My Heroes: NYS Racing and Wagering Board

On October 12, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board acted like heroes for all of us worried about the drugging of racehorses. Richard Dutrow Jr. was finally barred from New York's racetracks for 10 years. His name is well known in racing circles for almost 70 violations at 15 racetracks in 9 states. Consider this: Dutrow hid illegal workouts of his horses, used strong painkillers including butorphanol found in winnning horse Fastus Cactus, kept 3 syringes in his desk loaded with xyzaline, a muscle-relaxant. John Sabini, chairman of the Board, said: "His [Dutrow] repeated violations and disregard of the rules of racing has eroded confidence in the betting pubic and caused an embarrassment throughout the industry." It is hoped that Dutrow will not be licensed in other states to race. Those who drug horses to win are not only guilty of greed. Veterinarians believe that using both legal and illegal drugs on race horses is account partly for the fact that the United States has the world's highest rate of thoroughbred mortality.
But Dutrow has the right to counsel, and they managed a win when at a hearing, Judge Richard Giardino upheld the stay. If he hadn't, Dutrow would have been refused entrance to all New York tracks right away. One wonders how much the judge knows about the years on end of drugging horses and how many people have tried to get rid of this widespread horse abuse. With this stay, Dutrow can go on training horses until his appeal is heard; lawyers can delay this process easily. Dutrow said of Giardino's ruling, "I'm glad I still get to go to the barn. I got a very positive attitude here, no negativism at all. It's easy for me to get up in the morning and go to the barn. Everything else comes so naturally for me there." Unfortunately we all know what comes naturally. We congratulate the Board, and wish that Dutrow had been barred for life.

Can Breezes Hurt Two-Year Olds?

Horse people are taking another look at breezes and the danger they pose to two-year-olds who are forced to run them. Breezes, according to a new article in The Wall Street Journal by Dionne Searcy, are exercises that these young horses are put through at sales events to show off their ability. These sprints are 1/8 of a mile and "are typically run in less than 11 seconds." Sometimes, the running horses have undeveloped bones and muscles, which can't withstand the intense stress of a breeze, and thus cause injuries. And if you think these horses automatically turn out to be Derby winners, you're wrong. Sometimes they don't even win a race. Among other other concerned activists, PETA has taken up the cause, pursuing animal cruelty charges against two auction houses where two horses died in breezes; urging auction companies to let young horses just gallop or accelerate gradually, which is done at some European companies; requesting auction houses to bar horses younger than two-years-old from the exercise; and last, to postpone breezes if the the track is in bad condition or the temperature is too high.What do you think? My facebook page has the whole story.

Iroquois Steeplechase 2011

Readers, meet my friend Robert, pictured above with his daughter, Kimberly. He kindly consented to write his impressions of the wonderful Iroquois Steeplechase, held on May 14th. As a Jump Marshal, his is a unique view. Thanks, Robert!

Iroquois Steeplechase 2011

Saturday, May 14th, was the 70th running of the Iroquois Steeplechase at Nashville's Percy Warner Park.

My thirty-something daughter Kimberly and I were Jump Marshals, along with hundreds of other volunteers at the Iroquois, and Marilyn asked me if I would write a guest blog about my experience this year. I was happy to be asked and anxious to write this!

I have been to the Iroquois five times. Once as a spectator in General Admission on the hillside. Once with press credentials which allowed me to be all over the grounds observing everything. And three times as a volunteer Jump Marshal which keeps me near one jump for all the races, but very close to the horses, with nothing between them and me. I can feel them thunder by! I guess there is a bit of danger that adds to the thrill. This year, I invited my daughter from Knoxville to be a Jump Marshal along with me. Kim and I spent hundreds of hours together at horse shows in her teenage years. In fact she is the person who steered our family into "horse fever" or "horsin' around" in the early nineties. I was hoping we could recapture that feeling of being together at a horse show--and I have to say it worked. We plan to do it every year from now on.

The Iroquois is difficult to write about, because there is too much to write about. It's a horse race, it's a party, it's a fashion show, and it's Nashville on display. It's Nashville's Kentucky Derby (and always the Saturday after the Derby.) One of its prominent signatures is the many beautiful and crazy hats, which I believe was increased this year due to the influence of the Royal wedding. Here is a great link: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.211368625563831.60203.204660386234655. And for a lot of interesting history regarding the Iroquois since 1941, go here: http://www.iroquoissteeplechase.org/RaceInformation/AboutIroquoisSteeplechase.

What part do Jump Marshals play at the race? Marshals are part of the emergency response team who tend to the safety of each of the nine jumps. We are also the eyes and ears of the Emergency Response Director, in case anything happens. In the three years, I've been a Jump Marshal, there have been no problems on my assigned jump or at any of the jumps, although every year there has been a riderless horse, which means the jockey fell off his mount. I suggested to Kim because she was a new volunteer at the jump that she pretend that Classy (her beloved horse) is running in the next race, and do everything you can to ensure her safety. That means all divots filled, all debris picked up, no spectators on the track, and protection and response for any human or horse that possibly go down. The emergency response team at the Iroquois is second to none, with marshals, EMTs, physicians, veterinarians, ambulances, horse ambulances, and life flight helicopters at the ready on site.

I like the Iroquois races because I like horses and all things horse, and this event keeps the interest in horses alive in the minds of Middle Tennesseans. (I have a gnawing fear that the horse is slowly fading away in modern society.) The race also keeps Middle Tennessee economically alive. The last race alone had a $150,000 first prize with $450,000 in total prize money.

Of my five Iroquois experiences, the rain has been a factor (including the Nashville flood of 2010) in all but the first. There is something about the second Saturday in May that brings out the quirky weather. We should be due a nice sunny day next year. I'll see you there!