Richiebee,
I apologize in advance for butting in here. I've enjoyed your posts. You seem anything but naive. I was confused though, and frustrated, when I thought you were arguing that since we didn't have the smoking gun or dripping syringe, we could not assert that these guys were using SOMETHING CHEMICAL to ENHANCE PERFORMANCE in such a way as to distort all forms of play/analysis for those who haven't talked to the VET. As I read your last post, you agree with that, you are just objecting to the label "Cheating" in cases in which there has been no positive test results.


Richiebee said:
"I think I may qualify as a player, racetracker or horseman, or all of the above and I THINK DUTROW MAY BE USING SOMETHING, I THINK LAKE MAY BE USING SOMETHING, I THINK IWINSKI MAY BE USING SOMETHING. No, TGJB, I did not forget about Schettino Spring/Summer. I THINK SCHETTINO WAS USING SOMETHING when he was winning above a 25% clip. Let me give a hypothetical: A trainer that wins 10 races all year, but wins 6 of them in a 5 week period, WAS USING SOMETHING FOR THOSE 5 WEEKS."

"Here's the problem. Until they develop a test for SOMETHING, its not CHEATING... It will remain that way until we see the proof/ positives"
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Where we may differ is that regardless of the label, the USERS of that SOMETHING are killing this game. These sheet numbers, given whatever weaknesses they may have, cause those USERS to stand out unequivocably.

It is also true that in the past, positives have been found but the required "confirming postives" have mysteriously disappeared from the test labs, as in the case of Baffert, Frankel and others in Calif. It is also true that Baffert had a sudden loss of "TALENT" after that. But, until he suddenly lost his "TALENT", he killed alot of prices, took a lot of purses, and denied a lot of deserving trainers/owners of the rightful due of their talent and horsemanship.

I believe it is in all of our best interests to speak with a unified voice in pressuring officials to remove whatever "doubt" remains, whether we call USING PERFORMANCE ENHANCERS or CHEATING by quarantining in detention barns and freezing samples. raz