To qualify when cheating or when using drugs became part of the push is equivalent to trying to determine which came first - the chicken or the egg. When there is money and prestige on the line, it is human nature that the envelope will be pushed; modern science has simply put more options into that envelope.

Bicycling, running, baseball, horse racing, and in everyday life, drugs are everywhere.  If a child is “hyper”, the first recourse has become drugs. When we feel anxious or depressed, we are encouraged to regulate our emotions with drugs. Baseball has its dirty laundry out there for everyone to see and what an unpleasant sight it is. 

Racing had better take heed, we have a chance to do it right or can expect the convoluted process of government to intervene. Racing needs to step up to the plate and reduce the drugs being used. We have a few trainers who are managing to stay competitive without resorting to the “juice”, but for the most part, they are the older guys who established their reputations in a different era. They are sage, intrepid, and they continue to get good horses. But younger trainers with limited resources have an uphill battle on their hands. The veterinarians are often only doing what they must to compete on their own unleveled playing field.  Few of our American horses could pass the drug tests abroad and that is just with the legal stuff. 

Several of the top trainers in Thoroughbred racing have served suspensions in recent years for drug violations. Their penalties inconvenienced them, but they were allowed to keep their stables going under their assistant’s names. Racing fans deserve to know that cheating will not be tolerated. If a mistake in the management of a stable allows for a failed drug test, the penalty for that mistake has to appropriate, a slap on the hands is not enough. When it comes time to elect candidates for the Hall of Fame, drug violations should be part of the equation.

Sports and drugs have become inseparable. It has to be a tough decision for an athlete to “stay clean.” People can do research and measure the risks, but horses, they have no choice in the matter. Owners are often paying veterinarian bills higher than the cost of training. It would be better for everyone to trim this activity down.

The best horses are traditionally retired early because so much money awaits in the breeding shed, but many racing careers are shortened because horses are more apt to receive injections instead of rest or a healing procedure when something goes amiss.

We have recently won a battle in racing, but the war is far from over.  We have the imminent closure of Off-Track Betting confronting us.  Mayor Bloomberg got his toes stepped on when the OTB issue was not deemed important enough within the industry to be included in last week’s negotiations. Our politicians were so anxious (and prepared) to launch “the beginning of a new era” that they lost focus before they addressed the“preserving the future of racing” part.

Probably OTB will be heroically saved just as NYRA was. It is likely just a matter of getting the right people in the right positions and the money flowing a bit more agreeably. Who this might be good for in the long run is another question. Power has an insatiable appetite and we as a people have a tendency to overlook the unscrupulous tactics that are often employed on the road to that power.

NYRA misused power over the years and I resent that the greed within that organization will lead to the eventual state ownership of our tracks.  In the meantime, it is our job to make certain that NYRA knows what Saratoga expects of racing. We should be keenly tuned to the shifts toward alternate forms of gambling.  Saratoga is a part of the New York racing circuit, and if it falters downstate, we will be affected.

Casinos behave a lot like Pac-Man and they can quickly change demographics. If we want to maintain our image in Saratoga, we cannot afford to become indifferent to obvious issues pushing at our perimeters. If we fall asleep now, people going to the races 25 plus years from now may not be able to walk down Union Avenue to get there.

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Marilyn Lane, a freelance writer, has a lifelong association with horses. Her experience includes more than 20 years as an owner, trainer and breeders of thoroughbreds. She was an assistant trainer to Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg during the legendary Alysheba’s racing career.