2002 - Harness Tracks of America, Inc.

HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICA
Executive Newsletter
A daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyond
Stanley F. Bergstein, Editor December 23, 2002
WRONG HORSE AT WOODBINE a red alert to all track managers to check that paddock
and testing personnel are in fact performing
In one of those dreaded incidents for track management
in which not one but two key racing employees
were lax in their jobs, a misidentified horse
their identification duties regularly and diligently.
won the second race at Woodbine last Thursday ANOTHER WIN FOR SIS
night. Not only did the track identifier -- Paul Ruhl, An investigation by Standardbred Investigative
an assistant paddock judge -- fail to check the Services and the Office of Criminal Investigations
horse’s identity, but a laboratory technician employed
by Woodbine’s testing company also failed ended the career of a dealer in illegal medication
of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has
to do so, and the race was won by a horse other in Illinois. Miriam F. Miquelon, U.S. attorney for
than the one programmed to race, and winning bets the southern district of Illinois, announced that
paid. The incident occurred when trainer Mark William Tippett of Fairview Heights, Illinois, had
Harder shipped two fillies recently acquired in pleaded guilty to misbranding veterinary drugs
Michigan to Woodbine. One, Nine O Nine Vine, earlier this year to be dispensed to horses without
was scheduled to race last week, but it turned out prescriptions from a licensed veterinarian. Tippett
that the second filly, Devereaux, actually went faces up to 3 years imprisonment and a $250,000
postward. One of the fillies was reported to have fine when he is sentenced March 14.
a star on its forehead and the other did not, and
both were freeze-branded. Devereaux won the race NO HOLIDAY JOY IN QUEBEC
for driver Paul McDonnell in 1:57 4/5, paying $7.20. Not for harness racing, anyway. The finance department
of the province of Quebec has approved
Woodbine’s senior vice president for racing, Hugh
Mitchell, apologized to Woodbine’s patrons and an additional 1,070 VLTs for SONACC, the provincial
governing body of racing, but with severe
horsemen, saying the horse identifier failed to do
his job and had been suspended indefinitely, and terms and conditions. The revenues cannot go to
that new identification measures were being put in purses, since they are to be cut from $40 million a
place immediately to insure that the regrettable year to $36 million in 2003 and to $32 million in
incident could not happen again. “We dropped the 2004. SONACC is limited to $19 million for improvements
to add the additional machines at Hip-
ball on this one,” Mitchell said. Barry Hewson,
Woodbine’s director of racing, noted that the odds podrome de Montreal and its teletheaters, and is
of two identifiers failing to identify the horse starting
in a race were astronomical. The Ontario Rac-
10%, or $4.5 million. In addition, Quebec will ap-
ordered to cut its annual operating expenses some
ing Commission, taking quick action, fined Woodbine
Entertainment $20,000 for the incident, fined tation of the retructuring plan, and any investment
point its own representative to oversee implemen-
trainer Mark Harder -- who was not present at of more than $1 million will have to be approved
Woodbine -- $7,500, and fined Tony O’Sullivan, by the finance department. Hippodrome, meanwhile,
has cut back its live racing dates to three
Harder’s assistant trainer, $1,000. It also suspended
assistant paddock judge Ruhl, who was responsible
for identification in the paddock, for 30 campaigning independently to save tracks at Que-
cards a week through April, and its horsemen are
days, and ordered the purse redistributed. bec City, Three Rivers and Aylmer that the government
wants to The unfortunate incident should serve as
close.