Among the multiple excessive beaters in harness world last week, these:
Running Aces, Jul 12: “When Best In Shadow was sent to the test barn, it was noted by the State Vet that several welts appeared on [his] right rear. Driver Gary Rath is hereby fined $500 and issued a 3-day suspension.” Best, by the way, “won” this race. So, worth it?
Oak Grove, Jul 13: “Adarryl Gates did use the whip in an indiscriminate manner, leaving undesirable marks on Beaumond Hanover.” For leaving those “undesirable marks,” Gates was suspended three days – no fine.
Plainridge, Jul 13: “Driver Julia Eaton was observed striking the horse [Late For Coffee] excessively while using other than wrist and elbow action throughout the race. Eaton is hereby fined $250 and suspended for one day.”
Also: David Lake was fined $100 for “kicking a horse” Jul 14. Not surprisingly, Lake has appeared on our site before: “causing visible injury to the stifle with the whip”; and, you guessed it, “kicking a horse” – just 11 days prior to this latest one. And trainer Vod Farris was fined $250 for “testing positive for alcohol with a reading of 0.118 [drunk]” Jul 9.
And finally: “Carl Tirella was the trainer of Seeuinnashville A when he raced at Meadowlands Mar 7. Following the race, Seeuinnashville A [submitted] blood and urine for analysis. A report from Industrial Labs identified the presence of oxymorphone in the urine. As a result, Mr. Tirella is hereby issued a suspension of his license for 365 days and fined $5,000.” Tirella’s suspension, however, does not start till Aug 1. In the interim, he was Seeuinnashville’s trainer in a race at Meadowlands less than a week ago. In that race, the 12-year-old finished 9th of 10 – perhaps owing to a lack of dope in the system.
