Meadowlands' Jeff Gural has found his man to lead the effort to detect and deter the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) and any other unscrupulous practices that affect the racing product at The Meadowlands, Tioga & Vernon Downs.

On Saturday, The Meadowlands announced that Brice Cote has been given the task of maintaining the integrity at Gural's three tracks. Cote has an impressive background in this arena, having previously served as a detective in the Racetrack Unit for the New Jersey State Police for 10 years. Cote was part of the enforcement squad that investigated the Seldon Ledford Stable back in 2006, and prior to that drove horses in New Jersey in the 1980s and early '90s.

“I was raised around horses and they continue to be a large part of my life,” said Cote. “When I learned of Jeff Gural’s intention to address PEDs in racing, I knew that I wanted to be involved.

“We will follow the facts in our efforts to protect the integrity of racing. The goal is to provide the customer a legitimate, dependable product upon which to wager and the horsemen a fair chance to compete within the rules.”

New Meadowlands Chairman Jeff Gural had this comment, “I am committed to having a level playing field at all three of my racetracks. I want the good guys racing at my tracks so that our customers can handicap the races without having to guess who is using what. I think one of the reasons that our handle has increased this year is the fact that we make a major effort to keep the bad guys out.

"I think Brice is a perfect person for the job and I hope anyone racing at the Meadowlands appreciates our commitment to integrity and the fact that we are willing to spend our own money to try to help the regulators catch the bad guys.”

(with files from The Meadowlands)