I keep waiting for some sort of media coverage (trade or mainstream)regarding the Derby results vis a vis the improved testing and security. Every horseman and serious horseplayer I know has been talking about nothing else.

The bottome line is that we do not and cannot definitively know whether the new protocol had any impact on on the result. However, I do know two things:

-As a small-time horseman who uses a square trainer, the better the testing is, the better I like my chances of surviving in the game. I can't and won't pay $2k per horse per month to have the White Mercedes visit my horses. If the supertrainers stop hitting at 25%-30%, there has to be more on the table for everyone else.

-The new regime doesn't guarantee a fair shake, but it does promise a FAIRER shake. There are enough variables to consider without having to know equine pharmacology. We may have to un-learn some precepts we've developed of late, but horseplayers will be better off in the end.

If you agree, let your voice be heard. My letter is in the mail to the Blood-Horse. It isn't often that we have something to applaud .