allowing horses that shouldn't run to be entered out of sheer desperation. It would be easier to get rid of thugs that associations keep around because of the number of horses in their barns as well.
     Mike can't understand why these people are not concerned about horses entered every single day that are actually in a lot of trouble and most likely headed for an awful fate. There are the stakes horses that are dropped way down in class at a young age that one of the super-trainers or owners are looking to dump. There are also those horses that haven't won in ages, that used to be subject to the start eligibility rule, and that display no will to run. They are especially at risk. Then there are the horses that go from trainer to trainer and owner to owner, claim after claim after claim - having no stability nor quality of life at all.
     People that object to Star running, despite having a loving owner and a great life, seem to do so because they claim that there is an increased risk of breakdown in older horses. However, horses that have been run hard at 2 years old and pumped full of NSAIDs and Corticosteroids are at much higher risk than Star will ever be. Just follow this past year's Kentucky Derby trail and tell me what's riskier - the path that those young horses took or that of Star of Rome - with his 136 starts and nary an injury to be found.
     So why are these Twits (I know that it's "Tweeps," but I use "Twits" here for a reason) only looking at age, and targeting Star? Why are they calling for tracks to stop Star from running without so much as a phone call to inquire about Star first? Because it's easy. A quick thrill - a surge of pride at the cost of a click or a touch - and they can feel a false sense of accomplishment as they pat each other on the back. Investigating the circumstances further - as to class, ownership, trainer history, etc. would take more time and more work and involve a real commitment. It's also very safe. Everybody can agree that a horse is old and feel like a righteous warrior without burning bridges or offending colleagues. But saying "stop racing 2 year-olds!" would make one very unpopular among horsey folk. Naming names would involve a lot of risk. What has been happening to Star reminds me of a lynch-mob mentality - or the Salem witch burnings - this sometimes anonymous act of riling people up and persecuting innocent folk with the immense power of the crowd. Everyone involved should feel some degree of shame.
     Not to mention that every one of these Twits - and Facebookers too - will have blood on their hands come year-end. One track that I know of so far has instituted an age limit as a result of their harassment. More will soon - if they keep up their irresponsible behavior. Star of Rome will be fine, but many other older horses will not be so lucky. The result of instituting these new rules - what we call an "unintended consequence" in Public Policy and the reason why Policy is supposed to be well-researched - will be a backwards leap in regard to horse slaughter. The recent drop in the numbers - the result of much tireless hard work - will be erased. Nobody will claim an "old timer" anymore if they feel there is an absolute limit on their potential careers. Those old timers will end up at New Holland on a kill buyer's truck. The tracks will not be able to handle the increased numbers of retirees. They already have their hands full trying to re-home their present numbers. You twits will soon overwhelm them, and all progress made will be lost.
     Additionally, with a new upper limit in place, those on the fence about racing at two will be knocked right off of their perch, landing on the pro-racing two year-olds side. Injury after injury will follow, necessitating meds and more meds, and an ever-increasing number of break-downs. Unfortunately, this sport has thoroughly morphed into a business - that is the reality of it. If you limit earning potential, participants will maximize profit during the time they have to make it - and welfare of the horse will be pushed further down the list of priorities. They will laugh at the idea of putting off racing till three, let alone four. That will forever remain a pipe dream.
     All this is not to mention the basic flaw in this "oh those poor seniors" reasoning. If a horse is racing and winning at an advanced age it is to be applauded, as it has beaten the odds and ended up with a trainer and owner that provided care that was good enough to let this happen. This happens only with the small guys and gals in racing. Not the richie-rich super-trainers. The Twits and Bookers are extending the current trend of society and persecuting the working and middle class horsepeople - alone. They, like our present government, are leaving the rich and famous untouched - free to run the horses into the ground before they even reach the age at which Star of Rome began his career.

THINK BEFORE YOU RE-TWEET or SHARE. WHO ARE YOU HELPING, REALLY?

     Perhaps you should use your OWN brain, and some of your OWN time instead of furthering someone else's agenda. You never do know who could be behind those anonymous Twitter handles. Look at the racing record and race charts of the other horses running in the race in question.
     In what would have been Star's race this time - look at Old Blue Eyes, and At the Sagamore. See whose career you find more suspect and objectionable. Try to picture their fate versus Stars. Ask yourself who needs help? Who requires intervention? And whose business should you really stay the hell out of?
     Old Blue eyes ran third in a stakes race at Woodbine. At the Sagamore hasn't hit the board in his last three races. He has had three different owners and three different trainers in the last year.
     Be careful with your mouse and your smart phone, lest you impede upon someone's inalienable rights - such as liberty and the pursuit of happiness - when you are only trying to "help." No real help is quite that easy. A click or a touch to a screen are empty gestures. Unless you give of yourself you haven't given at all - it's only posturing - and you're not fooling anyone of note. And now, I hope, you can't fool yourself either. Maybe now we can get somewhere.   

Star of Rome, 15 Year Old Wonder, Pic

A happy Star of Rome, munching away contentedly. If all horses were treated as well as Mike Progno treats his, I think racing's popularity would explode. 

Answer to "Anonymous"

     Hi, Anonymous. I appreciate your comment very much. I don't appreciate your anger so much though, as evidenced by your "flaming," which refers to typing in all capital letters to indicate yelling as opposed to speaking. 

     Yes, I wish I had called Mike Progno before even mentioning Star of Rome, but I simply didn't think of it. My motivation was pure concern for the horse. However, I did behave in a very carefully measured manner when I mentioned Star of Rome. I did not call the track to complain or make demands that he not run. I did not comdemn his connections nor his running on social media. I simply asked questions. I left a message with the stewards saying "Hi, my name is Beth Wolpert, and I have a few questions I wanted to ask you about a horse named 'Star of Rome.' If you could give me a call back, I would really appreciate it. My number is: ----------. Thanks so much."

     When I mentioned "Star" on social media, I simply said - to one of the people I know that watches older horses and horses "at risk" - "Are you watching Star of Rome?" And then I said that Star had a work out and is 15 years old, and included the relevant details. I'm sure you can find the tweet if you search for it.

     Sometimes this person on Twitter will say that she/he is no longer watching this or that horse because it was found that the horse's connections love the horse very much, and the horse is happy, so he/she isn't considered "at risk." This is what I was hoping for. Unfortunately, that's not what happened. I have learned my lesson about the power of social media, and I am sorry, and have apologized to Mike Progno for any role I had in this situation - however minor and "measured."

     If I hadn't mentioned it on Twitter, there still would have been a bunch of calls to the track, because when I found the information on Facebook, there was already a heated conversation taking place, in which many participants had called the track to complain, and demand that Star not be allowed to race. I don't know how much my mentioning Star on Twitter affected or didn't affect the outcome, but the track has decided not to let him run.

     Still, however, after talking to Mike Progno, I thought it wasn't a just outcome, so I did all that I could, and will still do more, to try to help Mike, and get the track to reconsider their decision. I called them four times so far, and I spoke two 2 individuals and received a voice mail from Phil Palermo, the racing director. Unfortunately, he said that the decision would not be changed. But he also said that the decision was based on the fact that they can't afford to take the risk of running a 15 year old horse. Whether or not that is the whole story, I don't know. But seeing as the track doesn't have an age limit, and that the track veterinarian approved Star to run, I think that Mike has a good case to appeal the decision to not let Star race, and perhaps they can come to some sort of an agreement regarding the conditions under which Star can, in fact, run - or something like that. 

     I also posted what I learned from Mike all over social media, on my blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter. So far, 2 individuals have told me that they are calling the track in support of Star running, if vet-approved, as well. I do believe that horses are individuals. I do believe that it is not age that should determine eligibility, but soundness and a demonstrated desire to run. I think reforms are needed in the areas of Lasix, NSAID use & all medication use, age at which horses begin to train & race, whip use, and others. I think that we should focus on banning trainers with multiple violations, going forward, and not horses that are sound and that desire to run - simply based on their age. I hope that something good can come of this in the long run. 

Sincerely,

Beth

The Most Difficult Shade is Gray

     I have absolutely no time to write this, so please excuse the bad writing and mistakes. I hope I remember everything I want to say, but I'm just writing "on the fly" here. I think that people who want to help, want to help as much as possible. And it is easier to do more helping, if there is a quick way to do things. If there are hard and fast rules. If there is right and wrong and black and white. But in the case of Star of Rome, as is the case often in life - it's a complex shade of gray.
     I wanted to help. I saw on Facebook that there was a 15 year old horse at finger lakes that had a workout. I've been told that the "claiming game" can be a dark place for a horse. I know good people that keep their eyes on the older horses because sometimes they shouldn't be running. I shared the information on Twitter and well intentioned people took action. But I realize now that I acted rashly. And I don't know if the ramifications can be undone.
     The owner of Star of Rome is Mike Progno. I spoke to him at length. He is owner, breeder, and trainer of Star of Rome, and he says that Star of Rome loves to race. At first I didn't believe him. I saw, on Equibase, how often Star of Rome ran. I saw that he ran on Lasix. I thought that for sure this guy was "bad." I now believe I was wrong.
     Mike Progno is a horseman that does things the old way. He said that he doesn't believe in running horses until they are four years old. He says that not running as a two or three year old is the reason for Star of Rome's longevity, but because of the way things are done nowadays, healthy Star of Rome seems like a freak. He says that in the old days, you'd see teenage horses run often. He told me the names of some horses from long ago so that I could look them up and check it out online. Unfortunately, I couldn't jot the names down as I was driving, and even if I could - I couldn't hear too well on my hands free device. 
     Mike thinks that contrary to the reaction of horror that we all had to the idea of a 15 year old running, that Star of Rome should be held up as an example of racing done right. He said that if horses weren't pumped full of drugs and put into training at two, that there would be many more like "Star," and he thinks that fewer horses would be shipped off to slaughter as well. I asked Mike about the Lasix. I said "Lasix is a drug - what about that?" I asked, "What about the fact that it drains a horse, and doesn't allow them to race often - safely?" Mike said that Star of Rome has never bled, and that he hates Lasix, and wishes that it didn't exist. He said that when Lasix came out, the horsemen were told that it was good for the horses and would prevent the dreaded bleeding. He said that they all used it, but that Star has only ever been on 3 CCs - the minimum recommended dose. Other good horseman that I know to be morally sound have been duped into the Lasix culture as well. Even the best trainers at the top of racing - the cleanest and most revered - use it, as it has become a fact of the racing life (Graham Motion, Cristophe Clement). I believed Glenn Thompson when he said that he would love to not use Lasix, and he was telling the truth. He's isn't using Lasix with his two year olds, and found that if no NSAIDS were given in the days prior to breezing, they in fact didn't bleed. I believe that Mike Progno doesn't want to use Lasix as well, and would be happy to see it taken away. He said that most trainers take away the water after giving Lasix, because they want the horse to lose the water weight to aid Lasix's performance enhancing effects. Mike says he leaves the water with the horse, to minimize any dehydration and its effects.
      I asked Mike why he raced Star so often. He said that the horse dictates when he runs. He says that usually it's every 10 days, but sometimes longer and sometimes shorter in between. He said that Star doesn't like to race on ground that is semi-frozen in the Winter, and that Star gets that time off every year. When off, Star lives in an big open paddock/pasture, and grazes at will. He said that Star gets crazy when he wants to race and starts tearing away up and down the paddock fence, "chomping at the bit," so to speak. He said that between races, Star doesn't train much at all - just a little jog here and there, but mostly - he rests. He said that his filly doesn't like to race as often & usually has a month in between.
     I asked him why Star runs in claiming races. I asked if he was afraid he would lose him that way. He said that he used to be, so he ran Star in allowance races, but that now that he is older, he doesn't think that anyone will want to claim him.  He also said that everybody knows him there - and knows that Star is his "pet." He said that he is afraid that people who think Star should retire might claim him. He said that would be bad for Star - that Star loves him, and even has a girlfriend (the filly) at home, and just doesn't want to retire - yet.
     Finally, I asked him what he would do if Star isn't allowed to race again - what would happen to him then? He said, "Well, it would really stink, because Star would be very unhappy, but he'd just  come home with me." He sent me the pictures and the videos - like he said he would. He seemed to be genuine. I just want to relay the information and let you all judge for yourself: Black and white? Or gray? Are horses all individuals or all cut from the same cloth? Should they be treated based on the reality they present? Or, should hard and fast rules apply to each and every one?
     In my opinion, the hard and fast rules should be those that say: Hay, oats and water only. To me, that's black and white. In other areas, I have to say - there are many shades of gray.

I Wish I Was a Witch...Or at Least a Forbidden Prince

     The ivory tower libraries seem impregnable. It's as if they're Rapunzel's towers - without windows, and without doors. If Rapunzel doesn't know you, there's a zero percent chance that she will even think of letting down that hair.
     Maybe university libraries should just stop posting jobs altogether, because it really is kind of unfair. Maybe even illegal - I mean, if you think about it - it's truly a form of false advertising. Unlike a false claim about a weight loss pill, however, it doesn't just leave you uncomfortable in a bikini. This type of predation has serious life consequences - and not just for the applicant - but for entire families. It impedes family health and quality of life.
     Nobody that I know from library school has found a tenure track, faculty status, full-time, academic librarian position. Nobody. Yet everyone is trying, and has not only received their M.L.S, but also an additional master's degree as well. This is what we were told we needed to succeed, and like good little robots we went out and got it. Yet, we are fighting each other over clerical-level jobs. We are posting like mad dogs on social media. Our in-boxes overflow with auto-emails from job-seeker web sites - and hardly anything they ever send will match our desires, nor do they meet our needs. More reliable are the endless list-serve messages that flood each of our Gmail accounts. Many potential jobs are out of state, and perhaps there's a lower cost of living there. But there's also a lack of the roots that keep us strong, and a dearth of quality, public education that we expect to provide for our kids. Some of us simply can not take that leap.  
     It has actually gotten so bad, that even the list-servs from our Alma maters have stooped to posting revolting announcements of "internships," asking for an intern to create entire digital collections, or to establish workflows for an inter-library loan system, or the like. Taking a cue from the business world, they pretend not to know that an intern is supposed to be mentored, and play the role of the apprentice, and that the intern is not meant to provide high level services. These services require the advanced education that we have all paid for - with our money, and our sweat, with overwhelming amounts of stress, and with frequent tears. The "intern" is not supposed to provide these services for free. This is a betrayal that feels awfully low, and infuriating, and sad. But, like the powerless, quixotic fools we have become, we carry on with our fruitless search. We have no other choice. I wonder if those within the tower walls do....
   
Rapunzel...Rapunzel...let down your hair to me!

Another Thinker! I Like It!!

     The other day I posted Glenn Thompson's uniquely insightful ideas on how to bring about real reform and change in the thoroughbred racing industry. Today I have had the pleasure of being "friended" by yet another thoughtful and reform-minded racing fan. Here is a link to Walt Gekko's ideas about phasing out the use of Lasix over 5 years until the goal of a complete ban is achieved. After the link I will post my response to him that I just posted (more or less) on Facebook as well (And then his response to that, and then my response to him, etc.etc.etc. ;o).

http://www.toosmarttofail.com/forums/showthread.php?61

     Hi! Thank you! That is great. So glad to hear other thoughts on this. I have a few concerns, but they are not at all antithetical to your idea. I'd like some infrastructure to be in place that will prevent the bleeders from going to slaughter, if they are in fact as numerous as many in the industry say that they are. It's hard to know what would prove to be true...either way there is a huge problem - nationwide - with finding homes for unwanted equines. However big or small the number of bleeders turns out to be, it could only be a good thing to have something concrete to ensure that the non-racing thoroughbred and other unwanted horses will have a place in our society. 

     Every time there is an awful shooting we hear about this mental health care crisis that we have. Yet nobody wants to leave Obamacare alone and in place, so where exactly is the mental health care solution going to come from? Well, I think a big chunk of it could come from an as yet mostly-untapped source of healing: equine assisted therapy. I think we should set up partially state-subsidized, and partially privately subsidized facilities, where low cost equine assisted therapy can be provided to those who are suffering from ill mental health. During my last semester of graduate school I found numerous studies showing significant improvements among various afflicted populations after participating in equine assisted therapy. I'll have to dig them up.

     These facilities would also provide unwanted thoroughbreds and "other"-breds with a new vocation - one that is not limited by the length of time that they are able to perform physical feats at a particular level. It would provide them a home where they would be much appreciated, while fulfilling a social need and promoting a social good. What do you think? 

     I also wonder if your plan could incorporate a schedule for incrementally decreasing the allowable dose of Lasix as well, so that perhaps the bleeders would have a greater chance of success in the gradual absence of Lasix as their bodies are able to adjust. I do think that the key to solving racing's problems lies in wiping out this drug culture - and it is perpetuated by Lasix's ability to mask other drugs while enhancing the thoroughbred's performance. Perhaps if there are any good racing vets left, they can do research into natural substances that are free of side effects, that can help mild bleeders during this phase out as well. Who knows. 

     All I know is we have to try to get this reform through somehow, because the various powers that be will always prefer the status quo. They want to keep their bread buttered nice and thick - as it has been for such a very long time.

Walt responded: 

     My plan Beth is to have it so the overwhelming majority of the horses who have been racing on lasix would still be able to until their careers end.  The main purpose is that LATER generations would not be racing on it at all in most cases.  Keep in mind, we did not race on Lasix for many years and horses were much more robust as a whole back then.  I used to be PRO-Lasix until the last several years, especially when I found out one of the reasons horses don't race as much and in my view are "babied" too much (to where that causes more injuries the same way pitchers being "babied" in baseball seems to cause more injuries to them) is that Lasix takes so much out of a horse that it takes much more time to recover from Lasix than racing without it.

     Also, there is public perception that Lasix masks other drugs, which is a secondary reason it needs to be phased out.

Now me again:

     Good stuff, right? :o)

Well, They're Both Here...Now What?

     These are what I have worked myself to the bone to obtain over the past 5 years or so. My dream job did, in fact, open up. I have applied. I've heard nothing so far, but I'm hopeful. Just putting that out there. Come on, Karma - I believe in you!

Amidst the Sport of Dead Kings: A Prince Lives

The following is an unanswered letter, written by Glenn Thompson, Horse Trainer, Author, and Champion of Horses and Horse Racing Reform, to  Chris Kay of the NYRA. 

What a freaking shame. 

Read this letter, and then imagine how pathetically impotent the PETA video could have been, if Kay had paid any attention, and taken action to implement Thompson's ideas. Imagine how much better the sport would have been (and still could be) in just a few years. Imagine how many tragedies would have been (and could be) avoided on the track, if (once) drug free horses are allowed to heal - instead of racing on numbed but injured, ever more fragile legs. The rest of this post is for Thompson's visionary words: 

Answer to PETA and Racing Begins to Heal
This was a letter that I wrote to the top man at New York Racing Association Chris Kay. Sadly he did not respond.

Subject: Nice to meet you yesterday

Good Morning Chris,

I know you are busy and want to thank you for taking the time to meet with me yesterday. I will get into the marketing ideas at the end of this letter but want to start with what I feel could be a great legacy for you in racing. The public has lost our trust and between the drug violations and the horses losing their lives on the track it is going to take someone special to get it back. I feel that someone could be you but it will be risky and you are going to have to believe in the plan 100%. If you pull this off, you will be the most respected man in horseracing in 2014. The plan will be putting the horses first, which is where they should have always been and trying to tackle the integrity issues at the same time. 

1. Have NYRA announce that they are going to fund a Horsemanship Series. Have one or two races per day with enhanced purses that will be drug free. Along with the enhanced purses have a nice trainer bonus for each horse entered to make sure you have maximum participation. Have a point system for each race and at the end of the meet have large bonuses for the top five leading owners and trainers in the series. Make a big deal about this while it is going on and give the owners and trainers a lot of praise for participating in the series. Announce that each horse is going to be scoped after the race and while your horseman's series is going on you will be conducting the most important experiment on racing and bleeding that has been done in the last 25 years. The trainers and vets don't actually know how good or bad the bleeding is without the other prerace drugs that are given on a regular basis. This will be a great experiment that the whole racing world will be very eager to hear the results of. You will be answering questions that every owner, trainer, breeder and vet want answered. There will be complications with the Racing Commission, putting horses back on Lasix if they bleed while racing in the series ect. but these complications are worth dealing with to get this done. This will give the public some hope that racing is trying to do the right thing and I feel you will get a lot of support with this once announced. 

2. Announce that the NYRA is going to change the Whip Rule to follow the way they do things in Europe. This will actually spice up racing and add something new and exciting to a sport that desperately needs a new twist. It will also appeal a great deal to the public and the rescue and animal rights people. There is not much worse that watching a horse be beaten all the way down the stretch and I don't feel our horses, fans or their children should ever be subject to watching this. Changing the rule will also put more strategy in racing and make it more exciting for our fans. It will be something New!! The racing world is saying that the racing overseas is much stronger in many different aspects and I have to say when it comes to the drugs, percentage of breakdowns, how they deal with cheaters and the whip rule, they are correct. We need to make dramatic changes to turn things around and get our sport back on track. You could combine the whip rule with the drug free races so it would be a gradual thing and see how the public responds. I think the two would go very well together and you will get a great response.

3. Announce that the NYRA is going to put video surveillance equipment up in every barn. When I wrote my book, I made a claim that 85% of trainers were giving their horses illegal drugs on race day. I did not make this claim lightly and feel the number was probably low. I testified before congress which you can see at the bottom ofwww.sportofkingsbook.com and after all was said and done, not one trainer or vet challenged my 85% number; they knew it was true. Sadly over the years cheating has been the standard and the culture. Our last two leading trainers at Monmouth Park are currently serving suspensions for drug violations. Neither one of them is going to be allowed to race at Tampa Bay thru the year 2014. The suspensions are just 2 months but Tampa Bay has decided to take a well needed step and not allow them to race there. I think if you announced that NYRA was also going to follow Tamp Bay and deny their entries as well that you would get a lot of praise and the other tracks in the country would fall in line one after the other. We need to take a strong stance on cheating to get the bettors confidence back. A lot of the ones that I have spoken with are sick of seeing what is going on and are disheartened with the sport. If we make a powerful stance against the cheating, we will get them back. The video surveillance is used in about everything in America but racing. I don't understand this but do know that veterinarians are very scared of cameras and you will stop a great deal of the cheating if you install them.

4. Do anything you can to help the retired horse racing community! Have benefits, throw parties and try to come up with new ways to raise money for them. We need to do everything we can to show we care for the horses after they retire. The aftercare programs can be great press for racing if we get them back on our side. You could also tie this in with 1 and 2. The leading owner and trainer could along with their bonus get a nice check for the horse rescue of their choice. This would generate a buzz from the horse rescues and get a lot of very positive press.

I am going to save some of the marketing ideas for another letter but do feel the ideas above are far better PR for racing than any marketing plan!!. I do want you to know that I am not loved in the racing world and seen as a rogue and a troublemaker. I am ok with this because in my heart, I know that I am doing the right thing by the horses and the sport. If you look at the reviews for the book at the Amazon and Smashwords sites you will see how the racing public feel about me and it is very positive. My book is the 2nd top rated racing book at Amazon and the reviews are amazing. I honestly feel if you work hard on the ideas above, that for a short time there might be a couple of bumps in the road but after that, your reviews will be amazing and you will be what this sport has needed for years!! You might be the only man in the country that can pull this off and I hope and pray that you are up to the task and like the ideas. They are Bold! I look forward to hearing from you and your thoughts or questions about the ideas and once again, Thank You very much for your time!! 

Best, Glenn

Glenn - we thank you. 

PETA and the Wolves

     I'm afraid that in response to the recent video by PETA, the horse industry will pull yet another fast one on an unknowing public, and support a self-imposed "ban on race day medication" rather than support the passage of the Interstate Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2013, which is stalled in congress, just like anything else that might bring real change to the status-quo. 

     The self-imposed ban will include a long list of banned drugs - but Lasix won't be on it. In effect, a ban such as that is no ban at all. Lasix is the key to the fraud because it masks the banned drugs - while also enhancing performance. If anyone points out this glaring omission (which is unlikely, because not many people really know anything about horseracing these days) the industry groups will start in with the "bleeding" crap. They have sponsored "scientific studies" supporting their claim and their reasoning will appear bullet-proof. 

     This excuse, of course, is a giant farce. A fraction of thoroughbred race horses are bleeders, and bleeders shouldn't race at all. They should not be given medication that then allows them to race despite their natural physical inability to do so without courting disaster. These horses should go into other disciplines, like eventing, or be used as therapy horses. But that's another story for another day.

     Lasix is a diuretic that depletes the horse of electrolytes and minerals. This, in turn, weakens the bones and thus contributes to breakdowns. Diuretic abuse weakens the entire horse as well, just as it would a person, and has an array of negative health consequences. In such a fragile, or delicately balanced, animal as the thoroughbred - changes in health often affect the hooves. Every horse person has heard the axiom "no foot, no horse." When "feet" are bad, if the horse is not rested adequately and treated carefully, laminitis and colic are just around the corner. These are killers of a great many champion horses.

    Diuretics also cause the heart to race and the horse feels nervous and panicky. The same is true for humans. When a horse panics getting into the gate, or inside the gate, it is dangerous for the horse, the jockey, and all the handlers. The tachycardia can also lead to heart attacks and death - especially with strenuous exercise such as racing. 

     In addition, horses are already prone to electrolyte loss, which is why they should have salt licks freely available to them at all times. Lasix does the opposite of what a salt lick is for, and to an exponentially higher degree. Salt-licks are meant to maintain the horse's electrolyte balance, and Lasix devastates it completely.

     The horse loses an enormous amount of weight every time Lasix is administered. But that's what the bad guys like, because a light & fast horse can win. In addition, the Lasix masks the use of the other substances, which can also help a horse to win. Winning means everything in racing - not because of the meaning of the sporting achievement, but because of the money involved. Short term financial gains outweigh the long term health of the horse. Despite the fact that it is torturous to the horse mentally, and detrimental to the horse physically, Lasix is like manna from heaven (or hell) to these trainers because it comes with this bleeding excuse. How clever. How perfect to scare state legislatures with - "but if we stop the Lasix - they'll all bleed! Then nobody will come to the track and you won't get your share of our revenues!" It's a bogeyman that pseudo-horsemen have scared every racetracker with and greedy vets like Harthill and Hunt have created, and it's a death sentence for the horses who become garbage to these monsters anyway, once their usefulness at the track has come to an end. It takes very clever men & women to get into vet school, but it looks like they need character exams as well.

     Isn't it strange, though, how the Middle Easterners and the Irish buy our horses, run them in their countries without Lasix, and nobody bleeds? Isn't it odd how Animal Kingdom was able to win the World Cup without Lasix and without any bleeding as well? A 10 million dollar purse AND a healthy horse to boot - but this requires REAL horse training skills, such as those H. Graham Motion and a select group of others do posess. The superstar factory trainers like Asmussen & Baffert do not have such ability and skill, and neither do the minions they employ. And these people are scared of being out of a job. 

     Well, I pray with all my heart that their time has finally come and racing can return to a state of rarified skill & sportsmanship, and appreciation for the thoroughbred's beauty. The cheaters can go run a different kind of Ponzi scheme - one without the involvement of innocent animals.

Waterlemons

     Life can be a real kick in the head sometimes. I'll work so hard at something and be so stringent in self discipline, and yet - it will all fall apart or amount to nothing. Lately I've found that if, in these moments, I refuse to collapse...if I remain just as tough as I had been...if I force myself to look around instead of down...if I skip the high tailing it in retreat, and if I reject that dark, dank, despairing place of selfish isolation - I find that there is aid - and also "ade" to be made from even the most sour & bitter of lemons. Even when they are dealt with a low blow, and even when they come from a hard-losing hand.  

     I make ade from a memories, and happy, lucky stories, and by listening to people at times when I want to block everyone out. I always find aid when I give it to other people - especially during the times I feel least able to help. When I leap and I manage to land beyond myself, I find ade flowing by the gallon - from sources undiscovered but now found. They are sublime. 

     When my daughter was tiny she would mix up certain words, like tomato and potato, and others of like kinds. My favorite was a brand new fruit she had started growing - along those beautiful little vines in her mind. 

     At the diner, when they serve water there's usually a lemon perched on the glass. She didn't like anything touching her precious water and would often protest to me with the waitress already in mid-pour, pleading "no water lemon no water lemon" and if she spoke sentences yet, I guess she'd continue with the words "on mine." 

     One day when she was a little older, we were in the supermarket and she requested we buy a strange fruit. "Can we get a water lemon mommy?" "Sure, but why?" I had replied, figuring she meant the water lemon from the diner. "You hate water with lemon, baby - why do you want me to buy it?" Her face scrunched up and I saw that a small little light went on, but she asked again, in a voice that was a little less sure. This time she pointed as she said the words a little closer together, "Waterlemon, mommy?" So I turned, and looked, and recognized the verbal mismatch she had made in her brain.

     "Oh! Watermelon! You mean you want a watermelon!" I exclaimed, as I broke into a big smile. The excitement bloomed nearly instantly in her eyes, and her facial expression so quickly matched mine - it was the absolute pinnacle of the beauty of young life - brand new, and just learning this world. 

     "Ya!" she said. "Waterlemon!" Which, for some reason, I found hilarious, and erupted into my maniacally loud laugh. Now, this turned a few heads in that staid environment, among the mid-day supermarket clientele. These were mostly slow-moving retirees who shop with coupons, and always according to a strict routine. This reaction, of course, she loved to no end. "Waterlemon!" She exclaimed louder, and then repeatedly, with ever-more enthusiasm & pride. "Waterlemon! Waterlemon! WATERLEMON!" Naturally, this prompted more cackles from me, and more stares from the slow-moving oldies. And this made her laugh, and bubble and spurt, among her exclamations of this imaginary fruit's name. Eventually I lost my breath and she couldn't stop baby-giggling at this cacophonous spectacle of impossibly loud laughter, chortles, snorts, and outraged senior citizens. 

     I don't remember how we got out of that giggle-fest, but I thought of the misnomer today and smiled. Waterlemonade was my aid today, amongst others. Here's hoping we all make a ton of that stuff.