Pena Case: Veterinary Records Now Trump Lab Results

[Elgin]

Pena Case A "Game Changer"
Published: May 29, 2012 1:17 pm ET

Association of Racing Commissioners International President Ed Martin said Tuesday, May 29 that the case brought against standardbred trainer Lou Pena by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board is a "game changer with wide ramifications for racing regardless of breed.

[AmyHollar]

Again..........I want to puke.


Now they want us all to turn over vet records and you bet if I'm doing something shady it is going to be recorded.


 

[LVGaryD]

I really think this violates doctor/patient confidentiality laws. I predict that Lou Pena will beat these charges and beat them badly.

No positive test=no rule violation. Law is law, guidelines are guidelines. If the glove don't fit, you must acquit.

 

[Elgin]

I really think this violates doctor/patient confidentiality laws. I predict that Lou Pena will beat these charges and beat them badly.

No positive test=no rule violation. Law is law, guidelines are guidelines. If the glove don't fit, you must acquit.

 

And where is OJ right now? The guy that glove supposedly didn

[LVGaryD]

In Nevada, we just hang them high without due process. In New York, they have liberals to make sure it gets done the right way.

And by the way, OJ never would have been convicted of kidnapping, etc. if I was on that jury. All he did was go retake what was his to begin with. He should have gotten a medal for doing what he did. If someone robbed me like OJ was robbed, I would make certain the guy never testified about me taking my belongings back.

No witness=good witness. 

[LVGaryD]

And yes I would have convicted OJ for murdering his wife. 

[Elgin]

In Nevada, we just hang them high without due process. In New York, they have liberals to make sure it gets done the right way.

And by the way, OJ never would have been convicted of kidnapping, etc. if I was on that jury. All he did was go retake what was his to begin with. He should have gotten a medal for doing what he did. If someone robbed me like OJ was robbed, I would make certain the guy never testified about me taking my belongings back.

No witness=good witness. 

All the better. They wanted him and they got him--just like they want Sweet Looooou.

[LVGaryD]

All the better. They wanted him and they got him--just like they want Sweet Looooou.

Trust me-I am all for nailing someone for the crime they actually did commit. My problem with the Pena case is, no hot tests. Any decent attorney will have him back racing in no time at all.

From what I understand, everything Pena was found to have done was against "guidelines". Guidelines are not rules nor laws. They are simply guidelines.

If anyone is guilty in the Pena case, it is the states of New York and New Jersey of violating sacred doctor/patient/client privacy. New York for asking for and obtaining these alleged records, New Jersey for supplying them.

Another thing I would like to know: what if the vet wrote down the wrong date and time of these alleged guideline violations? To me, this stinks.

 

[Wilderness]

Again..........I want to puke.


Now they want us all to turn over vet records and you bet if I'm doing something shady it is going to be recorded.


 

 Amy and others,
                             Ontario has in place strict vet records and accessibility for some while.
 The Ontario fines, were also increased dramatically just after VLT's were introduced.

 I recall one Mich guy at Windsor that was suspended for failing to properly list his "vet of record's" name.

 Ontario is a much bigger area than the primary racing states of the eastern US (DE, NY, PA, NJ) and their rules are compliant across the province, and more easily enforced.

[Wilderness]

Trust me-I am all for nailing someone for the crime they actually did commit. My problem with the Pena case is, no hot tests. Any decent attorney will have him back racing in no time at all.

Gary,
        Despite the less-travelled USTA HarnessPhere, there's some interesting insights in a thread on this topic

[dinkadoo]

just goes to show you how flawed testing is !

Always wondered how I never got a postive for ****** ****.... Just saying....

[Just Saying]

And now if you want horse "A" to get treated within the time-frame, you list horse "B" as the one treated. The approach in the Pena case is the wrong way. I think he's dirty, but this isn't the answer. If it's Lou today, it could be you tomorrow. Even the "authorities" have to play by the rules.

[AmyHollar]

just goes to show you how flawed testing is !

Always wondered how I never got a postive for ****** ****.... Just saying....

You do realize there isn't even testing for many of these things.....it isn't warranted.....in fact I don't believe there is a way to test for overages with hormones period.

Or if they are tested for it means Pena was well with in the time limits.

Clenbuterall for example........it is administered as an oral dosage.........you are given a bottle from your vet and a dropper device..........just because I got a bottle from my vet on Saturday, and the horse races on Saturday does not mean the horse received the medicine on Saturday until after he raced.......in fact I'd have to be an IDIOT to give Clenbuteral on race day.........and here is the kicker........you have to know which state you are going to race in because each one is different on with drawl times. 

[Elgin]

Daley, Coleman, Allard and Takter talk Pena
Harnesslink Admin 11:27 AM 30-May-2012 NZT

Prominent North American harness racing trainers believe the New York State Racing Wagering Board (NYSRWB) is being pedantic for last week suspending Lou Pen for nearly 1,700 equine drug violations in nearly 700 races.
They have told Harnesslink the Wagering Board singled Pena out because they had "bigger fish to fry" and this was just a way of getting him.
"He's done nothing wrong except win too many races for their liking. The vets are the professionals and the ones who should know the rules and know the intake levels and deadlines.
"We are horse trainers and we rely on their medical expertise. I don't see how this could be Lou's fault," said one of Canada's top conditioners, Rene Allard of Rene Allard of Saint-Esprit in Quebec.
Former Australian and now prominent New Jersey trainer, Noel Daley believes there should be one nation-wide legislature when it came to vets dosing horses prior to race-day.
"What Lou has done is the same as what every trainer is doing. I think New York just wanted him and got him on this minor technicality.
"In my eyes he's certainly not guilty but there does need to be one vetting law for all. In Pennsylvania for example you can give your horse clenbuterol up to 24 hours before a race,where as New York it's four days," Bordentown-based Daley said.
Although they didn't say it, both Casie Coleman and Rene Allard stopped short of saying Pena had been hard done by.
"I can't see where the charges are. I think if he fights it he should win," Cambridge, Ontario based Coleman said.
Both Coleman (0.455 and Allard (0.415) have a better winning strike rate in 2012 than Pena (0.393), (USTA stats).
All three have already won just over $1 million in stakes each and love competing against each other.
"I have nothing against Lou. All I know is that he is hard to beat. I like competing against the best whether it is a horse, trainer, or driver. He has returned no positive so I'm happy to compete against him," said Allard, who has trained 147 winners this year.
Coleman agreed.
"I'll keep racing him until he's found guilty. I don't know this case well enough but from what I've read I do think it's all a load of bullsh** . I can't see where they are coming from.
"But in saying that I'll take it as a lesson to ensure all our paperwork with the vet is spot on. I think it's important that the labeling is done properly. But that shouldn't be a problem, we have great vets at our stables. We have a really good relationship with them," Coleman the winner of 69 races in 2012, said.
Allard insisted vets needed to take a greater role in safe guarding from further Lou Pena-like situations.
"Horsemen are already very busy training and travelling everywhere with their horses and staff. It's up to the vets to know all the correct dosages and the race regulations but I'm thinking that not every vet know these.
"We have to follow rules and it would be nice if the vets could follow them too and just make some trainers exactly aware of what medication has been given.
"I see this as a medical rather than a Lou Pena problem," Allard said.
Daley also used the bullsh** word when asked his thoughts on Pena's suspension.
"Everything that has occurred has been given via a vet. From what I have read Lou administered nothing.
"Of course it's easier for us not to race him but the man has done nothing wrong except been bullied. If they were consistent there would be hundreds of trainers in the same situation as Lou right now," Daley said.
"All I can say is watch out - it could be you tomorrow," he added.
Meanwhile East Windsor (New Jersey) trainer, Jimmy Takter wanted to steer clear of the Pena controversy.
"I have no comment to make on this subject. I am in the racehorse business and I don't want to jeopardise that,"he said.

By Duane RANGER(editor)

[GalloBlueChip]

Daley, Coleman, Allard.....of course.......

Birds of a feather Flock together............

Please ask some trainers who have NOT had any positives in the last few years....