Once someone knows the basic facts of the Plech stable die off of August 2002, it gets pretty difficult to continue to assert the "Ostrich Defense", which is, since my head is in the ground and I can't see, it must not be happening.

The next defense mechanism is the one imallin is using. "Plech has the best horses and best reputation so he has too much to lose to continuing doping even if he did dope in the past." (We'll leave the assertion that he has the ability to select the best sale horses and buys the best sale horses aside for now, conceding merely that he does pay a lot for horses.)

But there lies the rub. Plech was just another trainer until 2000. Then suddenly he began coming up with an inordinate number of stakes horses. Assume for the sake of argument that he did take on Steve Allday at this time and that Allday began doping his horses in 2000 and that Plech's stakes record increased due to the doping and that in fact his "edge" lies in performance enhancing dope. Wouldn't such a trainer have just as much to lose by discontinuing his doping edge and losing his competitive advantage to the point where the stakes wins no longer flowed and his personnel and clients dried up? In other words, if dope is your edge how does one discontinue that edge without losing everything just as assuredly as one would by being caught through testing? In that regard at least with testing there are hearings and review policies in place. But you must admit it would end much quicker if he ended it by his own hand by discontinuing the dope.

Plech is easy to read, but he isn't stupid. He's just not legitimate. He's playing all the angles, and even dispensing with the dope at certain times in certain locales. He knows full well that he can't maintain his edge without the dope and he won't kick the habit until the net closes in a bit tighter upon him.

In that regard, do what you can do. Write NYRA and the Boards of the racing states, inform them of the facts and demand greater scrutiny of cheaters in general and Plech in particular.

I'll show you how to beat him though, tune in for the Travers.

This has to be my last post on the issue this weekend. I have a couple races to win and beating Plech is in the mix.

CtMC

imallin Wrote:
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> I think if TAP has ever cheated, it was probably
> back in the day before he was established. Now, he
> has a lot to lose, and he has great horses, so i
> really would doubt there's hard core drugging
> going on with him currently. Maybe he's doing
> stuff to 'keep up with the joneses' but i doubt
> he's hitting the snake venom bottle or other
> morphine-strength drugs.
>
> Has TAP ever cheated? I guess that's the 64 dollar
> question. I don't know, maybe he's snow white and
> just got to the top with hard work?
>
> The one thing i wonder about all these very top of
> the line trainers is this. If its possible to get
> to the Pletcher level completely on oats and hay,
> that must mean cheating isn't really all that
> effective. Why risk drugging when TAP's oats and
> hay runners are blowing your doors off?