Top Trainer Breaking News!
 

There is a top trainer that has defied the drug testing abilities. There will be ground breaking news in the coming months, if not sooner. Obviously I cannot name this trainer, but it's a leading trainer. Could be rubbed out for life! What is used is not Cobalt nor Sodium Bicarbonate, but something else I cannot mention. It will rock the racing world as this trainer has had phenomenal success over the last couple of years ;)
You heard it first here, blood samples taken from all this trainer's horses will show positive to a substance that cannot be detected right now.

In the 1980's I used to attend the trots at Moonee Valley and the top driver trainer combo used to roll through the gates with sodium bicarbonate all over the wheels, that's why when they got a horse, it improved by half a lap, stops the build up of lactose. In an interview with the trainer, (he must have forgotten) he attributed his success to the water walker he imported from America in those days. In the background shot was a pallet of sodium bicarbonate :P

Lets hope we can still drink beer.

The name ------- would not surprise me

I assume you are referring to 'night time events' Chrome?

LG

Vortech it's not ------- Can't say who it is for obvious reasons.
LG, yes Friday night trots at the Valley.

All I can say is this.
As most of you know, I run a thoroughbred rescue organisation (not for profit), in fact runs at a huge loss, but there are other satisfying benefits.
I've built up a reputation I've worked hard for, with some trainers many stable hands and strappers etc.
It first came to my attention when another trainer mentioned it in passing, however, I just took it as sour grapes perhaps. Then I bumped into some stable hands of the trainer in question by pure accident, and some had left because of it.
Then it was confirmed by yet another party closely associated with the stable, a jockey no less and a few track riders. What they eluded to was so consistent and all the stories were very similar. Some were very worried about being implicated when the story breaks. Others were worried about the welfare of the horses, which is how I came into the whole thing in the first place.
I should say, it's not cruelty or anything of that nature, but certainly not good for the horses and not good for the industry, nor anyone associated with said trainer.

If that many people know about it then I hope some of them have reported it to the right authorities.

Good point UB, but you have to prove it and as blood tests have come back all clear to date because they can't or don't test for this substance, they could be up for defamation of character. If the jockey, strappers or stablehands come forward, they'll never work in the industry again. That's how the politics go in racing circles - even if true.

The substance in question is Nitrolingual Spray which is used to widening blood vessels.

???

Puntz, I don't know what the substance is, I know is not Sodium Bicarbonate nor Cobalt, but it is something that is not tested for, nor comes up in the blood tests. But when news breaks, it will be bigger than the current enquiries going on, because of the success and high profile of the trainer.
I cannot mention the trainer's name for legal reasons.

The suspense is killing us all.... its like an episode of Bachelor in Paradise!

I'm not stressed at all.

If they're not testing for it.....?, then they're not testing for it!! No one is going to spill the beans are they?

So one of the questions to consider, are our respective systems/selections, methods etc then are just, will all be a better playing field without the performance enhancers ?

Hear we are we crunching numbers, bang heads, give up, come back, try and try, do as much as we can to "get it right", lose some, win some, only to find out we done all things right accordingly, and all along some impersol is using these things to throw the game out to the far east.

This is one of the reasons i have moved away from form based study to more mathematical selections, not because of drugs in racing but more that training habits and such has changed from 20 years ago, bigger stables with private training facilities, advances in fitness training plus a whole heap i don't even know about, it's just natural progression,

Thats a bit why say what you will about greyhounds, but I feel like sometimes the little man (or woman) on the back of a horse can have too much impact on how a horse performs as well. Also being bigger animals that need everything to go right for them in terms of running position, pace, injuries, jockey, track conditions (the list goes on), I sometimes wonder why I don't put more effort into finding a way to being profitable on the hounds.

It's a bit easier but not as easy as one might think. For the last few years I've been betting strictly on the dogs, with an occasional foray into the gallops.

Mind you, for the lack of jockey shenanigans, you have to put up with the stupidity of some dogs. Mishaps galore.

I do some turnover in all 3 codes.

Each one has its problems and each one can be manipulated by the humans involved. Scandals have been a part of each racing code for decades and will continue to be part of them.

My hope is that they only factor in a small percentage of the races or that my systems have some how taken into account those issues.

Wayne Hawkes said it best, "I have no sympathy for these trainers, they are always sorry after they are caught. Trainers these days don't make any money from training fees, it's the 10 percent prizemoney where we make our profit. These trainers involved in these tactics are taking money out of the pockets of the hard working trainers who play by the rules" (not verbatim).

Vortech, sorry I cannot mention the name of the trainer involved, but it puts me and this site at risk of a lawsuit. It may take weeks, months, or a year, but this trainer will be caught and it's bigger than the Cobalt enquiries. This trainer has had a lot of success, all I can say.

Yes I've picked only one part of your post to make my point.....isolated mathematical selections will always include form, as they're intrinsically connected. You simply cannot take form out of the equation.

Why not? training habits change, mathematics remain the same.

Many punters on here can make money just looking at the prices of the horses without having a clue on the form analysis.

The odds factor in form so the maths is intrinsically connected to form.

Back to the topic, if ya search , got banned for life..

And according to the full report, it say's whatever they tried to do, gave them a 1% advantage.
FFs, risk everything for 1%...
( unless they are conservative stating 1% for obvious reasons, or it's a mis-print )

The trainer CP is referring to hasn't been outed yet.

Snert



It's what the news said, that is why I copied n pasted,
you have a copy n paste snippet to refer to ?

Correct.
The trainer has not been outed, because the current modality used is either not tested for or does not appear in the tests they conduct.
I know it's frustrating, but I cannot name the trainer and it may take months, maybe longer, before the trainer is caught.

However, the scandal will be bigger than cobalt or the recent trainer banned for life, because of this trainer's success.

Some big raids at a trainers stables this morning, is this maybe who you were talking about CP?

hmmm

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/rac...130-p50ugc.html

I knew of this ages ago, this is what I was referring to. Can't say much more as no charges have been laid as yet!

Look up "jiggers" in racing, sand dunes my ass :P

There is a LOT more to this story btw.

Lots of cautious race reporting sites out there. Many of them have turned off comments in their articles. Will be very interesting to see the information that comes out in the ensuing days. In the short term, Weir horses are still able to run as he's yet to be charged with a breach of the rules of racing. Not sure if that will remain the case though.

I guess that familiarity breeds contempt, I doubt that any of these people entered the industry with the express purpose of endangering or torturing horses. The fervent animal rights activists would probably argue that that's a natural consequence of subjugating a species.



I recently discovered that someone I knew from another realm was a parent to a current jockey. Apparently they have been involved with horses all their life - to such an extent that they don't bet because they know of all the dodgy stuff that can go on behind the scenes. It's a crying shame there's that kind of culture. More prosecutions, more 'dobbing' and more information to punters/industry observers, please.

"Police have also confirmed that the three men have been released without charge, pending further enquiries." - Source The Age.

The key here being "pending further enquiries."

If the three stooges deny having or knowing of any of the evidence seized during the raids, then Police have to release the men. They can only hold them for a period of time. However, forensic evidence such as fingerprints, DNA etc. still have to be conducted. I believe that Police have kept much of the story and findings to themselves at this stage as it might hamper the investigation, and are also examining irregular betting trends.
"A small amount of cocaine was found", I believe that's not all they found.
Enough for now, it will all unfold in due course....

"It is understood still pictures were shown to Weir when he was interviewed on Wednesday by detectives from Victoria Police's sporting integrity unit.
While he initially co-operated, he refused to answer questions relating to the images." - Source The Age.

Racing Victoria stewards have charged Darren Weir with six offences under the rules of racing and asked him to show cause as to why he should not be suspended pending the hearing of those charges.

Three of the charges stewards laid against Weir relate to the use of "jiggers" or the use of electronic devices to deliver an electronic shock to affect the performance of a horse.

The show cause hearing involving Weir began with stewards at 4pm AEST on Friday via a telephone hook-up with the trainer being asked to show cause as to why he should not be stood down.

In the meantime the dramatic decision was made by stewards to scratch all Weir and Jarrod McLean-trained horses from the Moonee Valley meeting on Friday night and at Caulfield on Saturday. As part of that ruling stewards ordered all Weir and McLean trained horses accepted for races before Tuesday be scratched.


The Age report

I'm quite sure there is more to this story than jiggers, betting patterns etc.
I must remain tight lipped, but what I have heard is a lot more that hasn't been publicly announced. Racing Victoria is in damage control, so I understand why they wouldn't release any further information.

It looks like Darren Weir will be disqualified for 4 years for the use of jiggers only (nothing else appears to be coming out).

Well, a jockey and trainer were rubbed out for 3 years previously, so the message was clear.
4 years seems appropriate in these circs.

I didn't think the penalty was fair in the first instance and I don't think so this time around either.

Unless they have video to prove the usage as they did in the last case, I remain dubious.

As to using an unidentified, unbanned substance, what a joke!
Identify it, make sure it's performance enhancing in the first place, then talk about it.

A lot of ill will and jealousy in racing. The incompetent alway crying foul of the successful.

Make no mistake, I'm not saying, nothing illegal ever happens, but many of these 'crimes' are piddling affairs, that make no difference to the race outcome.
I'd be more wary of the quality of the rides.

I don't think 4 years is fair either.

He's pleaded guilty to using the jiggers, and they were hidden away on the property suggesting that he knew it was wrong to use them.

Life would be more appropriate.

According to Racing Victoria he wasn't charged with their use, Weir was charged with their possession (to which he pleaded 'no contest'). It's more than likely that photos and videos exist of them being used but there's no way that anyone who supports the racing industry would want that vision out in the public realm. (Early on in the piece it was reported that Weir was assisting police with the inquiries but refused to comment on a photograph that they had; police also have phone taps and video surveillance, per the Herald Sun).

The crime of possession is a far easier one to prove in either a court of law or under the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board. He is still under investigation by police by the way, the RAD decision could be just the beginning of his troubles.


The maths and analysis in racing interests me more than the horses themselves. That's not to say I don't care about their welfare though. I'm pretty naive with respect to training but I had hoped that the essential techniques wouldn't be too dissimilar to how a Little A's kid could prepare for a Carnival (given unlimited time and resources). Would you electro-shock a kid to make them run faster? No? Then don't do it to a similarly intelligent creature. I'm not interested in watching a race to find out which runner responded to torture most efficaciously.

I suggest that people who are blasé about some of the news coming out of the Weir investigation attempt to sense the winds in wider society and try to influence good practices in racing, lest they are imposed (harshly) from elsewhere due to industry inaction.

I'm a stats man myself, you can argue with but but never beat them.
(disclaimer, true and proper stats, not made up crap based on wishful thinking)

Performance matters, but again it is all confirmed in the stats.

4 years is a joke, nothing else seems to be coming out because as I said before along with previous cobalt scandals, jockeys punching horses, and stomach tubing horses or injecting them pre race, Racing Victoria is in damage control, they have to "charge" him with the possession of jiggers, the police will charge him with the possession of an unregistered firearm both found in his bedroom, but I know for a fact that there is more to this story that hasn't been published. Basically it's a big cover up. How do I know for sure? A member of my family worked with Weir.

Like I said before, sand hills my ass!