10 outrageous horse racing scandals

Horse racing has always been one of the most prestigious sports, but his story is full of scandals and misconduct. People tried to manipulate breeds to wake up, horses were exchanged to increase their chances of winning, and race horses were even kidnapped. Performance-reinforcing drugs and the abuse of horses have also focused on sport over the years. Here is a list of ten outrageous Horse racing scandals.

Related: Top 10 Olympic scandals

10 Falsify the death of a horse

Dr. Mark Gerard was a veterinarian of famous horses such as secretariat, but he bought two of his own horses in 1977. Cinzano was the first horse that won seven of his eight races, and in 1976 it was appointed the first three -year -old Colt of Uruguay. The second horse, Lebon, won only one race in two years. Cinzano cost Gerard 81,000 US dollars, while Lebon was bought for only $ 1,600.

Immediately after the two horses arrived on Gerards Farm, Cinzano broke his skull and leg after he had hit his head to the ceiling. Cinzano's accidental death was recorded. Gerard ran on to Lebon and surprisingly won in Belmont Park in September 1977. A journalist informed the New York Jockey Club after claiming that the winning horse was actually Cinzano.

The two horses had similar white stars on their foreheads, but one was somewhat lower than the other. It was found that the horse's identity was exchanged and Gerard and the horse trainer were immediately suspended. Gerard also spent a year in prison, was fined with a fine of $ 1,000 and banned by all racetracks for life.^[1]

9 Gay future scandal

Tony Murphy was known for living lively and even driving a gold Rolls Royce. Murphy headed an Irish betting syndicate that would organize a threeth program that a horse called Gay Future included. They entered the horse in a race and then placed strategic bets in several places in Great Britain. They also carried out two other horses under the name of the same trainer to confuse the bookmakers, and conspirators would place single, double and triple bets that contained the other two horses. The two horses were pulled off the plan before the race, and all bets became the only bet on the gay future.

On the day of the race, the conspirators exchanged the true gay future against a more impressive horse, Arctic Chevalier. After the two horses were pulled, this horse and another were the only ones in the race. In order to stop betting at the gay future in the gay future, they soaked his legs with soap to make it sweaty and unhealthy. “Gay Future” would win the race with a landslide, but journalists and bookmakers began to examine the situation after learning the two other horses, not even to the racetrack.

Murphy and his group were caught and the payments were discontinued. He was convicted of attempted fraud, but never served time for his actions.^[2]

8 2002 breeding cup scandal

After completing the Breeder Cup from 2002, Derrick Davis had won six tickets, in which the beders try to select the winners in six consecutive races. David won more than $ 3 million with his happy picks, but he was the only person who won six tickets. The tickets were bought with a newly opened telephone account with Catskill-Off-Track bets, and the betting pattern triggered an examination of several organizations.

The investigation showed that one of Davis' brothers, Chris Harn, was a high -ranking computer programmer for autotote who handled the telephone betting service. Harn had the opportunity to make changes in the system after several races were run to select the winners for Davis' tickets. It was also found that urine tore other bets with another brother of fraternity, and all three men received sentences for their actions.^[3]

7 30 horses die in six months

After 30 horses died in the Santa Anita racetrack in six months, a public outcry occurred that demanded answers. 23 of these deaths occurred between December 2018 and March 2019. The race track received attention because the condition of the route and treatment of horses was examined. The race track opposed the calls to suspend or move races and contested any misconduct. Finally, managers of the route decide to temporarily switch the route.

Many believed that heavy rains had messed up dirty layers, which led to a risk of breaks for horses. Scientists carried out many tests that refuted this theory, and the tests showed nothing unusual. After the results were announced, Santa Anita reopened his doors. The California Horse Racing Board discovered some problems, including the coaches who felt under pressure to let horses run, but there were no procedures or illegal drugs that led to the death of the horses.^[4]

6 2020 Horse doping fraud

The maximum security was disqualified as the winner of the Kentucky Derby in 2019 after interference, but the horse won four out of five top -class races. The coach of maximum security, Jason Servis, and more than two dozen other coaches and veterinarians were charged with a widespread international program for drug horses to make them faster.

27 people due to drug false and false conspiracy were charged. The examination showed that horses received performance -enhancing medication that led to heart problems, overexertion, which led to fractures, an increased risk of injury and even death. Jorge Navarro was another coach who was charged. One of his horses, Xy Jet, won more than $ 3 million in races, but the horse later died of an obvious heart attack.^[5]

5 1968 Kentucky Derby winner disqualified

The 1968 Kentucky Derby was almost phenomenal. The image of Tancer collected three quarters of the way through the last place race to win only by one and a half length. Days later it became known that the horse was disqualified after the positive test on Phenylbutazon, an anti -inflammatory medication. The owner of the horse, Peter Fuller, sued the decision, but the case attracted almost five years.

Fuller believed that someone who didn't like him sabotaged his victory. He was a white man who was an enthusiastic supporter of civil rights. After the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., he even donated $ 60,000 to Coretta Scott King.

He thought someone had the horse slipping the phenylbutazon before the race. The truth has never been revealed, but the drug is no longer against the rules for racing horses.^[6]

4 Kühne's personality spray painted to imitate another horse

Fine Cotton was a racing horse with little success, but the owner John Gillespie had planned to exchange the horse with another of his racing horses. The hose -like solitaire was a better racing driver and resembled fine cotton, so Gillespie decided to exchange the horses before the race. The plan was derailed when the dashing Solitaire was injured and could not drive. Gillespie decided not to give up his program and decided to use another horse.

The brave personality was another good race horse, but it didn't look like fine cotton. The color and the marking were both different. The conspirators used hair dye to change the color of the horse, and then the spray color to imitate the white socks of fine cotton. The horse won the race and the conspirators should use the money, but people began to question the victory. People began to recognize that white color dripped down the hind legs of the horse. The horse was disqualified and Gillespie spent four years in prison.^[7]

3 “Big Tony” bribed jockeys

Anthony Ciulla, better known as “Big Tony”, bribed several jockeys in hundreds of races in the 1970s. He would instruct jockeys to slow down their horses during the races to win less cheap horses, which leads to higher payouts.

During an Atlantic City race in 1975, the jockey was too obvious to slow down the horse, and he finally gave up “Big Tony”. He was arrested and spent time in prison, but the FBI offered him a deal to reduce his prison sentence. He said against Jockeys and coaches, some of whom had set him for him, and he was then granted entry into the witness protection program.^[8]

2 Horse kidnapped and never found

Shergar was a racehorse who applied with the greatest lead of all time after winning the Epsom derby, and it won several other races before retiring in 1981. The horse worked as a study in Ireland as a student, but Shergar was forced by masked armed men in 1983.

It was assumed that the horse was stolen by the IRA. The group was apparently little money and they used kidnapping to gain funds. A ransom of 3 million US dollars was requested, but the owners decided not to pay, in the hope that it would not lead to future kidnapping. Nobody has ever taken responsibility for the kidnapping, and the horse was never found.^[9]

1 2021 Kentucky Derby winner fails drug test

One of the biggest scandals in the history of the horse racing came after the Kentucky Derby 2021. Medina Spirit won the Kentucky Derby this year, but the horse did not pass a drug test after the race. Medina Spirit was tested for a high degree of betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory, against the Kentucky protocol. The horse was robbed of his victory and the coach Bob Baffert was punished and suspended.

Baffert initially received a 90-day suspension of sport and was instructed to pay a fine of $ 7,500. His ban was later expanded due to concerns about the security of the race. His horses had not passed 30 drug tests over a period of 40 years, with Medina Spirit being the fifth within a year. Medina Spirit suddenly died seven months after the Kentucky Derby 2021.^[10]