I am all against cheaters and believe that the penalties are not nearly severe enough but having said that, Mr Gillies if your friend believes the same things do not happen in the runners he is a little naive. Horses get set back in runners after the fact also and the bettors do not get there money back.

A friend of mine bet $300.00 to win on the horse that finished second to strand hanover ,he was not to happy about the outcome but being a gambler he got over it, until he saw the steroid story man was he hot,he wont bet harness anymore only the runners.

I personally beleive that this is a case of experimental testing which should be reviewed and all factors should be taken into account. My example is Strand Hanover is a stud and at this time of year there are numerous fillies and mares in heat. I believe that factor in itself could have an effect on testosterone levels in a stud.

This is a sad situation for team allard racing because i know for a fact that Rene allard & co are very sharp horsepeople - his middle name should be Horse.

There is too much jealousy and condemnation in this game when a young man such as Rene has success. We need to commend him for his talent and not condem him for winning races.

A slightly elevated steroid level, lasix, corticosteroids, these have been used for 30 plus years. I had Horses that were on some of these medications used in what I would call reasonable amounts. I raced horses against horses on these medications with absolutely nothing and they still beat the medicated horses often. Because of percieved issues these drugs have and are been banned and I would have no problem with that.

The last few years something changed. The speed and dramatic changes in Horses coming into cetain stables indicated to me something else was afoot. The known drugs used sensibly through qualified vets cannot create the results I have seen or maybe some of us just forgot how to train. I dont race anymore so its not my problem , however I do love horses and the racing game and if there is something creating an uneven playing field then I only wish for it to be crrected.

Again, I do not believe a slghtly elevated steriod test should be grounds for a penalty of this nature it would not make the difference of a good horse winning or losing. I know many will condemn this comment but it's an opinion.

As you get older you become a bit of a cynic but sometimes for a good reason. I love the comment from Allard's attorney..."Speaking for Allard, attorney Howard Taylor told Trot Insider that he has concerns over the accuracy of the testing procedure in New Jersey as well as the threshold level, which is much higher in other racing jurisdictions. " I have a suggestion, when they go in front of the jusdges Mr Taylor's defense should be "If the horse is drugged a bit, you must acquit". It worked for O.J.

Yes, I'm sure it was a setup.... Give me a break. I would like to applaud WEG and their recent additions to the d-barn though as it seems the trainers who were dominating are now average. I would like to see a rule where if a trainer is put In a dbarn and numbers tail off, take him/her out of it have a ORC employe at the trainer in questions barn 24/7 and if the numbers are still not the dominatiing force they were before lifetime suspension, that way there is no "the horses dont handle the early ship in, they go off their feed, they dont sleep"

Drug tests are not always the answer. Some tests come back positive when nothing is wrong.

In the Kentucky Derby in the late 60's the winner was tested and the Canadian connections were sent packing with a "drugged horse." They lost the purse and everything to a US horse who ran 2nd.

Same could be with the Allards a few weeks ago. At the BIG M they won a big purse and all was peachy until the "test" came back positive. Was this a boot out of the Big M, or what?

In the past, Canadian drivers have had their bike tires slashed at night.

So always two sides to a story.

A retention barn policy would work, but it's a lot of bother.
Why not allow racing with no testing whatsoever? I suppose this would weed out the small stables.

I have no answers here. These is an answer somewhere, but I can't find it.

I agree 100% with Michael. It looks soo bad to fans and bettors when this happens and the trainer gets a slap on the wrist. If your a bettor and you bet on the horses that finished behind him you get nothing, rip up your tickets, then reads that the horse ran with a drug in him and is DQ from the share of the purse but the bettor gains nothing except seeing that the trainer gets a few days off.

Racing needs to get serious and really hit the trainers and owners. It really is very simple. A horse tests positive for a banned substance, the trainer should be gone...done...finished...forever. It is made clear to all horseman what is banned.

The owners need to be hit also, it you hit a few owners with a heavy fine they will look a lot closer at the people they choose to handle their horses.

I am now wondering if team Allard is up to something??? and are getting caught at the big M may now expose them to to other jurisdictions they race in.... I hope it is just an error as there horses are always ready to run well!

If Harness racing is seriously wanting to clean up the industry they need to come down harder on trainers that cheat. A month suspension is not getting serious.

Mike Vince

Here we go again.

all horses should be in "retention" before every race program. keep the sport clean for the bettors.

another court case????????????