Here we go--Owner suing Trainer
 

I was waiting for something like this to happen. Here is the link to the story on bloodhorse:

http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=34910

Not sure what to think. Afterall, the guy admited to paying everyone of the bills so how can he not know what the bills are for!!! But if he wins, then this opens a big can of worms.

Let see if I got this right.
Horse wins a race,
Owner gets purse money,
Horse test positive,
Owner must return money that is not legally his.
Owner say it is not may fault.
Owner wants the trainer to return the money?
Trainer didn't get the money.
Only a Lawyer would waste time to not do what is right.
The fallout is the time wasted by a jury and the court system to have to hear this case.

Well I dont know. If the owners doesnt know that the trainer is drugging the horses then why should the owners pay the bills and then get penalized by not collecting the purse money. It wasnt the owners fault that they horse was drugged if he truly didnt know.

This might be the deterrent to stop the doping if the case prevails. How many trainers would be in the position to payback their owners purse money lost on a drug DQ? The 10% of the purse they charged the owner for orginally isn't going to cover it. The owner does have a point he did not drug the horse the trainer did so the trainer should be held accountable for the loss of purse money to the owner. It should be very interesting as a law case. Wonder how the fact that the trainer is the owner's agent at the track will figure into the case.



almar3t

[quote=almar3t]This might be the deterrent to stop the doping if the case prevails. How many trainers would be in the position to payback their owners purse money lost on a drug DQ? The 10% of the purse they charged the owner for orginally isn't going to cover it. The owner does have a point he did not drug the horse the trainer did so the trainer should be held accountable for the loss of purse money to the owner. It should be very interesting as a law case. Wonder how the fact that the trainer is the owner's agent at the track will figure into the case.


I agree, let the owners move the horses to other trainers, or make the trainers pay the fee. I'll bet we'll see a LOT less cheating if the trainers are actually held accountable!!!! I have show horses in training and you can bet with the training fees I have to pay, if my horses were ever disqualified and I had to return prize money for something I had no say over, I would be absolutely livid!!!! I am all for this guy suing the trainer!

BINGO!

that was my first thought, that owners could help keep peeps in line.

The trainer should be punished, but the owner has no right to any purse money that was won by cheating. So all the owner has left is to sue the trainer for a horse slow horse? I have owned horses and you can change trainers, sell the horse or keep trying. If I were in the same position I would sit down with my trainer and ask what happened and tell him don't get caught again. When your horses are winning races you will get a higher than normal Vet bill. Thats a fact.