FALCON POINTS
Latest horse racing scandal shows PEDs are still a thing, and baseball should pay attention, too
Mar 11, 2020, 6:51 am
FALCON POINTS
Maximum Security
I have long been an advocate and fan of horse racing. My love for the sport goes back decades, and I am still very much involved with racing. So when the news broke on Monday that the FBI had charged 27 people in an elaborate doping scheme designed to enhance the performance of race horses, my reaction was two-fold.
1) Embarrassment for the sport I have invested so much in over the years.
2) Happy to see these scumbags caught.
Of course, pundits are already weighing in. And they should. Horse racing has been in the cross hairs for all the wrong reasons in the past year. The horse deaths at Santa Anita. The disqualification in the Derby. The shocking news that Justify should have never been allowed in the Triple Crown races.
Now this. And most people react with a collective yawn. Cheating in horse racing? Who knew? A baseball sign stealing scandal becomes national news and is over-reported to death. But where is the outrage for this?
When baseball's PED scandal exploded, lost was a simple fact: Performance enhancing started with horse racing. It then moved on to human athletic endeavors. When it became public, baseball players went before Congress; no one raised an eyebrow at horse racing.
And it is well past time we should. Both sports have checkered pasts. Would it shock anyone that they are using new PEDs that can't be detected?
If the FBI is to be believed - and they reportedly have multiple phone conversations recorded - several trainers, including Jason Servis, trainer of 3-year-old champ and recent winner of the $20 million Saudi Cup, Maximum Security - were using a substance called SGF-1000.
The PED is "intended to promote tissue repair and increase a racehorse's stamina and endurance beyond its natural capability."
While racing has tests for many drugs, SGF-1000 is not one of them. One of the veterinarians indicted was caught on tape saying "They don't even have a test for it … there's no test for it in America."
While everyone is innocent until proven guilty, if the tapes are to be believed, this group of people will have a hard time selling a not guilty verdict.
Forget the fraud perpetrated on the betting public - we will get to that - the dangers to the horses are obvious. There were drugs that enhanced blood cell counts, and even snake venom was used to dull pain. In essence, it allowed injured horses to run. And yet the world is shocked when there are horse deaths on the track. Don't think these things aren't related.
In addition, it's always suspicious when a trainer starts taking horses from other trainers and immediately improves their performance. It is extremely common, and Servis is one of those. It is also unfair to the trainers who are not cheating.
Like baseball, horse racing has a long history of pushing the limits to get an edge. Many riders have used "buzzers," shocking devices to make the horses run faster. Some have fed horses edible marijuana for soreness. And if you hang around the track long enough, you will hear all kinds of stories. Some are pure fantasy; but there are enough cases that almost anything is believable. And if you think it is just the people caught on tape by the FBI, think again. It is widespread, as common as steroid use was in baseball. And it needs to stop.
At its purest, horse racing is a beautiful sport, with equine athletes combining with human athletes in the most authentic of competitions. There are trainers and people connected to the horses who love the animals who make their livelihood, and treat them better than children. But then there are the quick-buck artists who are looking for big paydays; con men and women who are only out for money. They exist in every walk of life, but when they encroach on racing and endanger an animal, they cross the line. They make millions of dollars off of these creatures and squeeze out every penny they can get with no regard for the horses or betting public. These people need to be weeded out of the sport. Monday's arrests should be just the start.
As someone who bets on the races, this behavior is unacceptable beyond the danger to the animals we all love. They are committing fraud against the horseplayer. Our group is the most under appreciated in racing. Without people betting on the races, there would be no horse racing. Yet the player has little voice. Some tracks actually cater to the player (Sam Houston and Santa Anita among them) but most simply don't care. The criminal element in the sport clearly doesn't care about us, either. And without us, you don't exist. It's way past time somebody recognized that.
Racing needs to take a hard look at itself and clean this up immediately. But will it? Probably not. The reality is that none of these scandals ever brings change.
And that frankly sucks, because there are good people in the sport, and there are those of us who love to bet and watch the athletes at their best.
As horseplayers, we want two simple things: An honest race to bet on and safety for the animals and jockeys that ride them. There are more people who think like that than there are cheaters and criminals, but the latter group is too big, and something needs to be done.
The scary part is, if there are PEDs that aren't tested for in horse racing, then should we not assume they have trickled into baseball and other sports again, like they did in the first place? Are we buying the "juiced ball" theories again? The big difference is when a baseball player does it, it is his choice, and the damage he does is self-inflicted.
The horses do not have that choice, because these scumbags made it for them.
As a fan of the sport, I am embarrassed. But I am glad they got caught. And I hope they get everyone else who is doing it as well, so we get an honest and fair run for our money from athletes whose lives are not being unnecessarily put at risk.
And I hope this tip of the iceberg does not extend to other sports. Because it certainly has before.
After falling in the divisional round of the playoffs for the second straight season, quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans believe they’re “really close” to taking the next step and making their first AFC championship game.
The question is what they’ll need to do to get to that level.
For Stroud it will be leaning on a mindset he’s had since his days at Ohio State.
“From Day 1 of the offseason program there has to be a standard set, and that standard has to be … I’m not going to be the one to mess this thing up. Like I’m going to be the one to make this team win the game,” he said. “If that’s Week 1 all the way to the AFC championship. That standard from training camp has to be the standard. I feel like that’s what it needs to be for us to get over that hump.”
The Texans lost 23-14 to the Chiefs on Saturday, their sixth loss in the divisional round and second at Kansas City.
Coach DeMeco Ryans, who has had an 11-8 record in both of his first two years in Houston, said eliminating mistakes should be his team's No. 1 goal.
“The teams that are still standing are teams that don’t shoot themselves in the foot,” he said. “They put themselves in good positions to play complementary football and they do it well. That’s why you’re at the end. So, if we want to be there, we just got to do our jobs and do it on a consistent basis.”
Stroud threw for 245 yards but was hurried and harassed all day in a game where he was sacked eight times. Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a 55-yard field-goal attempt, an extra point and had another field-goal attempt blocked with less than two minutes left, which would have kept Houston’s comeback hopes alive by making it a one-possession game.
The Texans won the AFC South for a second straight season and soundly beat the Chargers at home to advance to play the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.
Defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who has paired with Stroud to help turn around this franchise over the past two seasons, believes Houston has the pieces in place to contend for a title despite another early exit.
“We’re right there,” he said. “I don’t care what nobody says, this is a fantastic team. We’ve got our quarterback. We’ve got everything we need. We’ve just got to keep stacking and keep persevering.”
The Texans could need to add a receiver this offseason with Stefon Diggs becoming an unrestricted free agent and Tank Dell recovering from another serious leg injury.
Diggs had 47 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns in eight games this season after a blockbuster trade from Buffalo before a season-ending knee injury.
Stroud has said he’d like to have Diggs back next season, but it’s too early to tell if the Texans will pursue re-signing the 31-year-old.
Dell faces a long recovery after tearing his ACL and dislocating his knee in a loss to Kansas City in December. This injury comes after Dell fractured his fibula in Week 13 against the Broncos in the 2023 season.
Dell was Houston's second-leading receiver behind Nico Collins with 667 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Ryans was asked if Dell's most recent injury could keep him out next season.
“We will continue to assess Tank and see where he ends up,” Ryans said. “It is too early right now to put a timeline on it. We will just give him time to heal and progress, see how the rehab goes.”
Houston’s secondary was a strength of the team this season with the stellar performance of Derek Stingley and the emergence of rookies Calen Bullock and Kamari Lassiter.
Stingley, the third overall pick in the 2022 draft, shook off two injury-filled seasons to earn first-team AP All-Pro honors. The cornerback ranked second in the NFL in the regular season with 18 passes defensed and grabbed two interceptions in Houston’s wild-card playoff win.
Lassiter, a second-round pick from Georgia, started 14 games and had three interceptions in the regular season and had another pick against the Chargers. Bullock, taken in the third round from Southern California, also had five interceptions in the regular season to tie Stingley for the team lead.
“We’ve got one of the best secondaries in this league and a very young and talented secondary also,” Bullock said. “So, it’s pretty scary for what we’ve got in the future, especially with the plays we made this year.”
The Texans will look to improve their offensive line this offseason after they allowed 54 sacks in the regular season and 12 more in the postseason.
“In the playoffs, you’ve got to win your one-on-one battles. That’s what the game always comes down to,” Ryans said. “You have to have some pride in who you’re blocking, to get it done and give the quarterback a chance to throw the football.”