So it was Vanilla Yogurt...

...after all.  The blood work from Betting Line came back and the testing indicates no illegal drugs were given to the Little Brown Jug winner, with the OSRC authorizing the release of purse money.

Of course, the OSRC will continue the investigation but the fact it ordered the payout of the purses suggests the challenge by trainers claiming the horse should have been scratched will be turned down, at least initially.  My guess is if anyone is going to be penalized for the detention barn violation, it will be the Delaware Agricultural Society which operates the Delaware County Fair.

So, all is right in the world again, correct?  Not at all.  With Lou Pena, an unlicensed individual being found in the stall of a Jugette contender necessitating a scratch, then followed by the whole Yogurtgate scandal, the Little Brown Jug has been sullied needlessly.  Needlessly, because the there was no reason for either of these incidents to take place if the detention barn rules were strictly enforced.

No Pena shouldn't have been in the barn.  Cassie Coleman shouldn't have given her horse the yogurt, even if the only additive may have been vanilla; the cryptic messages unfortunate.  But the one who shoulders the vast majority of people are those at the Delaware County Fair who treat the detention barn as if it was Mayberry.

I hear the arguments now, it is at a county fair and part of the charm of racing at the county fairs is the ability for people to go through the stable areas and see our stars.  You have to excuse the fact the detention barns aren't treated like Fort Knox.

Wrong.  You might be a county fair, but when you have races going for $200K+ (Jugette) and $500K+ (Jug), you are no longer a county fair with respect to your racing program.  There is no excuse for security to be so lax in the detention barn for these two races,  By all means, allow people to roam around the barn areas, after all, it's a county fair but when it comes to the detention barns, you better treat it like Fort Knox.  With the exception of the trainer and those grooms registered to take care of the horse, no one should be allowed in the barns.  There should be video cameras in the stalls.

What about the expense?  Well, Ohio is a slot state and they are given a portion of the slot money from the Ohio horsemen.  I would suggest diverting a portion of their grant be used towards the purchase/rental of the video monitoring of the detention stalls as well as the added security, after all, it would protect the integrity of the two marquee events which makes the fair so notable.

We'll see if the lesson has been learned next year.  .