Rusty Arnold Letter

[tims70ar]

A good read.

Nancy Holthus at Oaklawn tweeted a link to this letter and how some factors are beyond horsemen's control.


kyhbpa.org/2024/03/arnold-horsemen-must-speak-out-loudly-about-policies-that-ignore-environmental-realities/

[docd]

it's part of the learning curve. Ask Jeff Englehart.https://www.horseracingnation.com/news/Report_Jeffrey_Englehart_denies_charge_he_gave_clenbuterol_to_a_horse_123

[mysaladdays]

I empathize with good trainers like Rusty Arnold who may not be working in clean environments.

The testing is super-sensitive worldwide.

Perhaps HISA needs to make a field trip and/or confer with the internatonal community of regulators to find out why there is not an epidemic of drug positives coming from Japan, Hong Kong, the UK, France, etc.

And..if we are going to keep citing environmental contamination, maybe it's time to compare actual environments. From what I understand, the tracks need to have the kind of environment for horses which are as prisitine as possible.

Can we say that is true here? I saw some photos of one area of a backside at a rather respected track and I thought I was looking at a barn in a 4th world nation, which actually surprised me. Am I wrong about this?

That is certainly beyond any horseman's control ....... it's not beyond the control of the tracks themselves though, who are essentially, their "landlords" 

[mysaladdays]

As they say perfect is the enemy of good, and I remember when trailblazing efforts to make things better for all, like COBRA and Obamacare, had quite a lot of bumps in the road.

I am reminded of this becasue my SIL, who fought a very tough battle with breast cancer, and a lot of very gory surgeries and treaments, would not be alive today without those 2 programs, because she would have been uninsurable and not received the treatments she so desperately needed.

It is good to speak out but there has to be some inclination to do so because of making things better, not just for the purpose of "whining". There are plenty of the latter types (too many, actually) because it is the easiest path that requires no real work. As I get older I have less patience with those who whine who do not also have suggestions for SOLUTIONS. So hopefully there are solutions built in to all the snafus and I believe that is what eventually makes things better.........and it will get better.

I believe it will all get SORTED.  

We don't need a drug infested industry, we need what Gai Waterhouse described as good horsemanship and good barn management, too. Aiden Obrien brings his string here for BC races and you can see the almost marine corp type of discipline. To my eye they seem like a happy group and I havent' seen anyone here do that with their string. Aiden is a true gentleman in the old fasioned sense of the word, perhaps.

[1hooper]

HISA response.
www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/open-letter-to-the-industry/

[cherokeescot]

Excellent response 👏

[mysaladdays]

Excellent response indeed.

People keep referring to HISA as "the government" yet we see there is a smart, organized, knowledgeable female human being running it, who is well spoken and knows her stuff, and who certainly has the best interests of both the horses and the horsemen in mind.