The problem has been that there either has been no way to catch these guys with drug testing, or that racing doesn't want the scandal (or expense) of catching them. What does work is suveillance/detention barns, which is why a lot of horses haven't run well at the BC (and I'm not talking about winning, I'm talking about running their numbers). Evidently the barn area at Saratoga is such that SOME guys can't do things they do elsewhere.

As far as the industry goes, the perfect solution is something that makes the problem go away without catching someone and causing a scandal. Prevention-- like 24 hour in advance detention barns across the board-- could end up being the way to go. Another thing could be listing a veternarian of record who is accountable, just as the trainer is. There are a couple of vets (and one in particular) who are doing the work for a lot of "move-up" trainers.

And you can add Peace Rules to that list. I predict many more will be added-- as happened last year.



TGJB