DanG
5th December 2007, 05:44.42 AM
I realize when humans & cash are involved there will be some who would drug their Grandmother at bingo for an edge. However; for whatever reason the practice of shoving a sponge up an animals nose (usually the favorite) just strikes me as especially appalling. :mad:
You read stories like this and you have to remind yourself that the sport taken on a whole is remarkably predictable. Just imagine the reduction in randomness “if” criminal activity like this was all but removed.
BTW: A little background on this race…
10/16/2007, Del / Race # 8 was a 5 horse field.
Maren’s Meadow was a ‘K-113 (Hyper Favorite) and the only saving grace was on sheer courage she finished 3rd to screw up the degree of the betting coup. A $20 exacta and $38 Tri was not what “Joey Coffeecake” was hoping for when they restricted her breathing. A poor 51-1 shot who couldn’t outrun a beer-truck just made it all the more inviting to body slam a 3-horse box until the mutual machine blew up.
PS: I remember when I posted the article on the Jockey’s who were being investigated last year and were ruled off the track without a trial. Many of you (Donnie immediately comes to mind) where outraged that people could lose their means of support just through accusation. (It turns out Donnie and others were proven correct) With undeniable proof such as this we can only hope the same voracity is used to investigate.
If you did key 'Maren’s Meadow in the late pick-x you have no recourse; but you do get a nice copy of the home game from Monty Hall. :rolleyes:
[Article courtesy of The Thoroughbred Times and the link is from Equidaily.com]
Delaware officials investigating sponging
by Pete Denk
Veterinarians at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington were prepared to operate on two-year-old filly Maren’s Meadow to remove a tumor from her nasal passage in late October, but they found something else lodged in her nostril—a sponge.
Now the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, and Delaware State Police are involved in the investigation, said John Wayne, executive director of the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission. Wayne declined further comment, citing the pending investigation. But owner Sandra Rasmussen spoke about the incident.
“I was relieved it was not a tumor because that was a big question,” said Rasmussen, whose River Ridge Ranch in Runnells, Iowa, owns Maren’s Meadow. “She had gone to Rood and Riddle because of this bad discharge she had, and then they look in there and see this blue-green thing and it looked like a nasty tumor.
“They got her down anesthetized and, heaven sakes, here’s a sponge.”
Maren’s Meadow was sent to Rood and Riddle following a disappointing loss as the heavy favorite in a Delaware Park allowance race on October 16.
The two-year-old Meadowlake filly out of Gold Liaka, by Yukon, was coming off a fourth-place finish in the Matron Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park on September 15 and was the .90-to-1 favorite in the $42,000 non-winners of one allowance race at Delaware.
After showing speed for a half mile, Maren’s Meadow tired and finished third in the five-horse field, beaten 6 1/4 lengths by the winner Piker.
“After the race we were all very puzzled because she had a good chance to win,” Rasmussen said. “[Trainer Larry Jones] thought [jockey] Mario Pino didn’t follow directions in the race at first, but of course we didn’t find this out before it was a week down the road.”
Large amounts of mucus drained from the nostril in the days following the race, and antibiotics failed to clear it up.
“At first I was relieved and then I was so angry,” she said. “I’m a small breeder in Iowa, and to think somebody ... why do this at all? I guess there are people who can manipulate anything.”
Jones has a watchman at his barn. Rasmussen believes a fire at a nearby trailer may have distracted him two or three nights before the race.
Jones declined to comment on Tuesday, saying that Delaware investigators asked him not to talk to the media while the investigation is pending.
“I have not been turned loose to talk about it yet, so I have to leave it at that,” Jones said. “The filly is in training at Fair Grounds and she’s doing well.”
Pete Denk is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer
You read stories like this and you have to remind yourself that the sport taken on a whole is remarkably predictable. Just imagine the reduction in randomness “if” criminal activity like this was all but removed.
BTW: A little background on this race…
10/16/2007, Del / Race # 8 was a 5 horse field.
Maren’s Meadow was a ‘K-113 (Hyper Favorite) and the only saving grace was on sheer courage she finished 3rd to screw up the degree of the betting coup. A $20 exacta and $38 Tri was not what “Joey Coffeecake” was hoping for when they restricted her breathing. A poor 51-1 shot who couldn’t outrun a beer-truck just made it all the more inviting to body slam a 3-horse box until the mutual machine blew up.
PS: I remember when I posted the article on the Jockey’s who were being investigated last year and were ruled off the track without a trial. Many of you (Donnie immediately comes to mind) where outraged that people could lose their means of support just through accusation. (It turns out Donnie and others were proven correct) With undeniable proof such as this we can only hope the same voracity is used to investigate.
If you did key 'Maren’s Meadow in the late pick-x you have no recourse; but you do get a nice copy of the home game from Monty Hall. :rolleyes:
[Article courtesy of The Thoroughbred Times and the link is from Equidaily.com]
Delaware officials investigating sponging
by Pete Denk
Veterinarians at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington were prepared to operate on two-year-old filly Maren’s Meadow to remove a tumor from her nasal passage in late October, but they found something else lodged in her nostril—a sponge.
Now the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, and Delaware State Police are involved in the investigation, said John Wayne, executive director of the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission. Wayne declined further comment, citing the pending investigation. But owner Sandra Rasmussen spoke about the incident.
“I was relieved it was not a tumor because that was a big question,” said Rasmussen, whose River Ridge Ranch in Runnells, Iowa, owns Maren’s Meadow. “She had gone to Rood and Riddle because of this bad discharge she had, and then they look in there and see this blue-green thing and it looked like a nasty tumor.
“They got her down anesthetized and, heaven sakes, here’s a sponge.”
Maren’s Meadow was sent to Rood and Riddle following a disappointing loss as the heavy favorite in a Delaware Park allowance race on October 16.
The two-year-old Meadowlake filly out of Gold Liaka, by Yukon, was coming off a fourth-place finish in the Matron Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park on September 15 and was the .90-to-1 favorite in the $42,000 non-winners of one allowance race at Delaware.
After showing speed for a half mile, Maren’s Meadow tired and finished third in the five-horse field, beaten 6 1/4 lengths by the winner Piker.
“After the race we were all very puzzled because she had a good chance to win,” Rasmussen said. “[Trainer Larry Jones] thought [jockey] Mario Pino didn’t follow directions in the race at first, but of course we didn’t find this out before it was a week down the road.”
Large amounts of mucus drained from the nostril in the days following the race, and antibiotics failed to clear it up.
“At first I was relieved and then I was so angry,” she said. “I’m a small breeder in Iowa, and to think somebody ... why do this at all? I guess there are people who can manipulate anything.”
Jones has a watchman at his barn. Rasmussen believes a fire at a nearby trailer may have distracted him two or three nights before the race.
Jones declined to comment on Tuesday, saying that Delaware investigators asked him not to talk to the media while the investigation is pending.
“I have not been turned loose to talk about it yet, so I have to leave it at that,” Jones said. “The filly is in training at Fair Grounds and she’s doing well.”
Pete Denk is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer