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Originally Posted by ELA
However, and perhaps this is too simplistic -- what's the difference? Who cares already. My point is, either allow it or don't. Clenbuterol . . . some guys use it as "program" and others do not. Same I am sure with other drugs. So, it's either legal or it's not. If the states want to -- well, forget about that -- it is now to the point where they HAVE to -- join together, develop a national guideline and get everyone to follow it.
Sure, I know, easier said than done. So what putting a man on the moon. I think you brought up some excellent points. It's just now time to "do something" about it.
Eric
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My general premise is that we need to adopt a set of uniform rules from which everyone works. Some will like them; others won't. But once we set the rules, we need to enforce them.
I appreciate the concern that Chuck stated in an earlier post. If the RMTC model rule on steroids is adopted, will there be trainers/chemists that employ designer steroids? If human sports are any guide, the answer is probably, "yes." But that's not a reason to fail to adopt the rules. To my way of thinking, the concern over the parade of horribles argument that Chuck is referencing would ultimately lead to the following guiding principles: "Everything goes. Use whatever you want."
Racing's problem is not that some unscrupulous individual is going to try to circumvent the rules (or "push the envelope" as some like to call it); rather, the problem is that it doesn't meaningfully enforce the rules that it already has. And if the RMTC rules are adopted, and racing continues its lax enforcement, then the whole exercise is a complete waste of everyone's time and energy. The only difference now, as baseball has learned, is that, if racing doesn't get its house in order, then someone (the Whitfields of the world) may do it for us - and in a manner over which we have no control.