Another one gone for a little holiday
http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=101318
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Another one gone for a little holiday
http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=101318
Was thinking today after all the fallout from the Lance Armstrong furore what implications it will have for racing both harness and Thoroughbreds.He has never had a poitive yet we are hearing now how long he was using drugs for and despite what people on here say he must have been using masking agenst.My point is it was quite widespread and went undetected for a long time Epo.
Haven't seen any transcript of proceedings but the case has been proven. I would like to think that yes, Mitch has done the wrong thing and he got caught, but atleast he manned up, put his hand up and threw himself at the mercy of the stewards. His reputation just went up a few levels in my book. Do the time and come back a better person for it. Unlike some who keep coming up with the greatest cock and bull storys to get themselves out of the shit, you know the ones, that blame every other reason under the sun how a substance came to be in their horse, when all they really needed to do was look in the mirror or check the syringes in their kit bag. No appeal, no stay, no bullshit excuse, no further waste of industry $$$'s trying to prove the inevitable. So for mine, Mitch has done the right thing in the end, its a big call in this day and age to admit guilt. Good on him. See you in 9 months
Thats exactly what I mean Brendan. Nobody should ever think they are bigger than the sport, nor should they think the sport owes them a living. Mitch has been taught a tough lesson early in life for doing something stupid or knowingly allowed the animal to race whilst being treated by the vet for pain relief. We all make stupid decisions when we are young, I would hope he learns from it. If, however he chooses to persist in flouting the new racing regulations in NSW which got much tougher since June/July when he resumes training, then he only has himself to blame and will deserve everything he gets.
Well, lets roll with that Lenny. You know exactly how I feel about cheats Lenny unless you don't read my posts (which is also understandable).
http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=98108 is the link for the new penaltys since june 2012 in NSW. Ketorolac or Toradol falls into the Class 3 section of the new rules, or if you like, Bill and Triples close to the heart topics of therapeutic drugs in the sport. He was entitled to get 12 months first offence, he knew he was guilty and he accepted the consequences. He was given 9 months (I am guessing because he admitted guilt) knowing full well that the horse was being treated with ketorolac. Yeah , it might seem a bit of a oxymoron to say that his reputation went up in my eyes, but only in the fact that he accepted the charge and the penalty and the responsibility for presenting the horse for competition with a substance that falls outside the guidelines. He offered no phoney excuse or tried all those avenues of appeal that we now see on a regular basis from others who have been charged with much much more serious offences. There is no evidence of systemic wrong doing in this blokes case. He made a blue and now he is hopefully going to learn from it.
So my estimation of him went up as a man Lenny. I am not defending him for breaching the rules, he broke 'em and he is going for a holiay. Reckon when a young bloke makes a mistake they can do with some sort of support. Let he who casts the first stone Len
I agree he has at least admitted that he did the crime and now must pay.Others have come up with every excuse except coming out and admitting that they were responsible for the positive.
Barney, the parallels into the will of administrative sporting bodies to pursue and prosecute these cheats is contentious. Contrary to your statement, Armstrong did indeed produce positive results to EPO/cortico steroids in 1999. Here are a couple of links, google it yourself, there is plenty of info available.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sport...-details_x.htm
http://www.iol.co.za/sport/cycling/n...r-up-1.1404709
The controlling body at the time chose to do nothing. Why? There were and still are, mega bucks on the line here, for competitors, sponsors, media etc. Apart from that, the technique to substantitively prove the presence of EPO wasn't approved at the time. He cannot admit guilt, he just can't. Four Corners ran a great story the other night, so much speculation, he said, she said stuff. When he chose not to respond to the charges back in August, that sealed it for me.
I can't be too critical of HRNSW at the moment. They are hamstrung with limited $$$'s, investigative powers, on-going police inquiries that limit their ability to get on the front foot, obtaining credible lab results that will stand up to scrutiny, having to fight tooth and nail to make charges stand at appeal...it just goes on ad nauseum. These blokes are on the back foot at every turn. For me the boldenone positive just does not go away, and there is a lot riding on THAT appeal.
I hope HRNSW will does not falter as the UCI's did back in 1999. Still got faith in Reid seeing this and the corruption charges through.