From my perspective, if true, this would be worse than any doping scandal.
First it would be a more institutionalized form of cheating in that track employees would be in on the scam.
And secondly, it doesn't give the horseplayer a chance. If I remember correctly you once wrote a statement I agree with completely, something to the effect that a shrewd handicapper can make some money by figuring out when the trainers might be cheating. I certainly think you can figure out when a trainer is going to be asking for a maximum effort from his horse, and quite simply, if doping, they are going to be doping in s a fresh horse who is capable of giving a maximum effort rather than one way off it form cycle. Which means that to some degree doping can be anticipated and factored into one's handicapping.
But cheating on weights not only leaves the handicapper processing wrong information, but pretty much undermines the logic of the entire enterprise, since weight allocation has been the the equalizing foundation of racing, since the scale of weights was introduced.
And, of course, it begs the question, "How long has this been going on?" And if in New York why not everywhere else?
So, it strikes me that in scale and scope this scandal could have some severe long term negative ramifications for the industry. And in fact, makes my knees buckle in a way that a doped horse, or a fixed race never could. In that this seems almost unbelievable to me.

Addendum: According the the NY Post this scandal involves letting overweight jockeys ride. Huh???
"This investigation involves the integrity of the races themselves," a law enforcement official told the Post."
....The new investigation involves claims that NYRA officials looked the other way when overweight jockeys showed up their mounts.
....Racehorses are normally assigned a maximum carryweight (huh? I thought it was a minimum weight) which has a vital bearing on the betting.
If a jockey can't make the weight, the NYRA should not allow him to ride and demand that a replacement be found.

Well, I thought the scandal would involve horses carrying less weight than they were assigned but this article, by-lined by Fred Dicker in Albany and the Post regular racing writer Ed Fountaine in NY seems to indicate the reverse was true. Horses were carrying more weight than they were assigned.
But doesn't this happen every day? Aren't horse announced as overweight every day at every track in America? Maybe I don't understand the concept of "maximum weight" that is being violated, but I'm having a hard time grasping the "why" of this story.
Why didn't the jockey's just get announced as being overweight?



Post Edited (12-16-04 09:42)