Monzante

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

They didn't pull Haskin's piece and I thought it was well written and fair as always.

http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse...-Disgrace.aspx

They did pull the piece, they just put it back up. Haven't read the version that's there now, not sure if there've been any edits or if they figured the fact that it was getting spread around and talked about meant the cat was out of the bag so they should just repost.

ETA: Steve just thanked everybody for their kind words on FB. He said with subjects this controversial Bloodhorse likes to review all commentaries, but they reposted it. I still think someone had a moment where they went 'oh look a new piece by Haskin, I'll just read this--ahhhh, take it down, take it down!'

Originally Posted by randallscott35

I'd also say that Monzante shouldn't be saved anymore than Zippy Chippy should be. I find it a bit insulting that only horses that run well in circles are deemed to live out there days in a happy pasture while the slow ones don't.

Did you really follow what Monzante's career's been like at all? Hard to believe that if you're comparing him to Zippy Chippy. Monzante practically had a neon sign over him saying 'old and not sound, stop racing.' Some people treat horses well while they're at the top and then either dump them when they go off form or simply don't try to keep track. If you're going to benefit from their talent, you gotta pay it back. Zippy Chippy was endearing, but the very nature of his many many (many) losses was that he was sound enough to achieve them. It's not about old horses not running. It's about not running them to death when they give every indication that it's inevitable.

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

They did pull the piece, they just put it back up. Haven't read the version that's there now, not sure if there've been any edits or if they figured the fact that it was getting spread around and talked about meant the cat was out of the bag so they should just repost.

ETA: Steve just thanked everybody for their kind words on FB. He said with subjects this controversial Bloodhorse likes to review all commentaries, but they reposted it. I still think someone had a moment where they went 'oh look a new piece by Haskin, I'll just read this--ahhhh, take it down, take it down!'

With Haskin's reputation I am shocked they would take down anything of his.

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

With Haskin's reputation I am shocked they would take down anything of his.

I'm sure it was just about making sure he didn't say anything that could get them sued.

[dellinger63]

Seems the dozen unnamed plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against the racing commission alleging excessive vet scratches in 2011 have to bear some blame:

More than a dozen trainers and horse owners at Evangeline Downs are suing the Louisiana Racing Commision. Don Stemmans has owned thousands of racing horses since the 1960s.

He said, "I've never seen a racing commission, ever like this, do anything like this."

Stemmans is one of many horse owners who have lost faith in the judgment of state veterinarians appointed by the Louisiana Racing Commission.

Nicholas Bellard is representing more than a dozen horse owners and trainers in the lawsuit.

"Over the last year and half or so they've been arbitrarily placing inordinately large number of horses on what is called the vet list, what's called the injured reserve-- they can't run," Bellard said.

Every time a horse is placed on the vets lists, anyone from owners to trainers, jockeys and even groomers lose out on money.

The dozens of horse owners and trainers say they are tired of spending money training their horses, only to have a state vet say their horse is unfit to compete. Stemmans owned 36 horses three months ago.

He said, "I sold them all. I have maybe five or six horses left. I can't afford to have to wait, to have to get a horse ready to run, it costs money."

Another horse owner, Lee Young, said "it costs me two races, both at 100,000."

Young says the recent events at the track are forcing him to call it quits.

He explained, "I got one of the best vets in the country that works on the horse and checks the horse before we even go and then we got a yo-yo here. I'm telling you this guy does not know which end of the horse he's looking at."

Bellard says up to 240 horses at Evangeline Downs have been ineligible to race at a single time.

He said, "personally I don't think it ever involved fixing racing, it involved get rid of a certain element of horse racing that they didn't think was appropriate to horse racing in Louisiana."

The Racing Commission failed to return any of KATC's phone calls.

[url] http://www.katc.com/news/horse-racing-law-suit

I'll try and locate the lawsuit later

Just hope the current vet isn't named Beth

[Kasept]

Story has changed significantly this morning with it turning out that Monzante was not put down on track.

http://www.drf.com/news/monzante-dee...regulator-says

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Story has changed significantly this morning with it turning out that Monzante was not put down on track.

http://www.drf.com/news/monzante-dee...regulator-says

Wow.

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Story has changed significantly this morning with it turning out that Monzante was not put down on track.

http://www.drf.com/news/monzante-dee...regulator-says

Un****ingbelievable.

[Merlinsky]

Now I'm pissed. There ought to be a way to indicate that he wasn't euthanized for his injuries. He was euthanized because his trainer was a loser.

[Rudeboyelvis]

Uh oh.

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-03-...ing-commission

[casp0555]

Originally Posted by Rudeboyelvis

Uh oh.

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-03-...ing-commission

This is very sad

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by Rudeboyelvis

Uh oh.

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-03-...ing-commission

New leaf for him then. Didn't starve the horse to death

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Story has changed significantly this morning with it turning out that Monzante was not put down on track.

http://www.drf.com/news/monzante-dee...regulator-says

good god.

i bet it turns out that the trainer is the same guy as the person charged for cruelty...they need to change that bs about keeping a trainers license!

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Story has changed significantly this morning with it turning out that Monzante was not put down on track.

http://www.drf.com/news/monzante-dee...regulator-says

That makes me sick.

[Merlinsky]

http://www.drf.com/news/trainer-says...-was-suffering

He does know you can give a horse more drugs, right? If this guy thinks he's a good guy for what he did and why he did it, I'm just not seeing the evidence for that. Saving a horse and rehabbing them costs a lot of money. Putting that much into Monzante and then he might get an infection and die anyway causing you to lose what you put in is a risk you take. You can balance that with the chance of success from a person who's going to give it to you straight, not that Thacker really did that. He's not a doctor, he's not the one who should be judging the horse's medical condition. Of course he's in pain, he's got broken bones. Bones can heal.

That private vet is gonna do what he tells'em regarding saving or not saving a horse with a sesamoid injury even if they would've tried it were it their horse. It doesn't seem like a medical opinion was even what swung it. He's not saying 'we asked the vet and they really thought the odds were poor.' He went with his gut emotion (he claims) and his wife using google. We're only hearing his side on the horses that starved. No telling what that was really about. Feels weird that someone could send you malnourished horses and the situation isn't dealt with before some drop dead. If nothing else, cover your butt and report the other person.

[Merlinsky]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...-monzante-case LA Plans No Further Action in Monzante Case

Of course they don't.

ETA: I listened to the ATR guests today, and I just wanted to say, Steve, that I appreciated the discussion and the issue that many people, when offered money to buy these horses for retirement, just don't want to do it. They want to campaign the horse, and probably don't like to admit that the horse may be a ticking time bomb because that would reflect negatively on them. They might believe there are a few more races in them. Having a former G1 winner like Monzante makes me think Thacker would've said no to selling unless it was to more than he was worth. I've seen it happen frequently that connections won't let the horse go or if they do, they jack up the price trying to make money off what they see as a bleeding heart. So frustrating that this is part of the situation, but it is.