The New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) has released the annual report of equine testing results for the previous year. A total of 18,777 blood and urine tests for prohibited substances were taken at The Meadowlands and Freehold Raceway. Only 25 positives were detected; 16 from Frreehold and nine from the Meadwowlands. The NJRC also indicated 51 out of competition tests were taken for EPO with none of those tests being positive. Of the total of 18,777 blood and urine tests performed for prohibited substances at harness racing tracks. Of 4,032 Blood Gas tests done, there was one positive.
With these results, how can we be worrying about a drug problem? This is testing for known medications; tests they have the abilitiy to test for. Well harness trainers are not idiots. If you can test for a certain drug, why would you use it? If these test results were to believed, why does Jeff Gural feel the need to exclude horsemen?
Because while this testing is important as it keeps honest people honest, it's not the honest people we need to worry about. We need to worry about those who find the medications where there is no testing for, the drugs we don't know about. How many horses are racing with those substances?
These test results are good for public relations. Those who have been involve with racing long enough know better.
Harness Racing Update reports that there is a reasonable chance for slots at the Meadowlands in 2017 as Senate President Sweeney and the Governor have said Atlantic City has five years to get their act together. This may be the case, however if a casino comes to Yonkers and Aqueduct, five years is too long as it will give New York a big advantage financially. By the way of you get HRU, don't forget to read the section who tells you who works for HRU; at times there are some inside jokes there.
Yesterday, we mentiond John Brennan's column about Lou Pena withdrawing his lawsuit and the possibiliy that a deal was worked out. In a later version of the story, Jeff Gural denied a deal was made claiming " It was soley his decision".
There is something I have neglected to mention. The new season of "Here They Comes", featuring Jessica Schroeder and Paul Ramlow, has been running for this season already. It really is a quick recap of what has happened and what will be happening in harness racing this week. It really is worth watching. This week's episode is below.
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