Street:

At the time of these deaths I never really thought of connecting them in the
way that CTC has and to be honest I wasn't aware that the stakes winning filly
had also died at about the same time that Left Bank and Warner's fell ill.

The one explanation which may be ruled out by men of logic is coincidence.

I wasn't even aware of the "patch of grass" theory.

Were blood samples frozen? I do not know, but tests are available now which
would detect substances which might not have been detectable in 2002.

I do not think there was any extensive investigation of the "die off" in terms
of looking for trainer or veterinary malfeasance, because TAP's reputation and
track record are relatively spotless. The man has saddled over 15,000 runners
and has one positive, for mepivocaine(sp?). (The unsettling thing about the
mepivocaine(sp?) positive is that both Scott Lake and Rick Dutrow also were set
down for mepivocaine(sp?) positives in the last couple of years).

My point here is that imagine if the die off had occurred in the barn of one of
the usual suspects from days past, such as Ferriola or Moschera or Oscar,or one
of the latter day miracle workers such as Cole Norman, or the man currently in
the cross- hairs, Patrick Biancobra.

If anything unseemly was found in the 3 autopsies, if NYRA's action ever
elevated to the level where they could be considered an investigation, you can
be certain that any findings which may have reflected badly on Racing would
never have seen the light of day; the cover up is always more evil than the
crime.

Nothing will likely ever come of these 3 unfortunate and mystifying deaths,
except that maybe the dialogue which they have spawned will bring us closer
to having a level playing field.

Last chance saloon for me at the Spa Saturday-- the late Pick 4 looks very
playable and I will have to catch a decent one to get even and out for
the meet.