Yonkers Bans Pena

Roger Clemens from what I've read could face life in prison for lying to Congress.
It's my understanding Clemons never tested positive for anything in his entire career.
Maybe racing should rethink their punishment when it comes to positive tests, especially for a trainer that's had multiple positives.

And if I'm not mistaken the whole premise behind the Clemons issue is "for the good of the sport"

Just my thoughts

honestly, do any of you really beieve that Pena has a supplier for some 'super go fast' that no other trainer anywhere in the world has access to?

Casie Coleman faced the same type innuendo in Ontario on the WEG circuit not long ago ; forced to race from detention etc.

On another note I see Brennan won a ton of races again last night in Yonkers without Pena's 'hot' horses.

The racetracks are private propriety and they have the right to exclude anybody they deem bad for business. except discrimination, religion prejudice etc. I think Yonkers when they banned Lou Pena didn,t do it on a whim and would of thought long and hard about the legal ramifications of such actions.Therefore I think Yonkers probably has more than Lou winning to many races as their only reason for the ban. Would any of you want to stand on that from a legal standpoint? I give Yonkers credit for having more sense than that, maybe i'm wrong.

Does anyone know for a fact if Lou Pen has had any positive tests in the last 5 years?

Let me just say this. There has been a long list of so called "super trainers" I could print a long list but it would be pointless because I'm sure Standardbredcanad would not publish it. Most of these called "super trainers" who had such great techniques aren't around anymore for one simple reason. THEY GOT CAUGHT. Now if only they would catch the few that are still around.

So let me get this straight Sal.. Just because a trainer or driver is red hot over long periods of time, a track has the right to just right banish them with no reason and no prove? What happened to being innocent until PROVEN guilty?
The only reason I see that Pena is being pointed out here is that, he's winning. Yonkers took a big leap up this year with the problems at Meadowlands earlier. The purses have been bigger and it's been drawing the better trainers and horses there because of this. Maybe all the other trainers are happy now, their main competition is gone, it's just too bad they couldn't settle things on the track like it should be, instead of living of an outragous decision.

this comment is intended for fred brethour.You are bang on with your suggestion,infact either have all horses in retention or none.As long as everyones on the same playing field.The judges should be more agressive with everyone and not just pick and choose who to suspend.Suspensions should include more than just positve tests.

I find it rather amusing that Mr. Pena would be told "Not to try all the time." If that be the case, Yonkers should give Mr. Pena unlimited access to the infield announcement board so that he can convey the following: "Ladies and Gentlemen, I will not, and I repeat, I will not be attempting to win the following races, #3 to #5 inclusive! Please make alternate picks in your Pick 3 and Win 4 selections." I am trying to figure out why a track would ask their top trainer to leave, when that trainer and his charges inflate the pools with the wagers of high rollers! I am also of the same opinion of many respondents to this article-how much can this man do that other seasoned trainers have not tried?

In respect to Phillip Dawson's post about George Brennan winning 5 races without Pena being on the ground and suggesting that exonerates Mr. Pena is just not dealing with reality or the facts. Now there is no doubt about it George Brennan is a great driver one of the best in the biz and all great drivers from time to time have big nights. For the most part drivers such as Brennan, Sears, Tetrick, get live drives and as a result will have some big nights.

To suggest that Pena did not have a dramatic effect on Brennan's driving percentage at Yonkers is simply denying the obvious. Pena had 619 starts with 242 wins which resulted in a win% of 39.1. Brennan had 1539 drives with 425 wins which resulted in a win% of 27.6. Now Brennan would have driven the majority of horses that Lou Pena won with. So if you removed the Pena horses from Brennan's stats he probably would have had a win% of maybe 19 to 20%. This is just a rough estimation. Still 19 or 20% is very respectable and it would put him right in line with the tracks 2nd leading driver Jason Bartlett who has a 20% win percentage. Brennan's win % on Pena's horses would be approx twice as high as it was when he drove other trainers horses.

If im a general manager at a race track, I will have to understand that i will always hear the gossip about the "masked trainers" from the "legitimate trainers" however when I walk into that venue and the reality is that every one there believes the same gossip, is it not my job to consider the affiliation with the perception of a individual and how it reflects on that establishment?

I must say though as a horse person its hard to get off the fence on this, to my knowledge it's unprecedented that after two years of racing getting the pink slip for no apparent wrong doing at the track. Heck on that precedent there's a couple other guys with similar stats that would entitle them the same treatment? Any way you cut it its a black eye to the sport and because of the scale of the stable only makes it that much more publicized.

Yonkers (the Meadowlands, and other tracks involved here) and Lou Pena need a sit down ASAP and get out in front of this issue immediately......Come to an agreement.... I want to enjoy watching Lou's horses race wherever he enters them and Yonkers is my home track. All parties better wake up before this spills over to extraneous issues and tarnishes horse racing further as well as their other business interests put under the proverbial microscope.

The owners are ragging to the track, USTA and to the SOA they can't turn a nickle into a quarter much less into a nickle with Pena around, Pena is fairly new in these parts, but he's clean, outspoken and very successful and totally transparent, how many successful outspoken harness horsemen are there in racing who reside at the top?

When i read this story there is a couple of old sayings that come to mind, the first is if it looks to good to be true it usually is and the 2nd one is if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's a duck. Yonkers took a very tough and controversial stand against Mr. Pena for a 40% win percentage against other top trainers that to most reasonable people would be almost impossible to achieve with the high number of starters that he had.

Over the years on the weg and big m circuit there have been many trainers for a period of time that got smoking hot, winning everything for a period of time and stepping up horses off other trainers that would leave you scratching your head as to how they suddenly got so good. Then just as mysteriously several months later they would go back to there old ways where they could barely win a race but yet when they were smoking hot they never got caught with anything but anyone with an ounce of common sense knew something was up.

Did these trainers all get tired of winning races and making money, did they forget how to shoe or jog there horses or were they using something they shouldn't have been using and knew the the authorities were moving in on them so they stopped before they got caught. In sports and in racing the cheaters have been for the most part one step ahead of the testers. Now just because you are not caught doesn't mean you are not doing it. Is Mr. Pena doing anything he shouldn't but getting away with it. That's a distinct possibility and as a result yonkers took a preemptive strike.

Only someone who has lost there mind would be bewildered at what has happened here. Perception is 9/10 of this game and if you think that winning 8 or 10 in a row in the same class is good for your image then you deserve the scrutiny that comes with it.

When George Brennan won five races on Tuesday night at Yonkers, he sure threw a pail of ice water over the Yonkers powers-that-be.Alas, his favorite trainer was not on the grounds. No, Lou Pena was at a casino track, where he entered three horses, and all three were out of the money.

Guess we better get a Yonkers memo sent to Mr. Brennan, telling him to "stop winning so much." People say in these blogs that harness racing smells from time to time. I say the smell is wafting over from Yonkers Raceway.The stench belongs at Yonkers, not at other tracks.

The Yonkers decision was a very important decision that shows that they can pull this nonsense and get away with it. (for now, anyway.)This decision has set racing back 30 years.Very disappointing to me to see this action being taken, with no proof being offered by Yonkers management.

Mr.Brennan won all five races for different trainers. I say this exonerates Mr. Pena and shows that beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Pena did not need any underhanded help from anyone. I suspect that one reason Pena was winning races at a fast clip is that he was smart enough to obtain the services of Mr. Brennan to drive for him.
I guess he had it right, as far as driver selections went. Mr. Brennan only won the two most important races last Sat.
on Hambletonian Day, with the two highest purses.So, now we have a trainer being guilty of using a top driver to win races for him, when he has a horse ready to win.

NOT GUILTY!!!!from where I stand.

In an industry where trainers have been caught over the years using a variety of illegal performing enhancing substances and also with cynics, sceptics and professional jealousy amonsgt owners and trainers, it is understandable that Pena's success is viewed with suspicion by many. The state of New Jersey investigated Pena's operation last year and did not suspend him or file any criminal charges. So where is the evidence to support the belief that Pena is using illegal substances? Why is Pena more successsful at Yonkers and other small tracks with a win percentage of over 30% versus about only 18% at the Meadowlands? Perhaps the media should interview him. While horses under his training have improved, sometimes dramatically, Pena's horses still lose about 65% of the time at Yonkers and our often overbet because of his success.

Why did Yonkers apparently tell him that he could begin submitting entries again in October 2011? Did Yonkers suffer too many minus pools when Pena's heavy favorites won? Is management conducting an experiment to determine the impact upon racing handle without Pena? It is one thing to bar someone for the used of banned substances and another to do so based on pure speculation.

So is Pena's success due to hard work and know how or the use of illegal substnaces? I hope for the sake of harness racing that Pena is not using illegal substances on his horses as this declining industry cannot afford to suffer another blackeye of this magnitude.

If it is the betting public that they are so concerned about-than take his horses out of betting situations! No single trainer is going to "discover" the next test free drug without others piggybacking onto it. Has anyone mentioned how many horses he had at Yonkers? Has he got 3X as many horses? Horses knock time off thier marks everyday....I witnessed a horse do it on Monday at Mowhawk-took 10 seconds off his mark. It happens!

Just wondering if the takeout revenue from the slots was say 10% and was put directly to testing procedures how it would change the face of horse racing? This would be the millions of dollars that is said to be needed to catch the "super trainers". It certainly would dispell a lot of the rumours and inuendo.
If someone has proof or something to say out with it. The sport is being killed by rumours.

Greg Parke

Yonkers management has a lot of nerve to tell a trainer to slow down on his winning,as a bettor what kind of a message is this sendung to the betting public. Good luck to Lou I like to bet his horses as I know I'm getting a fairshake for my dollar.

Each year we have trainers who improve greatly! could it be there staff? could it be training techniques? hmmm what about the years when joe stutzman could claim anything himself and improve it as weel did he get banned? what about casie coleman she was not a very good trainer in alberta moves to ontario and destroys them! then now you have pena doing his thing i do not believe he is using anything at all except for hard work and patience with his horses.I think what all people are missing here is pena is great for the sport! as a fan bettor and owner all i want is my horse to perform well and win to pay the bills so who wouldnt want pena as there trainer? is the same situation gonna happen to tony osullivan in ontario? rene allard? these trainers are all great for the sport to all you haters out there get over it some people are just way better at a job than others!

it seem's Pena's only proven "crime" is winning races.....lots of races.

hypothetically asking : Should ALL trainers with a .400 average or higher be banned?

Ah the fans(bettors)will return in droves now that Mr.Pena and others of his "ilk" will be banned for winning. The "honest trainers" will be careful to not win too often and will be careful to not try every time(with the colusion of their drivers). Of course they and the Racing Officals will advise us of when they are trying and when they are not!

Sounds a little unjustified to me..
As a better, I hate low odds but you get that on every track in Canada and US. What I want is horse that can run to it's full capability. Not only is that on the on the horse itself but it's driver and it's trainer. If Pena has no positive tests on him, why is Yonkers tossing him out? I'm saying it's probably more bickering from the local horseman and trainers then anything else and Yonkers making a poor choice of judgement on this case.
So Pena has a huge winning percentage over everyone else, he claims horses and makes them 2 to 3 seconds quicker and winning while moving that horse up in class. Fishy, maybe, but he seems to have done his homework on these horses he's claiming. He's not going to just claim a horse, just to claim the horse. He's claiming the horse, because he knows he can improve them to the point where they can win and are profitable. If that's not part of the game, then why have claiming tags on horses?
As for Pena's training techiques, I'm not going to quote on something I don't know about, but what I do know as a bettor, is that I'm going to have to look strongly at any horse he trains.
Point is he races at different tracks, and everyone has come up empty. How does he do it.. no one knows and he for sure isn't going to let the cat out of the bag. If it's not illegal or against the rules of racing, why punish him for that? He's doing what every trainer dreams to be, succesful and making money on top of it.
Do what the ORC does to some of the leading trainers, subject Pena's horses to retention, do some surprise and random testing. Let's see some prove to make this banning legit. Otherwise this will just be the start of tracks going you're just too good at this game, without the benefit of any wrong doing, we're still going to kick you to the curb.

Kayla no one is saying you can't be a good trainer. But my gosh cmon get your head out of the sand. This is why problems never get fixed because nobody except a few people want to come out and say what so many others are thinking. Yes you are right I have no proof that Mr pena is cheating. However once can also argue that there is plenty of suspect goings on. You may be too young to remember but I recall a time not too long ago when Eric Lefords father, his name escapes me now was winning everything in sight at the meadowlands> I said it right away that I suspected something was going on. I had no proof true but my suspicions were ultimately proven correct. The point is that when one person somehow becomes so good at making a horse go so much faster then the person before him it is only logical that very legitimate red flags go up. The next time you go bet $200 across on a horse and get beat by a horse who suddenly is able to go first over for three quarters of a mile and draw away on you when the week before he couldn't hit the board (and this is simply an example) go ahead and tell me that you will simply chlk that up to good training techniques. Of course that is the excuse of today. At one time is was those great aluminum shoes, or the new bike, or some wonderful new carrots. Cmon give it a rest. I am not saying for sure Mr Pena cheats. If he does I am confident he will eventually be caught like many others before him. But at the same time I am not going to concede that he is such a great trainer. I consider Stew Firlotte a great trainer. There was an incident about 20 years ago at greenwood when his great mare Town Pro was beat by a horse that used to race against lesser comapny but had subsequently switched to the super trainer of that time just a week before. I wnet outside after the race and said Stu how does that horse beat you? He looked at me and said The horse didnt beat us, the trainer did. I didn'tneed anyone to spell it out for me what he was saying. It was bad then and it's worse today.

I can't see PENA getting booted out of Yonkers. If the people at Yonkers are suspicious, send in some samples for testing. Brennan still wins when not on a PENA horse, so it can't be the trainer's fault that his horses win.

Yonker's handle will go down, and for the Race Secretary to say to PENA, "Don't win so much", this is really sickening.

I was reading the results from one of Yonker's competitors, and saw that PENA was still winning. Lo and behold , he had moved his tack, etc., to this new track over last weekend, and was still knocking them off.

In my business, some competitors are pouting that I don't play fair.

I have always gone by this rule, "The harder I work, the luckier I get."

So does LOU PENA , it would appear.

If a man is cheating and is not caught, is he still cheating.

Before Arenesp became known as a performance enhancer in race horses...it was used by trainers who put lifetime marks on horses...and guess what...it was called a shoeing change, some people thought they were simply incredible trainers who found the "Technique". Well not really.

Horses are racing in ways, sustaining miles on the outside like never before...and in my opinion the breeding hasn't improved over time in such a manner to make this plausible especially for "AN" individual.

Very suspicious.

Also a reply to Joe Riga,

Unfortunetly, you have no proof that Pena is 'cheating.' Nor do the racetracks. I find this absolutely discusting banning someone because they are doing good.

Just to say also, I have bought a horse from someone just last year and within a week dropped time off of what it was going weeks before that with out using anything more then hay, grain, and giving the horse the respect it deserves. All people have different training methods, some work on certain horses, others don't. So in other words, some people benifit and some people don't. Just because one person doesn't do good with a horse, doesn't mean someone else can't either.

Earlier this year our track had the same problem of so called 'cheating.' But you know what I still beat that guy over and over each week with the same horse. So what, am I the cheater now? Because I'm a girl and only 21 yrs of age? Heaven forbid if someone else does good.

I think that in every case on here, evryone is right whether you agree with the decision or not. I think the real issue is the Commissions that we pay so much in annual fees to every year, to supposedly help prevent this, are just so incapable and unqualified to conduct or derive the proper testing procedures. I am one of those "LITTLE GUYS" that puts alot of effort and hard work into the horses I have but can't compete with the likes of the Lou Penas and other high percentage trainers and it raelly makes it tough to keep going.

Paul Grande you and others make a valid point about sending a man to the gallows beofre he is guilty. The problem is that racetracks have a very fine balancing act to do. That is they have to keep both the horsemen who make their living at racing happy and at the same time they need to keep their customers (bettors) happy.

I don't think that Yonkers simply woke up one morning and decided to ban Mr. Pena. I am sure they have had their eye on him for awhile and I would venture to say that they have not only heard many complaints from disgruntled trainers but also from bettors who have a very strong inkling that something not totally legit might be going on. Yonkers had to deal with the problem of what to do about it and that is difficult because if you don't address the bettors concerns then ultimately you lose them.

Now I understand that Mr Pena has no positive test and that is a valid point made by many. However, another valid point which is also made by many is that there is a lot of stuff (drugs etc) that can go undetected for a long time. That can imply inncence but does not prove it. Nor does it prove guilt. However Yonkers had the nerve and fortitude to look at Mr. Pena's record and determine that something was going on and they decided to be proactive to show the bettors that they were serious about dealing with cheaters. Not everyone will be happy with this decision as is quite evident by the postings on this site but in my view I think Yonkers did the right thing because Mr. Pena's pattern is all too familiar with those of us who have been involved in racing for a long time and have seen it all. Yonkers, in my opinion is doing the inevitable.

just the facts lou pena has 11 positives in last 8 and a half years. utrs 2011 . 445 2010 .428 2009 .337 2008 .243 2007 .258 2006 .263 2005 .239 2004 .291 2003 .291 Quoting Lou Pena that his success is totally training technique. Just wondering how come this training technique is enjoying so much success in recent years that it never had before? Furthermore this technique never seemed to improve almost every new horse into his barn 2 to 3 seconds in a week before. In my 28 years in the business people who improve horses over a period of time never fall under this scrutiny like people who instantaneously improve almost every in week. It looks really bad and not unfair to question how these results are being obtained.

I can't believe all the hate and jealousy directed by both horseman and bettors to someone whose only crime is to the best at what he does. If he is cheating where is the proof? Whatever ever happened to due process? This man has been found guilty without any proof and without any crime being stated. It’s all innuendo and heresy.

A reply to Joe Riga:

You stated that you are "simply asking for fairness" and I advocate that as well. But it's up to the governing bodies of racing to prove conclusively that Mr. Pena is cheating. If that is the case..... yes, throw the book at him hard and/or revoke his trainer's license indefinitely to force him out of the business entirely. But you don't send a man to the gallows because you "think" he is guilty.

I find it incredibly naive how some people think that 1) Mr. Pena is not using anything and races his horses clean and 2) that Yonkers should not have banned him.
I am not saying 100% definitively that Mr. Pena cheats. However, what's the old adage about something looking and walking like a duck? I suspected Mr. Pena all last year as I do any trainer who somehow someway seems to know how to train horses so much better then anyone else. Frankly I find it insulting to trainers who work hard every day and train in an honest fashion. There are trainers who have been around for so long they have forgotten more about horses then what Mr. Pena knows and their winning averages are nowhere near his. Last year Mr. Pena cleaned up at the Meadowlands, then he cleaned up at Chester where he and Napolitano driving cleaned up, and now Yonkers. I could write a huge list of trainers I have suspected over the years because as many people on this post so clearly point out have huge winning averages one year and terrible ones the next. Or they take a horse and miraculously in one week lower it's time quite substantially. Give me a break. Do these guys think us bettors are that naive. And as for other owners and trainers being jealous that's hardly the case. It's simply asking for fairness. If I am an owner or trainer or dirver at a track that harbours these cheaters I do not want to be racing for second place money everytime I enter a race where they enter a horse. I am happy Yonkers is at the very least looking into this. If only WEG would do the same. This is one of the main reason I stopped betting on harness racing. And as for this being a great betting angle. Sure it is. I agree. If you like betting $500 to make a $25 profit.

Perhaps Yonkers can explain why barring Lou Pena is in the best interest of the public because his results are too good. While at the same time permitting drivers such as Jim Pantaleano to compete when there is a record of him being fined and barred at an Ohio track
.

Ok, this is what I see, we have trainers that are lazy and inconsistant, we have hardworking trainers that are very routined and regimented but lack in nutritional needs or shoeing expertise, and then we have the trainers that have the ethic and knowledge to complete the package shall we say. So my point, improvements can be made but not 3 seconds worth on those things alone! Conditioning can improve a horse but it takes alot longer than a week for that part of the equation to show.

What happened to the theory of "innocent until proven guilty". Pena has not had any positive tests recently and yet is now banned from racing at Yonkers for his success and because of jealousy and complaints by some fellow trainers. This does not make sense. I say, the onus should be put where it belongs and that is on the New York Racing Commission, the labs and their testing procedures to conclusively prove that he is in fact "doping" horses, if that is the case. There seems to be a double standard for racing in the US. It's OK for Crys Dream to race after a positive test but not OK for Pena who is guilty of nothing so far.

If you really think the Lou woke up one morning and figured out the world's best training techniques I want to sell you some land in Florida. I salute Yonkers for their integrity. This is not others complaining about him winning too much, this is a racetrack that has said enough is enough. We have all seen the trainers that claim and win for fun next out, lower the mile time by 3 seconds. Do you really think that all the other trainers of these horses didnt know what they were doing? As a bettor these are angles, you aren't betting the horse you are betting the trainers. We can easily note trainers in the past 20 years that have been known to claim and miraculously the next week the horse wins for fun. Look back at the stats year after year, trainers have a .220 average, next 5 years .450, next 5 .220, did they all of a sudden forget their unique training techniques?

Like any REALLY successfull trainer, Pena is suspected of cheating by his peers. That say's more about his peers than Mr Pena.

You're kidding. right? You REALLY think bettors want a steady stream of successive 1/5 and 2/5 shots winning virtually every night? Seriously???

He's using something...no one is that good, no one! So some thinks its wrong to ban him, well I say too bad. They know he's got some rocket fuel somewhere and down the road it will surface but you just can't let him make a mockery of the sport ever night. I have been in this game a long time and to post numbers like that is impossible without some magic potion. This guy is getting rich while others are racing for the scraps and its the horses that will suffer the most. Hats off to Yonkers for having the nuts to stand up to these jokers!

Don Patrick
Pena has already said Canada is not an option for him. Too bad, because we could use the competition. Kind of reminds me of Casie Coleman. When she was red-hot, she was forced into retention by WEG. No positive, just winning too much. Random testing, surprise barn visits and tests...yet no positive.

Pena has not had a positive test since 2006. He has a grade 6 education, so I doubt he has created a "super juice". Maybe he's just a great trainer.

As a bettor, I don't want him to slow down, unless the track will inform me when he is not trying. I want consistency, and this guy is consistently winning. That's okay with me.

Randy Fife

maybe people will listen to someone who trains drives owns horses and works as hard as fred brethour does for the last 25 years his father uncles before that its all about training with feel not other ways if you know what i mean

C.Renon Positive test 14 days, win to many races banishment............PRICELESS!!

Bottom line is NO ONE is that much better the the rest. He is competing against some of the best trainers in North America at tracks like Yonkers, The Meadowlands, Chester and Pocono. His win percentage is between 10 to 20 p;oints higher then some of the best. He has over and over again taken horses that are losing consistently at lower levels, he claims Then Jumps them up in class and they knock 2 seconds off their lifetime mark. I want to thank Yonkers for being the first to step up and protect the bettor......

When the drug EPO first came to light and trainers where handed suspensions for its use did anyone really think that it had just started to be used? Horses changed hands and set lift time marks first time off the claim and the betting public was susposed to believe that the trainer had a "new technique" or a "bridle change" that made the horses race like never before. Trainers here in Ontario have fallen under the watch of the ORC and been caught, red handed, administering illegal drugs. What was the tip off? The impossible training average that said trainer was carrying. Congrats to Yonkers for this bold and warranted move, maybe there is hope left for this game after all.

Put every horse, every night, every track, every race in 24hr. retention barn.....good horses will still be good horses.
P.S. Bad Example....Alex Rodriquez tested positive for steroids in Texas.

Fans of the game know this: every night of every week of every month, we expect a show. And it isn't a 'show'....when its a 'one man show'!!!! Pena has to go....if he 'won't play nice' in the schoolyard, then he has to go.

I'll worry about the details later.......But here's what I know. The next time I play Yonkers, I might just get some better payoffs, some more 'entertainment' for my betting dollar...and I know a few more horsemen might get to eat.

Most tracks suffer with dominance issues....The truth be told...Bettors would have a much better time if you could get Tetrick out of Chester, Palone out of Meadows and S. Zeron out of any B track and I'd do it tomorrow if I could.

Gural wants superstars, I hope hes only talking about the horses, because harness racing doesn't need driving and training superstars. Their reputations get in the way of the odds. Yes, they get overplayed all the time, which is half the battle, the problem is: they deliver the goods far too often.

I want bigger payoffs in EVERY RACE.....what's wrong hoping for that??? Its a show.....Entertain me!!!!Entice me.....If not, I guess I'll have to put another $50 on a Missisppi St-Tulane game.

jctoronto

Wake up people, he's not that good he bends his elbow the best. You do not take broken down horses and make them superstars again. He's a mockery to horse racing. They will find out someday what's going on and you will be glad he's not in the horse business.

Lou Pena has this sport figured out. He knew the exact right speed to jog his horses thru the week. He figured out the exact right amount of hay and oats to feed his horses on a daily basis. He probably also knew the exact right amount of water to let them drink every day. This was pure genius on his part, no other trainer on the planet has been able to crack this formula and step up horses like they were given rocket fuel. No it is all technique.

My theory is that Pena has been asked to leave because NY trainers have complained about him. I have my own theories about Lou, but I will keep them to myself. That being said, have you ever heard of a trainer leading a training colony by almost 3-1?

Well, Well, don't win and they will love you. Be a winner - they will treat you differently. It seems that the problem exists everywhere - in the U.S. and here in Canada - Ontario to be precise. How can you ban or harass someone who is winning races - he doesn't have a positive test - they had his stable scrutinized and they didn't find or see any wrong-doing. Who's crying - the trainers that can't beat him - the public - owners - Who? A trainer from Ontario seems to be going through the same issues - he wins races at every track he races his horses - WEG & ORC don't like it. They are constantly trying to find him in the "wrong" - couldn't find anything so what do they do - they started to impose sanctions on him - they harass him. Isn't racing about winning? If someone doesn't win, nobody pays attention to that trainer but if your name shows up to often - be careful. Only when a trainer gets a positive test should actions be taken not because he wins. How can you tell a trainer "Don't win so many races..." would it make everyone happy to see someone that is doing so well take a dive? To Darryl Newbigging - to answer your question - "Would the ORC & WEG do the same thing to Mr. Pena if he moved here to Canada.." You can be sure that they would...

I am sure Alex Rodriguez had a dream of being the best baseball player and or the highest payed baseball player. I am sure he would not work so hard to be the best if the Major Leagues could eventually tell him.... Sorry Alex your batting average is too good and your team keeps winning and we are shutting you down.

The commision should be going after the guys that aren't treating horses with care and not putting money into their horses or living up to their responsibilities as trainers. Instead they go after the people that are doing well and actually winning races.

The last thing I want to be involved with is more controversy, but really, WHAT DO WE HAVE TO WORK HARD FOR ????

This is a message to horse people to not try every start and to not give the betters a fair shot when they put their money down because you should't win every race.

To ban Lou Pena for winning too much when he has never had a postive test at Yonkers is totally wrong and makes a mockery of the sport and both Yonkers and the New York Racing Commission should have to be made accountable for doing it. It is wrong in my eyes and no matter how much he improves horses when they come to his barn, unless he has tested positive or been involved in other wrongdoings race related, that have been verified, it should not matter. I know Yonkers does not have a retention policy like up here for certain trainers and maybe that should have been their route, if they thought they needed to address the issues at hand regarding Lou.As well,no matter what his past record was, it should have no bearing on what he is doing now and it is fact that he has had his barn tested and watched by the Racing Commissions for a long time and they have never found him to have done anything wrong.

Many big named trainers have had positive tests in this business in the past and are allowed to earn a living today and race at any track they wish. I am sure I don't have to name them to people who have been involved in this business.

Let me ask this question to everyone here, what happens when Lou says I am moving to Canada? Will WEG and the ORC allow it (which they should) or will they follow Yonkers and bar him from here as well, even though he has never done anything wrong here and should have the same rights as anyone else to ply his trade to earn a living under a free Democratic Society?

Surely, there must be some reason or information for telling Pena to leave. I cannot see how you can ban a trainer for winning. If he is using illegal drugs he will get caught eventually. Strange that a winning trainer gets banned and a horse such as Crys Dream who tested positive is allowed to race. Something wrong with this picture.