- Shaking head -

So as I sit here after making my first ever “Play of the Day” post, I watched Jayne Vaders win another race at Philly Park at odds of 3-5 and can’t help but wonder why she is even still allowed to enter horses in the state of PA.

 Earlier this year she had a horse test positive for ACE, a tranquilizer whose actual affects on a horses performance is debatable. What isn’t debatable however is the fact that it is illegal and this wasn’t her first “mistake”. This was her 3rd positive test and she had been warned that the next one would come at the cost of her training license. It sounded good until her lawyer got involved, managed to get a stay and we haven’t heard anything about it since.

 She was originally scheduled to have her license revoked indefinitely on May 8th. The only article I can find about her being granted a stay mentions that the stay was granted on May 8th and no date had been set for a follow up hearing. Now we are sitting here better than 6 months later and she’s still winning races. Her previous boss, John McCaslin also had quite a few problems at the track, including punching a horse in the paddock at Philly Park during the month of August, which led him to be suspended.

 It is unfortunate but this seems to be a topic that doesn’t want to go away. It also doesn’t seem as if many in the sport want to deal with it. Ken Rucker and Eric Ledford just got re-licensed to train and drive harness horses in NJ after lengthy suspensions. Both Ledford and his father Seldon were suspended for 10 years originally, but after some court hearing and a guilty plea to lesser charges Eric got re-licensed this week. Here is the press release from the Meadowlands website www.thebigm.com :

NJSEA STATEMENT REGARDING ERIC LEDFORD LICENSING
The New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority and its racing property, the Meadowlands Racetrack, will honor the license granted to driver Eric Ledford by the New Jersey Racing Commission on Thursday, January 10.“As a state-owned facility, the Meadowlands cannot simply ban Eric Ledford from driving if he is licensed by the New Jersey Racing Commission,” said Senior Vice President of Racing Dennis Dowd.  “However, we will be vigilant in monitoring Mr. Ledford’s conduct.  Currently, he is licensed by the commission only to drive and we have informed his attorney that if he intends to participate as a trainer or owner, our position will be reevaluated.”Ledford, 36, was sentenced to one-year probation and fined $15,000 as the result of his March 2006 arrest at the Meadowlands on charges related to possession of performance-enhancing substances.  Also sentenced were Ledford’s father, trainer Seldon Ledford, stable employees Ryan and Ardena Dailey and veterinarian John Witmer.  Although Ledford’s NJRC suspension ended March 31, 2007, the commission declined to re-license Ledford until the criminal probation period had expired.

 I’m not as familiar with the Rucker situation but I do know he has been suspended a number of times in Illinois and had signed an agreement with the state racing commission when he started entering horses at the Meadowlands. He broke that agreement when one of his horses tested positive for EPO ( From what I recall ) and was suspensed indefinitely. I read late last week he was re-licensed and saw he had horses entered over the weekend at the Big M. 

 Don’t even get me started on Curlin and his trainer Steve Asmussen …

Tags: drugs in horse racing, Harness Racing, Horse Racing, Ledford, Meadowlands, race fixing, Rucker, suspensions, trainers