Calling Michaelk

i dont care where it is advertised is fact of life epo was being so abuse, jockey club step up the testing and send trainers warning letters. may be this is figment of my imagination eh? titch you been round long time dont play stupid.

By Geoffrey Riddle

Team Valor supremo Barry Irwin has once again called for a complete ban on raceday medication around the world.
Irwin is in England ahead of Animal Kingdom’s run in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in just over a fortnight.
The outspoken racing manager has been a fierce critic of Lasix, and other raceday drugs and was disgusted earlier this year when the Breeders’ Cup committee reneged on its promise to clean up the Breeders’ Cup meeting.
Irwin has raced around the world with his Team Valor International syndicate, winning the Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup with Animal Kingdom and racing in jurisdictions such as Hong Kong and South Africa.
“You see it everywhere but it is greater in America,” Irwin told Racing UK's Animal Kingdom - Road To Royal Ascot programme. “The officials there that run it do not want to catch the bad guys, they don’t want to police it and they don’t want to adjudicate them.
“The racecourses, which are supreme and run everything, want those horses and don’t care if the guy that trains them is the bad guy.
“Other countries that we race in do not have large enough budgets to do the proper drug testing. If you have a vet that is ahead of the curve you can take an edge and I see it all the time.
"Lasix is performance enhancing. I don’t think there is any question that it helps a horse’s performance.
"I want to see a ban on everything – no drugs."
Team Valor have gone on record to state that Animal Kingdom has never received anabolic steroids, and did not race on Lasix when running in Dubai.
The organisation's two-year-olds have also been free from Lasix for the past two seasons.
Irwin also fired both barrels at Betfair, the betting exchange, who he believes is threating to cannibalise America’s wagering product.
Sports betting is largely illegal in America, and is restricted to just four states for which Nevada, where Las Vegas is located, is the only fully operational state.
Betfair has been a polarising issue in America and last year the American arm was refused entry to operate in California. The board of directors of the Thoroughbred Owners of California planned to revisit the issue this month having studied further the implications of exchange betting in the area.
“We rely on 100 per cent on the Tote and all of our prize-money comes from a percentage of that and Betfair would eliminate that from happening,” Irwin said.
“We cannot survive on a one or two per cent take out, we need 15 per cent. Everyone wants to cannibalise our betting dollar. We need it go through the windows. If the owners don’t have enough money to run there is no sport.”
Betfair declined to comment.
New Jersey passed legislation last year allowing single-game betting at its Atlantic City facility and four racecourses across the state.
Alongside Betfair, companies such as William Hill are poised to pounce should betting become fully legal in America.
In 2011 America bet $2.9billion but official estimations place illegal gambling at $380bn per year.
Animal Kingdom worked five furlongs under Ted Durcan in 1m.02s in Lambourn on Wednesday on the uphill Polytrack gallop known as "The Long."
It follows his workout last week at Ascot under John Velazquez, Irwin believes the chestnut has come on significantly since the racecourse gallop.
"When I eyeballed Animal Kingdom, I could tell that the little pot belly he had acquired during the time between the World Cup and his workout last week at Ascot had disappeared, which is a testament to his fitness," Irwin said.
“Frankly, I was a little surprised he tightened right back up in so short a span of time."
Animal Kingdom has shortened dramatically over the past few days for the opening race of 30 at the royal meeting.
The five-year-old was available at 11-4 at the start of the week and is now 6-4 with Ladbrokes and 7-4 with Paddy Power for the mile feature.
"Animal Kingdom fever has really caught hold of antepost punters," David Williams of Ladbrokes said. "He was vying for favouritism at the weekend but we've barely laid a penny on any of his rivals this week whilst he has been heavily backed."

Seems the daggers are being sharpened for a culling of a trainer in PE..but can we believe everything we hear/read?? and is there no smoke without fire ..the thlot plickens