According to a report by the Lexington Herald-Leader, trainers Jan Johnson, Robert McIntosh, James Arledge and Joseph Seekman have sued the Red Mile for defamation
.
The suit comes after allegations arouse about blood-doping in horses participating at the Red Mile during its meet in the fall of 2008.
According to the report, the suit, which alleges unspecified damages, was filed yesterday (Monday, January 5) against the Red Mile, contending the track did not follow Kentucky Horse Racing Commission protocols for providing for tests to confirm the initial results.
"These guys have never tried to profit from this," the trainers' attorney, Tom Miller was quoted as saying. "It's just out of absolute frustration, that they've been publicly accused of egregious misconduct, forced to spend their own money to do the testing, and then ignored when it turns out that they were not culpable. ... It was our opinion that we had no alternative (but to sue) to get any kind of relief. If they would ever call me we'd hopefully be able to work it out quickly."
To read the Lexington Herald-Leader article in its entirety, click here.
(With files from the Lexington Herald-Leader)
it would be nice if other
it would be nice if other racetracks like weg did not except entries from any of these 4 trainers who are launching a law suit,in my opinion they narrowly escaped big fines and suspensions,and should thank god for loopholes that allow them to continue to race .it is shameful that no is supporting the red mile
Any orginization or business
Any orginization or business has a set of policies or procedures that you agree to abide by if you wish to be a member. These trainers in a sense agreed to these conditions when they became licensed in the state or at the track and entered their horses in the race. On the surface, as long as the track followed their policies they shouldn't have anything to worry about and the trainers should be happy they were able to clear their names. What I dont understand is why doesn't the system allow "split sample testing" in all positives test? This is the standard in US Federal Drug Testing Programs. All split testing is done at the expense of the individual with the positive and results are kept private until the result of the original test is confirmed or not confirmed. I believe they should focus their energy on changing the testing policies and stop with the defamation.
Well here is the integrity
Well here is the integrity thing again. If these gentlemen don't need to do unethical things to win races, why don't they sue the testing facility and not the racetrack? The Red Mile is only trying to put forth it's best effort to get this crap out of racing. If they received poor information it is not their problem. They did not release any names. They only acted on the information they received as ethical information from the testing facility. It is hard to believe that the Pennsylvania test is the only real test. If I were the Red Mile I would question their integrity. It is junk like this that makes it hard for standardbred racing to get out of the "cheater" funk that it is in. Remember the New Years resolution, be more positive about standardbred racing, put a positive spin on it. Lick your wounds and get over it, enough said. By the way, it is fifty fifty right now, who breaks the tie? Hate to be the judge in this case.
Boy. I didn't realize how
Boy. I didn't realize how many experts we have on the testing process and blood doping.
It's obvious that these people that are making derogatory comments about the 4 trainers, don't know them. I do, and know them to be honest,hard working,and extremely good horsemen! They don't need to resort to unethical methods to win races.
I wonder how many of you would just lie down and take it if you were falsely accused of wrong doing?
It is quite strange that at
It is quite strange that at least one of the trainers claims to have been told not to pursue further testing. I wonder how true that statement is. Just how reliable is the screening test? Does it also report false negatives when it comes to EPO/DPO? These are far too serious charges to be relying on a test that does not give definitive results for these drugs. Test, yes but only if the tests are reliable and if not, send anything that is doubtful for further testing. If the result does not confirm a positive, the trainer/owner should not be responsible for the expense.
Horse racing is becoming a
Horse racing is becoming a real joke. How can a track keep racing honest without getting sued for deflamation of character? I think these so called big named trainers and owners
are getting to big for their britches. Get over it. I hope that if the track is cleared of these allegations these trainers are banned from racing there anymore.
If I recall, the Red Mile
If I recall, the Red Mile did not release their names; they just scratched the horses. Yes, shame on the Red Mile for not using better testing methods, but if they didn't publicly release the names, I don't know how they could be cited for defamation.
In reply to If I recall, the Red Mile by Anonymous (not verified)
gee i wonder if the term
gee i wonder if the term intimidation comes into play here - particularily if one of the subjects has had priors. this is good tactic to ensure the officials won't overstep their bounds again even though the old adage where there is smoke there is fire most certainly will have come into play here. i cannot fathom even in the far reaches of my over-active imagination that any racing official would have made premature announcements concerning testing results without some consultation with their own legal department. what i can see is after the fact some loop-hole being found by legal-begals to obscure the results of testing that may have been done. who knows for sure!
In reply to If I recall, the Red Mile by Anonymous (not verified)
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE TESTED BLOOD CHANGED FROM TEST ONE TO TEST TWO. POSSIBLY THIS BLOOD WILL NOT SHOW THE DOPING
AFTER 2 MONTHS OR SO. IF I WAS THE TESTING FACILITY I WOULD TAKE A NON RACING HORSE AND DO THE EPO DOPING AND SEE IF IT BREAKS DOWN AFTER ONE OR TWO WEEKS AND THEN TESTS NORMAL.
Congratulations to the
Congratulations to the trainers trying to clear their name. George Segal talked big when he thought he was looking like a hero on doping. Since he was proved wrong I have not heard a word from him.
have these trainers ever had
have these trainers ever had a positive test and if so were they ever sued by the horsemen who "got the black eye" i believe there is atleast one that has had some priors!
If these trainers dont like racing at the redmile go elsewhere!
Heads should roll when it
Heads should roll when it comes to the person(s) that released the info on the positives before they were confirmed. It was just another black eye for the sport as a whole.
One question: Has these
One question: Has these trainer's ever been caught with a positive before this incident?
Thats right stick it to the
Thats right stick it to the Red Mile for trying have some integrity. False positive or False negative? How can these trainers run a business? How many old owners did they lose? How many people chose not to go to these trainers due to these test results? Better find some of those people to testify to add alittle proof to these claims. This will be settled out of court for peanuts if you are lucky. Hope these trainers have never ever ever ever had a positive test for anything. I am sure you thought of that though. Hope Miller is doing this Pro Bono because it hold s zero water.
Turn about is fair play.
Turn about is fair play.