Hot Potato Issue

Let me see if I got this right: the New York State Racing and Wagering Board (one powerful entity) has proposed that trainers, owners and veterinarians be able to produce, on demand, a horse's medical records for 45 days prior to racing in New York and everyone says it's too much work. It's too much paperwork to demonstrate that you are entering a horse that is sound and fit in a race on which the public is wagering? And what planet are we living on?

It is almost inconceivable to me that owners, trainers and vets wouldn't be clamoring for this legislation if only to indicate how well (and legally) they all do their jobs. After all, if there was nothing to hide, I sincerely doubt it would be too much work to produce these records.

I do understand the objection raised by the American Association of Equine Practitioners that veterinary records are considered confidential, but I believe that owners could overrule that privilege. And as for the objection that "it creates a nightmare of hundreds of thousands of work hours, will mean thousands of trees will have to be destroyed AND will not do one thing to curb any individuals that are set on breaking any jurisdictional rules, as they are certainly to going to enter information that would be self-incriminating," voiced by Dr. Stephen J. Selway, a New York veterinarian, well, I beg to differ. IF there was such a thing as a Veterinary Oversight/Ethics Board (and I am betting there is), falsification of records would seem to be grounds for stripping a vet of his right to practice. What Selway is really saying, I believe, is that it would be too much work for the vets to couch, in medical terms, what they are really doing and probably not keeping great records on.

Despite the objections, John Simoni, a member of the NYRW Board said they were committed to making the proposal a reality. "They don't want to be inconvenienced," he elaborated. "They don't want to look at the real problem, which is the drugging of horses. We keep getting reports of out-of-control vets out there. We need to know what they are giving them and when."

The objection on the part of the owners seems also to be related to this "paperwork" problem. I have no idea why since I would think that it would be in an owner's best interest to be racing sound and fit horses. Would it make it a little harder for trainers to enter a horse? Maybe, if the entry required the owner signing off on the medical records form. But what if the form was posted on line and the owner simply had to click a box to give approval. Or maybe there would be a way for an owner to "sign off" on a trainer for a season. The point is, I am sure details could be worked out.

What I am really hearing is that the problem is so prevalent that everyone wants to pass the blame, from owner, to trainer to vet. And until everyone steps up to the plate and takes responsibility for drugging horses, no one is going to want to watch racing, let alone bet on it. And that is as close to a sure thing as you'll ever get in this sport.