Peter & Paul Snowden

Sunline wrote: JudgeHolden wrote: Butes potentially nasty stuff. And can only be used with the aim of enhancing performance, which it undoubtedly does. They’ll get a slap on the wrist, even though they’ve been busted for bute before. Cobalt however, with no performance demonstrated enhancing capacity, which naturally occurs in feed and supplements and in its B12 form is completely harmless, gets a mandatory 3 year stint. Bizarre. This isn't true, Judge. Bute won't enhance performance. It will help remove performance limiters. Cobalt on the other hand - while admittedly in the early stages of understanding - is quite clearly a performance enhance like any other blood doping agent. It enhances athletic performance. In addition, Bute is one of the most used legal medications in a racing stable. Cobalt is not allowed full stop.

That first sentence is a philosophical distinction rather than a physiological one if ever I’ve heard it. Presumably you’d give a horse bute to help it push through pain.

Secondly, as far as I’m aware the is NO demonstrated PE capacity in cobalt, indeed none even possible in its B12 form.

And when we have leading trainers get a slap on the wrist for presenting horses with class A illicit drugs like ice or cocaine, but mandatory minimums for there are some strange distinctions being made.

Judge I agree with a lot of what you've said re too lenient penalties or inconsistent ones. Very true.

Sunline wrote: Judge I agree with a lot of what you've said re too lenient penalties or inconsistent ones. Very true. I just don't buy into this whole argument that Cobalt isn't understood or isn't as bad as some make out, or is found in vitamins etc. Trainers have been paying dodgy vets good money on the side to administer Cobalt because it enhances athletic performance - it's as simple as. I'd be really surprised if the Snowdens knowingly did anything wrong here. Stables walk a fine line around the timing of medication, and they can innocently get it wrong. Doesn't make it ok, just saying for these guys I tend to think it was a mistake.

Your wasting your time here Sunline, you'll get more satisfaction listening to a Republican voter extolling the virtures of Trump!

For bute?

Some logic and consistency wouldn’t go astray. Moody was not guilty on administration and copped a presentation charge when it was accepted the most likely source of his elevated cobalt readings was feed supplement. Non performance enhancing and perfectly safe. Still copped 6 months.

And he was “lucky”. Most of the of the presentation guilty parties (as distinct from administration grubs like Smith) for cobalt have copped 12.

If you are a serious high profile trainer, spend some money.

Use to top notch veterinary practice to look after swabables.

Don't put it in the responsibility of stable hands who would have no education on the matter.

Does not pass the pub sniff test when you get a positive and say some stable hand gave 7 times the supplement dose.

A harness driver got a $5K fine and no conviction recorded for two cases of race fixing in a Brisbane court a while back. Their magistrates must still be working on the BP-Hinze system of justice.