“But we love our horses….”

Posted by noonante on November 18, 2019
Posted in: Horse Racing, Political/Social commentary, Politics, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

We are approaching the completion of a full year of debate, concern and apprehension over the future of racing in the United States sparked by the fatalities at Santa Anita in the early part of 2019.  A common trope among industry insiders to deflect public skepticism is that “we love our horses.”  As with any generality, there are elements of truth in that sentiment but, as with any generality, it is not universally true.

Recent developments from New York will cause outside observers to question that commitment when top level figures in the sport do not even treat humans with respect and dignity  —  let alone meet legal obligations.  The state’s Department of Labor has announced that it recovered almost $1 million in “stolen wages, damages and penalties” from, among others,  trainers Chad Brown, Kiaran McLaughlin, Linda Rice and Jimmy Jerkens.

Among the allegations against Brown is that he violated federal and state laws by “knowingly” charging workers from other countries who need special visas $1,500 in cash per worker.  It is not Brown’s first brush with wage or immigration violations.  It was announced during the summer that the United States had reached a settlement in which he agreed to pay $1.6 million in lost wages, penalties and immigration violations.

Brown, of course, is one of the top trainers in the United States.  He has won almost $30 million in purses this year alone, and led the nation the past two years with purse winnings of $27.5 million and $26.2 million.  In the same summer he was assessed that $1.5 million by the United States, he was nonetheless able to scrape together enough coin to pay $1.5 million for a premier property in Saratoga that borders the track.  He could walk to work if he decides to live there.

Chad Brown house-9294

Below is where stable hands live while at Saratoga.  They can also walk to work since they live in the stable area.

Oklahoma dorm room-8617

In fairness to the New York Racing Association, they have done a great job in recent years to upgrade the dormitory facilities such as the one depicted above.

Just to be clear:  the almost $90 million in purses that Brown’s horses have earned in the past three years is not what is used to pay his employees.  That is the amount that his owners and Brown get over their expenses.  Brown’s owners pay a daily rate that goes to the employees, so they also are benefitting from Brown’s cheating or   —  to use New York’s language  —  stealing from the workers.

The New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association has released a statement in which they assert that “no small business is perfectly run” and are subject to an array of “confusing” rules and a “challenging timekeeping environment.”  It is an organization that represents trainers and owners in New York.

Their argument is ludicrous.  Chad Brown is not a “small businessman” in any sense of the word.  On a sunny day in August, I stood at Saratoga’s Oklahoma training track and counted 16 of Brown’s horses coming out for a workout.  That’s 16 exercise riders on horses in what are typically multiple sets during morning training.  I would be willing to wager that the vast majority of New York’s trainers do not have 16 horses, let alone have the money to pay that number of exercise riders for a multiple sets.

If someone with hundreds of million dollars in revenue cannot keep track of his employees, he or she is not going to survive for long.  As much as his competitors may hope otherwise, Brown is not going anywhere soon  —  unless it is to the winner’s circle.  Brown may simply view law violations as a cost of business after you get caught.

And it is those competitors  –  many of whom are legitimately running small businesses, who are going out of business because they cannot compete with the behemoths such as Brown and the other “super-trainers.”  One of those super-trainers is Steve Asmussen.  He has been found liable for his third violation of cheating his workers, even though he has been running second to Brown in purse earnings in recent years, having won purses totaling over $70 million in the last three years.

If NYTHA is truly concerned about the small trainers, they should welcome the crackdown on the cheats and frauds in the business.

Just as important, however, is that it is yet another black eye for a sport that desperately needs positive attention.  Much has been made of NHL hockey star Erik Johnson’s paying the medical bills to save one of his horses who recently broke down at Del Mar.  His efforts are, of course, commendable, but the fact that the racing media views it as noteworthy means that it is not typical.

What would be even more newsworthy would be if Chad Brown’s or Steve Asmussen’s owners publicly denounced either for not treating their human employees in accordance with the law, and with respect and dignity.  We are speaking of businessmen who have made enough money that they can spend millions on horses that either Brown or Asmussen would agree to train.  Regrettably, they may not be interested in paying more on their daily rate to ensure fair treatment of those who care for the horses.

But, at least for now, can we stop pretending that powerful figures in racing love their horses when they do not have the same attitude for our fellow humans?

 

 

Will New York be next in the spotlight?

Posted by noonante on October 3, 2019
Posted in: Horse Racing, Political/Social commentary, Politics. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

“As the racing world holds its collective breath, Santa Anita opened its fall meet  –  leading to the Breeders’ Cup  –  on Friday.  The one certainty is that any equine fatality will become a national media story.  If there is a second, the calls for outlawing the sport will increase.”  I wrote that Saturday morning.  Saturday afternoon, Santa Anita experienced its first racing fatality and the second since training resumed.

Santa Anita is in the national spotlight because there have now been 32 fatalities on its tracks this year, both in racing and training.  While there are several tracks in the state, Del Mar, the only other one that gets national attention, just concluded its recent meet with no deaths.

New York has four thoroughbred tracks, with Saratoga and Belmont being the most prominent.  New York has so far escaped the level of scrutiny that makes for the daily drama at Santa Anita. It is not, however, because the level of fatalities at New York’s tracks is not in the same ballpark.

If we only look at Saratoga and Belmont, there have been 36 total fatalities this year, including both racing and training.  Aqueduct, which races for the six months not covered by that pair, has had four.  Finger Lakes, a track not run by the New York Racing Association, has had 10.

I am not using these numbers to suggest that there is some sort of meaningful comparison that can be made between safety in California and New York.  There are numerous variables that must be considered in making any conclusions based strictly on numbers.  And California still has not stated publicly if it has determined the reason for the spike in fatalities earlier this year.

My point is that there is another high-profile racing jurisdiction that may have dodged the bullet of national scrutiny, but that it is living on borrowed time.   And that borrowed time may also be true for the racing industry as well.

The Stronach Group that runs California has undertaken a number of reforms to address the crisis.  Among the more controversial steps have been restrictions on the use of the whip and a gradual phase-out of the race-day medication Lasix.  It has also increased significantly pre-race veterinary examination protocols and is now requiring advance notice of morning works and pre-work veterinary reviews.  California’s regulatory body, the Horse Racing Board (CHRB), has been extensively involved in discussing and approving safety iniitatives.

While The Stronach Group and the CHRB are addressing both safety concerns and the increasingly negative perception of racing with imaginative and forward looking steps, the same cannot be said of its counterparts in New York.  NYRA is the parallel of The Stronach Group and the New York State Gaming Commission is the regulatory body akin to the CHRB overseeing horse racing.

New York experienced its own high-profile crisis with equine fatalities in the early part of 2012 at Aqueduct Racetrack.  Governor Andrew Cuomo directed an investigation by a panel of experts who came up with a 100-page Report looking at possible causes and recommendations for improvement.

One of the recommendations was that the regulatory agency “should expand its recently enacted out-of-competition testing rule” to include additional medications.  It is a recommendation Governor Cuomo specifically cited when he directed the regulatory agency to adopt it.  (Out-of-competition testing is not to be confused with the standard post-race drug testing that is commonplace.)

Out-of-Competition Testing (OCT) is universally accepted as a necessary component of any program to detect cheating in sports.  It is a tool used by the United States Anti-Doping Agency to catch cheats in cycling and track and field, and by the major team sport leagues in America.  Even the Ultimate Fighting Championship has an effective program.  Dr. Rick Arthur, the Equine Medical Director for the state of California, has said that without an out-of-competition testing program with teeth, you won’t have a real anti-doping program.

So how is New York doing?  I have been submitting public records requests for New York data going back to January 1, 2014.  More than five and one-half years later, New York has never identified a thoroughbred horse that tested positive in an out-of-competition test.  Never.

That may be because they do not conduct the unannounced surprise testing that is an essential component of an effective program.  New York’s Gaming Commission instead announces they will be conducting OCT on horses in the days before a Grade I stake worth a million dollars.  The lone exception to this was a low-profile trainer who had some negative media attention before the horses in his barn were tested.  (The treatment of low-profile trainers in contrast to the “super trainers” is a subject for another article.)

There is another matter that Governor Cuomo directed his regulatory agency to implement from the 2012 Task Force Report.  That would be a regulation governing the purse value in claiming races, or the “purse-to-price ratio” that I have written about several times.  Dr. Scott Palmer, DVM, who chaired the Task Force and is now New York’s Equine Medical Director, said:

 … there’s some very good research that’s shown that there is an increased amount of risk of catastrophic injury for horses in claiming races where the purse to price ratio is greater than 1.8 to one.  This is a very sound piece of scientific information …”

(The ratio compares the purse value to the claiming price.  A 1.8 ratio means that the purse cannot exceed $36,000 in a $20,000 claiming race,).

Palmer’s comment was made in a meeting of the Gaming Commission that caused me to wonder if I was hearing things correctly.  Because he was advocating for increasing the ratio over its then-level of 2.0.  So at a time when the nation’s public attention to racing was largely concerned with fatalities at Santa Anita, we had New York’s Equine Medical Director proposing a rule change contrary to that of his own Task Force (and the Governor’s explicit directive) that would lessen safety protections for horses and jockeys.

Over a five-week period beginning in August, three of the fatalities from racing at Saratoga and Belmont came where the purse-to-claim ratio exceeded Palmer’s standard of 1.8.

One can certainly argue that increasing the purse in a claiming race is not going to cause a catastrophic injury.  One can similarly argue that Lasix was not the cause of the fatalities at Santa Anita.  What would seem to be inarguable, however, is that horse racing has a serious public perception problem, and that the use of race-day medication and the Palmer-backed change is not going to convince a skeptical public that racing is doing everything it can to protect horses and jockeys.

While California has The Stronach Group and the CHRB acutely aware of the need for public support, it also has a Governor and a United States Senator who have already made public comments raising a possibility that horse racing could be abolished.  If New York’s racing leaders think Governor Cuomo will stand with them if the state begins to experience a similar level of controversy, it time for them to stop deluding themselves.

The Thoroughbred Daily News had a recent feature in which it asked prominent racing insiders to comment on a controversial proposal by The Jockey Club to regulate breeding.  A common thread of many responses was that the industry had more important issues, implicitly saying that the sport could only focus on one matter at a time.  Much to my delight, TDN is now asking “what would you do to improve the sport?”

The first respondent identified free past performance data as his top priority.  That’s right.  An industry is confronting a legitimate existential crisis and the most important matter is getting free PP’s into the hands of those who don’t want to spend $4 to get a racing card from The Daily Racing Form.

This is a level of obtuseness that may be the second biggest threat to racing’s survival.  The national racing organizations  –  with the notable exception of The Jockey Club  –  are bereft of ideas and are instead clinging desperately to maintain the status quo, even though that status quo has seen constantly declining metrics on the sport’s perception.

One such group, the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, recently put out a statement advocating the retention of Lasix on race day.  Then there is the Association of Racing Commissioners International  –  possibly in an effort to emphasize their cluelessness  – said that if the horse people who cared so much about their horses could not use Lasix, they would start injecting formaldehyde.  Seriously.

New York could join with California and start implementing safety-oriented steps  –  I would start with a vigorous program of Out-of-Competition Testing.  I candidly doubt that New York will take any meaningful actions.  It is yet another reason that those concerned about the future of the sport should push for adoption of the Horse Racing Integrity Act in the United States Congress.

 

 

 

 

California made right call on Justify’s drug positive

Posted by noonante on September 19, 2019
Posted in: Horse Racing, Political/Social commentary. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Horse racing faces yet another major crisis.  Joe Drape of The New York Times reported that 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify tested positive for a prohibited drug after the Santa Anita Derby.  He needed a first or second in that race just to be eligible to run in the Kentucky Derby.  Had he been disqualified in California, he would not have become the 13th horse to win the Triple Crown.

There has been considerable media coverage of this event since the only racing news that gets considerable coverage is when it is negative.  Coming on the heels of the 30 fatalities that occurred at Santa Anita early this year, it is  –  to state the obvious  –  not what racing needs.  It is also, however, an overblown event in which too many in the media are eager to portray it as a scandal.

Justify’s post-race test showed traces of scopolamine.  It is found in the drug Buscopan, but also in jimson weed, a plant that can appear in straw and hay and, thus, represents a possible source of environmental contamination that would appear in a horse’s blood or urine.  When trainer Bob Baffert was notified of the positive, he requested that a split sample be tested.  This is standard practice for drug positives and serves as a check on the original finding.  That sample also came back positive.

Positive findings are reviewed by the California Horse Racing Board, that state’s regulatory body overseeing horse racing.  In an executive session (i.e. private) in August, 2018, the Board decided that the positive was the result of environmental contamination and that no penalty should be assessed against the purse won by the owners or Baffert.  None of this became public until Drape wrote his article that appeared last week.

It was inevitable that a media frenzy would develop as a result of Drape’s piece.  Both National Public Radio and Drape have now said that Justify was ineligible to win the Derby and the Triple Crown.  I expect more from respected outlets such as NPR and the Times.  The most helpful report has been a September 12 piece by Frank Angst of BloodHorse.com, who is the source for much of which I write here.

Many racing fans and industry leaders thought the declining fortunes of racing as a significant feature of America’s sports landscape would be reversed by a Triple Crown winner.  It is perhaps the ultimate irony that it is just such a horse that may prove to be yet another nail in the coffin of a sport that has not recovered from the Santa Anita fatalities this year.

Here is what I am able to glean are the facts regarding the drug positive.  It is based on Angst’s reporting which relies on interviews with Dr. Rick Arthur, the Equine Medical Director of California, and Dr. Mary Scollay, formerly in the same position in Kentucky, and now with the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium.  In my experience writing about racing, and listening to both vets speak in various forums, I have found each individual to be knowledgeable, reliable and credible.

Justify’s urine sample showed a concentration of scopolamine of 300 nanograms per milliliter, in excess of the California threshold for the drug.  According to Arthur, the blood test showed a lower concentration, which was a factor in Arthur’s recommending no penalty to the CHRB.  (It is not clear from the reporting if the concentration in the sample of blood also exceeded California’s limit.)

In addition, Arthur said that the test showed the presence of the drug atropine, which also would be associated with jimson weed if that was the source of the overage.  Atropine would not be in the sample if the source of the scopolamine was Buscopan administered by a human.

As a general matter, the overage of any impermissible drug in excess of the regulatory limit is a violation, and under the industry-wide “absolute insurer” rule, the trainer is responsible for the overage without regard to personal fault.  The penalty for a violation is subject to several factors.

The Association of Racing Commissioners International has produced guidelines on penalties that assign impermissible medications into groups based on the nature of the drug and its effect on equine health and performance.  There is then a classification of penalties that is designed to match the severity of the violation with an appropriate penalty.  California has adopted many of the ARCI’s protocols, although the drug classifiations and penalty guidelines are not an exact match.  This bit of arcana is only worth mentioning because the ARCI moved scopolamine to a lower (i.e., less severe) classification and the CHRB did not immediately follow suit, so that California’s higher classification was in effect at the time of Justify’s positive.

Both Arthur and Dr. Scollay were involved in the decision by the ARCI to lower the classification of scopolamine as part of a comprehensive review of medications on the list.  Angst reports that Scollay and Arthur viewed the lowering of the classification as warranted because there was little potential for the medication being performance-enhancing and because of the high likelihood of environmental contamination.

The delay in changing the classification of scopolamine by the CHRB meant that a more severe penalty could be imposed.  Under the higher level, the horse could have been disqualified.  But California’s penalty schedule did not call for that penalty under the lower classification to which scopolamine was ultimately moved.

What has been missed in much of the commentary on this issue, including the three articles by Joe Drape, is that California’s regulations do not, and did not, require disqualification of Justify even under the higher penalty classification.  The CHRB rules call for deviation from the standards “where the facts of the particular case warrant such a deviation,”  including “mitigating circumstances.”  Among the mitigating circumstances cited is the “probability of environmental contamination.”  This approach is consistent with the model rules recommended by the ARCI.

Another important element overlooked in almost all the coverage is that the rules of the CHRB require that the results of the “official test sample and the split sample shall be, and shall remain confidential … unless and until the Board files an official complaint or accusation.”  I have written often about the self-defeating lack of transparency by government agencies and that was my initial reaction when this story broke.  But if Drape, NPR and many others complain about the CHRB not following its rules, we should expect they mean all rules.  It is not hard to understand why the CHRB has such a rule.  Absent some sort of finding that there has been a violation, owners and trainers should not be subject to the negative publicity attendant with claims determined to be not worth pursuing.

Drape’s article is shoddy, irresponsible and more of advocacy journalism than factual reporting.  Ironically, the third of his articles appeared on the same day as another Times piece pertaining to Brett Kavanaugh that is also being accused of similar defects by critics on both sides of the political spectrum.

Drape, who wrote three articles on this over five days, began with “Justify should not have run in the Derby if the sport’s rules were followed,” completely ignoring the rules mentioned above.  He claimed that the CHRB found environmental contamination even though there was “little evidence” to support it.  And then he said the Board could have acted more swiftly, citing a single case in which a trainer’s employee was “caught on surveillance” administering a prohibited substance leading to a complaint being filed 28 days later.

Because of the Times‘ reputation, other outlets picked up the story as written.  NPR not only did no investigation on its own, but was able to add additional incorrect information, such as Scott Simon saying Justify should have been disqualified until an investigation was complete, applying a standard that is rarely used in any situation not involving an imminent threat to safety.

The following is my assessment of where we are at  –  or should be at:

  •  Justify tested positive for the impermissible drug scopolamine in a post-race test following the Santa Anita Derby, in which he needed a first or second to qualify for the Kentucky Derby;
  •  Scopolamine is present in the veterinary medicine Buscopan, as well as in jimson weed, a plant-based contaminant that can appear in hay and straw;
  • A nationally-recognized expert, Dr. Rick Arthur, has stated that the drug atropine was also present in Justify’s sample, and that atropine would be present in jimson weed, but not Buscopan;
  • The Association of Racing Commissioners International, has determined that scopolamine is a drug with less significant effects than originally thought and lowered its ranking on a drug classification scale;
  • The CHRB delayed in amending its own rules and did not lower the classification of scopolamine until after Justify’s positive test;
  • Under the CHRB’s prior classification, Justify could have been disqualified from his placing in the Santa Anita Derby, but the regulations did not require it;  under the revised classification, Justify could not have been disqualified;
  • Environmental contamination such as jimson weed in straw and hay can be considered an environmental contamination warranting a reduced penalty (or none at all) under the CHRB rules;
  • The CHRB’s rules mandate that drug positives be confidential unless there a complaint filed.

So despite the hysteria in the media on this issue, I think a fair characterization of the matter would be:  “Justify tested positive for a drug that is not considered performance-enhancing, and the CHRB decided it was likely the result of environmental contamination, and the CHRB did not make this public because that is what its rules require.”

That is not to say, however, that this could not have been handled in a better way by the CHRB.  It is foolhardy to think that a story as explosive as this would not become public and subject racing to the widespread condemnation it is now again undergoing.  Baffert, not someone naïve in the ways of communication, would also had realized this and could have consented to waiving his right to confidentiality to get him and California out in front of the story and being able to control the narrative.

There is also the question of the conflicts-of-interest.  CHRB members may have current and direct interests in horses.  The Chairman at the time of the deliberations on Justify had Baffert train horses for him.  There is a retired jockey on the Board who I think may have been active while on the Board.  I have mixed feelings about this, although it is clear recusal is the remedy when a matter implicates a possible conflict  –  such as the Chairman hearing a case involving Baffert.

But it is good to have people on a board overseeing racing who have some knowledge of the sport.  A contrast is that of the New York Gaming Commission where I do not think a single commissioner has any racing background, leading them to accept staff recommendations often with no discussion, questions or comments.  A simple solution would be to have a mix of backgrounds with strict recusal rules.

But the Justify affair is yet another example  –  as if we needed more  – that horse racing suffers from the lack of a national body with credibility.  For starters, there is no national figure who can comment on this.  Football, basketball and baseball all have commissioners who can speak for the sport.  As much respect as Rick Arthur deserves, he is just one of many state veterinarians who are completely unknown to anyone but knowledgeable observers.

If there were a national body such as the United States Anti-Doping Agency that oversees sports such as cycling and track and field, there would be a recognized entity that could not be criticized for partiality or lack of expertise, and that could be immune from the criticism of a rigged outcome or an “insider’s game.”

If racing’s leaders think this is just another storm that will pass, they are deluding themselves about the cumulative effect these stories have on a public that will ultimately decide the fate of the sport.  And, by the way, another horse died at Santa Anita this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York is oblivious to the efforts to protect horses

Posted by noonante on August 5, 2019
Posted in: Horse Racing, Political/Social commentary, Saratoga thoughts, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

A horse was euthanized on the racetrack at Saratoga on Sunday after it collapsed during the running of the sixth race.  The race was for $25,000 claimers in which the purse had been increased as a result of the New York Gaming Commission’s weakening of a rule intended to protect the safety of horses (and riders).

The rule in question is referred to as the “purse-to-price ratio.”  It refers to the purse value of a claiming race in comparison to the claiming price for a horse in that race. In a race for $25,000 claimers, a 1.8 ratio means that the purse could not be greater than $45,000.  The purse in this race, however, was $52,000.

While this may appear to be an esoteric matter of little consequence, it became a major matter in 2012 when Aqueduct experienced a significant increase in fatalities.  The deaths resulted in a Task Force being appointed to investigate the causes and make recommendations. A potential cause of fatalities identified by the Task Force’s Report was horses being entered in claiming races in which the total purse value of a race far exceeded the claiming price assigned to the horse. The Task Force concluded that

“this imbalance contributed to perceptions that horses were being entered in claiming races beyond their level of competition and forced to perform to the point of serious injury or death….  Accordingly, the Task Force believes that the purse to claim price ratio should be no greater than 1.6, in which the value of the horse is approximately equal to the winner’s share of the purse, and that the Rule should be amended accordingly.”

Governor Cuomo agreed with the Task Force’s determination on the 1.6 ratio, explicitly citing it when he issued a statement ordering implementation of the Report’s recommendations in September, 2012.

Dr. Scott Palmer, DVM, who chaired the Task Force, however, had a different perspective. Three days after the Governor’s order, he wrote a memo to justify supporting a higher ratio of 2.0.  His statement at that time is indicative of his thinking – both then and now – on the relative balance between equine safety and the economic considerations for racetracks, stating that “the Task Force did not consider the business model of Aqueduct in a competitive environment for racehorses.”

The ratio remained at 2.0 until this year when the Gaming Commission  –  at the urging of Dr. Palmer, now New York’s Equine Medical Director  –  weakened the rule and permitted ratios greater than 2.0.  They did this even though Dr. Palmer said at a Commission meeting in July:

“… there’s some very good research that’s shown that there’s an increased amount of risk of catastrophic injury for horses in claiming races where the purse to price ratio is greater than 1.8 to one. This is a very sound piece of scientific information….”

Despite what he recognized as an increased risk to horses and jockeys, Palmer believed his proposed rule change would cause more horsemen to remain in New York rather than ship to a mid-Atlantic track, thereby increasing field size  –  for the economic benefit of the track.  That this justification is identical to the one rejected by the Task Force, however, apparently did not factor into Palmer’s advocacy for the change in the ratio.

I am not suggesting that the increase in the purse for this race is what caused the horse’s death  –  even if the rule had not been relaxed, he could have run for a $50,000 purse.  But a fatal breakdown in an event with an increased purse level was inevitable from the moment the Gaming Commission approved the weakening of the rule.

At a time when racing is facing increased scrutiny following the rise in fatalities at Santa Anita, a change that increases the risk to horses and jockeys is not only short-sighted but foolhardy.  I am not the one who connected increased risk to purse levels.  It was Dr. Palmer who despite saying it was a “very sound piece of scientific evidence” nonetheless advocated forcefully for a change he believed would inure to the economic benefit of a racetrack.

Dr. Rick Arthur, California’s Equine Medical Director, was interviewed on NPR during the Santa Anita crisis and said,  “if we don’t make racing safer, I don’t think the public’s going to allow us to continue the sport.”  New York’s Gaming Commission and its Equine Medical Director have shown they are oblivious to the worsening perception of the sport and placed horses and jockey at greater risk.

 

 

 

Racing is at a tipping point

Posted by noonante on June 1, 2019
Posted in: Horse Racing, Political/Social commentary, Politics. Tagged: , , , , , , . 2 Comments

Recent media coverage of horse racing is starting to feel like beach erosion.  Once it starts, it doesn’t get any better  –  ever.

The large number of fatalities at Santa Anita Park in the first three months of the year was, understandably, the most dramatic and important story.  There were 23 horses who were fatally injured while racing or training at Santa Anita’s tracks after it opened for its annual winter meet on December 26.

Then there was the controversy over the disqualification of Maximum Security who crossed the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby, but interfered with several other entrants including, most significantly, War of Will.  While the stewards made what, in my opinion, was the correct decision, the sub rosa suspicions did nothing to increase confidence in the integrity of the sport.

When War of Will came back to win the Preakness, the non-racing media’s lead was that of Bodexpress tossing his rider at the gate and continuing to run.  This was a remarkable event only to those who have not seen many races.  That both the Derby interference and a loose horse in the Preakness could have resulted in serious injuries to both horses and riders did not seem to be a factor in the national spotlight.

To top it off there was HBO’s Real Sports segment on horse racing last week.  It is not a program I watch, and have only seen this one and the one they did five years ago following PETA’s complaints about the Steve Asmussen barn.  This look at racing every five years was a sickening and horrific look at what are, undoubtedly, some of racing’s worst moments.

As one who follows closely racing, politics and their intersection, I cannot think of a more perilous time for racing’s survival  – and I am not talking long-term.  The rash of deaths at Santa Anita resulted in leading political figures and the Los Angeles Times calling for the suspension of racing at one of the sport’s most prominent venues.   Santa Anita officials did just that in an effort to determine if they could pinpoint the cause of the fatalities.  They have not yet, and returned with a remarkable period of no catastrophic injuries for six weeks, but now experienced three in a recent nine-day span.

It is disturbing, albeit predictable, that new fatalities have caused both Senator Dianne Feinstein and The Los Angeles Times to renew their calls to suspend racing until the reason for the fatalities has been determined.  California Governor Gavin Newsom recently added his voice in endorsing a number of proposed reforms in the state:  “The recent horse fatalities in California are unacceptable.  We must hold the horse racing industry to account.”

There are not many certainties in politics, and politicians have been known, to put it mildly, to change their positions.  But when an elected official takes a stand on an issue that is emotionally charged, they are less likely to back down and will want to see their concerns addressed.

There is no national voice to counter the assault on the sport’s integrity and value.  There are many respected figures in racing, and there are many organizations.  Unfortunately, no individual can speak for the industry, and the national organizations are not only useless, but often downright embarrassing.

Groups such as the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the National Horsemen’s Benevolent Protective Association and the Association of Racing Commissioners International continue to respond to negative press with the same tired tropes that are easily disprovable or facially ludicrous.  Despite years of repeating the same responses, it has obviously had no impact.

The first is the low rate of horses testing positive for illegal levels of medications in post-race tests.  The rate is a fraction of less than one percent.  That’s partially because testing is only for a limited amount of drugs because the cost of a more extensive regimen is, according to regulators, prohibitive.  There is also a wide range of drugs for which there is either no test or violators are adept at hiding their traces.

The second is the claim that racing has “one of the most stringent post-race drug testing programs in any professional sport,” as stated by NTRA’s CEO in response to the Real Sports segment.  We literally have to go back 41 years to the drug disqualification of Kentucky Derby winner Dancer’s Image to find a horse of equivalent stature to a Lance Armstrong or Robinson Cano penalized for a drug positive.

The key phrase, however, is “post-race drug testing.”  When racing authorities in the United States get serious about drugs, they will emulate  Europe and Hong Kong and have a meaningful program of Out-of-Competition Testing.  California has promised to strengthen their program.  New York’s program is virtually non-existent for thoroughbreds.

Then we have the “those questioning the devotion of horse people to their equine athletes need only to spend a morning walking barns to have such concerns alleviated” line,  also from NTRA’s CEO.  Well, I have spent hundreds of hours on backstretches and taken thousands of photographs.  I have the utmost respect for the hundreds of devoted horse people I have encountered (many of whom are Latino or Latina) who work long hours, often at low pay, and clearly love horses.  I could swear under oath I have never seen a horse mistreated.

I also have visited banks thousands of times and never seen a robbery or a bank executive committing fraud.  I would swear that under oath as well.  That only means that those committed to wrongdoing will do it out of the public eye.

One of the most remarkable refutations of this “feel good” narrative, however, comes from the Association of Racing Commissioners International.  It’s remarkable because of its tone-deaf inability to see one step ahead, let alone several.  Let’s just quote from the group’s May 6 press release:

“All racing regulatory commissions have been put on notice that the banning of voluntary race day furosemide (Lasix) … is expected to encourage a return to practices deemed cruel, inhumane, or potentially dangerous to the health and welfare of a horse. …

Last Friday, the RCI advised Regulatory Commissions to be on the lookout for horses being given intravenous formaldehyde to combat potential incidents of bleeding. …

The ARCI also advised commissions that it is anticipated that some horsemen will return to a practice … [that] denies a horse food and water for twenty-four to thirty-six hours prior to a race.”

So if you are going to see how well horses are treated, avoid those barns starving horses or injecting formaldehyde.

To complete their superfecta of ridiculous defenses, the national groups and their spokespeople also blame the media and those in the industry who, they portray, as negative voices seeking to harm the sport.  Blaming the messenger is never a long-term strategy, and impugning the integrity of many who have devoted their lives to the sport because they seek improvement is as short-sighted.

There are many positive steps being taken to improve the safety of both the horses and the humans who get on their backs.  The Stronach Group’s Belinda Stronach announced a number of significant reforms to address both possible causes of the fatalities and public perception problems in March, many of which were supported in Gavin Newsom’s statement.  There is also federal legislation that would put a national body in charge of administering anti-drug policies, the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

The most publicized reforms have to do with phasing out race-day Lasix and the use of the whip.  While neither may have caused any of the catastrophic injuries, anyone who has spoken with a non-racing fan realizes that these are important perception issues.  And to be clear, the discussion has gone beyond attracting new fans to the sport.  We need to prevent those non-fans from advocating the abolition of all racing.

The Rip Van Winkles leading the national racing organizations may not wake up in time to realize that their strategies are both useless and counter-productive.  They need to take serious steps to embrace meaningful reform.  Washington Post sports reporter Sally Jenkins recently wrote a devastating piece:

“Thoroughbred racing, more than all other sports, confronts the human participants with their own characters.  In any other game, you’re responsible only for yourself.  But racing is all about the handling of the horses:  At the heart of the contest is the matter of trust, the sacred obligation to do decently and right by reliant creatures.  It is the thinnest of lines between a meaningful pursuit and an abuse.  The minute a horse’s best advocate is a Washington politician is the minute that line has been crossed.”

There is a tipping point at which the impetus to abolish racing becomes an irreversible inevitability.  We are quickly approaching that point.  Maintaining a snail’s pace of progress is no longer going to be sufficient to keep racing going.  The time for urgency is now, and not when it will be too late.