Friday, January 10, 2013 Brrrr...Winter Racing at Northlands Park. See

Brrrr...Winter Racing at Friday, Northlands Park. January 10, 2013 See Page 2 Cobalt Cheats May Still Be Tough to Catch According to the Meadowlands statement when an By Bill Finley excessive amount of Cobalt is administered to a horse, it Though he has implemented tough rules that he hopes will can be very harmful. When used in excess, the affects of deter trainers from using the illegal drug Cobalt, Cobalt can be, but are not limited to: cardiovascular Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural said yesterday that issues, potential nerve problems, thickening of the blood combating use of the drug may not be easy. and thyroid toxicity. On Wednesday, the Meadowlands announced that it was "We are committed to providing the most integrity-driven doing its own out-of-competition testing for the drug and had product in harness racing," said Chairman Jeff Gural. "We already banned two trainers whose horses showed to have set out on a mission when taking over The Meadowlands excessive levels of Cobalt in their systems. The to not only provide our customers with that integrity-driven Meadowlands has product, but to do what is best for the horse and for the established a industry. This threshold of Cobalt being implemented for threshold level of horses competing at The Meadowlands, Vernon Downs four (4) times the and Tioga Downs is just one step toward achieving what standard we set out to achieve. If you are found to be giving your deviation above horses an excessive amount of this substance, you are not the normal level racing at any of our three racetracks, plain and simple. of Cobalt, which This is not about catching trainers that are cheating, this is does occur in the about keeping our equine athletes safe and healthy and body naturally. Any trainer who has a horse test above that providing our betting public and all of our participants a level will be banned from the Meadowlands and Gural's product that is on a level playing field." other two tracks, Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs. If Cobalt is indeed a problem in harness racing and no According to the Meadowlands press release, the odds of a states are testing for it then it would stand to reason that, horse having a natural level of Cobalt in its system above the currently, trainers can use it outside of the Meadowlands threshold the Meadowlands will allow is 10,000-1. Dionne Benson, the Executive Director & COO of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, said that Cobalt is definitely a drug that can be used as a performance-enhancer. "People believe is that it causes the bone marrow to stimulate more blood cells. It's not unlike EPO," she said. Gural said he first became aware of Cobalt when hearing rumors that a trainer with a long list of violations on his record was offering to sell it to people. No racing state was testing for the drug, so Gural took samples collected by his investigator Brice Cote and sent them to a lab in Hong Kong, where the excessive Cobalt levels showed up. Yet, he doesn't believe he has solved the problem. "The real problem is that this is a drug that disappears from the system very quickly," he said. "That makes it hard for us to pick it up. My guess is that with the two really bad cases where the trainers were banned their horse probably got this stuff a half an hour before we tested the horses. We were probably lucky to catch them." Though it may difficult to nail anyone using Cobalt, Gural hopes that fear of getting caught will be enough to make trainers stop using it. "One of the reasons I came out with the statement was, rather than trying to catch people, I want them to say to themselves ‘I better not use this stuff if I want to race at the Meadowlands,'" Gural said. "Why run the risk that Brice Cote shows up at the wrong time, takes a sample and I am done? A trainer that can't race at the Meadowlands is in trouble." HarnessRacingUpdate.com • 1/10/14 PAGE 2 of 6 without fear if getting caught. Gural said he has heard that At Northlands Park, they were likely having a good laugh New York and Kentucky are among states that are at those of us who were considering testing for the drug in the near future. complaining about the frigid temperatures that all but shut down the sport. At Northlands, brutal temperatures are not a problem, they are a way of life. They don't complain, they very rarely cancel. They just bundle up and go out and race. "Unless there's a complete blizzard people here will still come out to the races," said local trainer Rod Starkewski. "It's winter. The only thing to do is to come out to the horse races or go to a hockey game." With almost inhumane conditions a daily part of life And You Thought It Was Cold Here during the winter in Edmonton, the track, the horsemen By Lucas Marquardt and the racing commission have gotten together to The cold played havoc with schedules in the U.S. and establish some guidelines. They will cancel anytime the Canada earlier in the week when temperatures plummeted temperature dips below -25 Celsius (-13F) or if the wind into the single digits (Fahrenheit), too cold for man, beast or chill goes below -30 Celsius (-22F). Any warmer and it’s a harness racing. On Tuesday, with temperatures in the range go. of 8 and 9 degrees on the eastern part of the continent, "When it comes to temperature, you're dealing with the Monticello, Western Fair, Yonkers and Northfield all health and safety concerns of horses and people," said canceled. Northlands General Manager Chris Roberts. "At -25 you're In Alberta, sometimes they only wish it would get that at the point where exposed flesh will freeze in 10 minutes. warm for a night of harness racing. Horses handle it better, but they're exercising, so their HarnessRacingUpdate.com • 1/10/14 PAGE 3 of 6 lungs are handling a lot of cold air. Under the advice of the race comes less than one month after the opening of veterinarians, their advice is that racing below -25 can be the $265,000,000 Hard Rock Rocksino. hazardous. Our number one concern is safety." When you might have a night when you are racing at -24 Three New Living Horse Hall of Fame Members Celsius that causes obvious problems, one of which is Announced (press release) keeping the drivers warm. Starkewski said they do their best The Living Horse Hall of Fame nominating committee of to stave off the cold. the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame has "The drivers here are tough," he said. "They wrap announced the results of recent balloting to determine the themselves up in gear similar to what the football players 2014 inductees into the Harness Racing Living Horse Hall wear, lots of UnderArmour. With the gloves, there's not much of Fame. to them because you have to have a feel for the lines and a Annual members (in good standing) voted for the two feel for the horses. The gloves have to be pretty fine." horses they felt best exemplified greatness. Their choices The conditions also affect the horses. are racehorses Donato Hanover and Precious Bunny. The "What we found is that you need a warm paddock to keep other nominees were Fool's Goal, Real Desire and SJ's the horses loose," trainer Rod Hennessy said. "Because in a Photo. Also entering the Living Horse Hall of Fame in 2014 short post parade, and when it's 25 below, you don't get a will be broodmare Hattie, having met the required criteria chance to loosen the horses up. We try to keep the paddock for induction (see below). warm and will keep three blankets on them. I do a lot of work Donato Hanover, Precious Bunny and Hattie will be on their throats after they race. When it's that cold their inducted on Hall of Fame Day, Sunday (July 6). The throats get irritated." ceremonies honoring these extraordinary Standardbred "It affects them, it takes more out of them," Starkewski horses will take place during the Harness Racing Museum said. "They are a little more tired the next days. We notice & Hall of Fame's annual dinner. For information on the Hall they crash." of Fame weekend and other festivities surrounding this Northlands canceled on Dec. 6 and 7 when the wind chill important occasion visit http://www.harnessmuseum.com/ both days dipped below 30 below. A week later, it dipped or call or write the Museum at 240 Main Street, Goshen, down to -24.6 (-12 Fahrenheit), cold but warm enough to NY 10924. Phone: 845.294.6330. race. Roberts said there is little humidity in Edmonton, which Standardbreds are only eligible for nomination to helps make the extreme cold bearable. harness racing's highest accolade if they comply with the "We get used to it," Starkewski said. "I know that's hard to believe. The first couple of days that you get weather like this it can seem chilly, and then you get used to it and you are fine." Racing resumes tonight at Northlands. The weather forecast is calling for a high of 31 (Fahrenheit). At Northlands, they have a phrase for that: heat wave. Northfield to Offer $500,000 Carl Milstein Memorial Northfield Park has announced the creation of the $500,000 Carl Milstein Memorial to be raced on Friday, Aug.

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