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Amber Cobb reduced suspension

What a lame excuse to shorten Amber Cobb’s suspension :angry:

Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission to shorten Cobb’s suspension from two years to 60 days

Edited…. As it’s not for certain that this was the filly in the video.
Too much conflicting info from too many parties.

She’s since been bought & is doing well
https://www.facebook.com/groups/486086998981726/permalink/907223880201367/

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Saw this article and video from the Paulick Report. SO incredibly distressing and upsetting to watch. HOW could the commission get the sentencing so wrong? It’s things like this that make it REALLY hard to continue to support racing. This is downright animal cruelty and abuse, caught on film.

I wish there was another avenue to pursue punishment for Cobb. Like a state or federal abuse case, outside the jurisdiction of racing.

If racing isn’t going to take this one seriously (:frowning:), someone else should.

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That was horrendous. :grimacing:

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I’m curious. If a hypothetical association has rules that clearly state nobody is allowed to wear wear purple on Wednesday and that doing so will result in immediate disqualification/suspension/whopping fine then doesn’t everyone who voluntarily joins that hypothetical association accede to the rules and agree that immediate disqualification etc will be the consequence of breaching the association rules? Obviously, the association rules would reasonably include the opportunity for a subsequent appeal to be made by the offending party if they believe the immediate disqualification/suspension/whooping fine to be unfair or inappropriate. But the first thing is to apply the rules.

Why is it so difficult for the racing authorities to apply their own rules? It is a genuine question.

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Why do you believe that this is the filly in the video? I’m interested to know where your information originated.The article in the OP, from the Paulick report, says the filly in question is o/o Bluegrass Ellie.

Bluegrass Ellie has an unnamed 2019 filly by Klimt and her last two foals were bred by Saratoga Glen Farm and John Hicks. According to the article “the filly was sent back to her breeder Saratoga Glen Farm”.

The filly you’ve pictured was not bred by Saratoga Glen farm. She was bred by BlackRidge Stables (who keep their breeding stock at Taylor Made) and her Dam was sold (in foal with this filly) to Harris Farms at the Keeneland Mixed sale in 2019.

Her new/current owner stated she was, had additional photos, etc.
Guess I believed her :woman_shrugging:

You may shrug, but what about the breeding as mentioned in the article? Why does it not match up? Additional photos of what? The horse being abused? Did she actually say that the horse she bought was the one in the video?

Please link to the claim that the filly she bought ( C.C.x Just Got In) was the filly in the video.

I tend to believe Paulick’s research staff over an internet stranger’s claim.

Holy feck :woman_facepalming: I didn’t say she or I was more correct than the Paulick report that I shared when I made this post.
I don’t think the horses breeding info was listed when the article first came out (which is when I shared it) & I didn’t go back & read it again, so never caught the difference in breeding.

She’s sharing everything over on FB… feel free to check it out.

I am not on Facebook so won’t be checking it out. You posted as a fact that this California Chrome filly was the one that was abused.

The article you posted in your OP has not been updated since you posted it. The breeding of the abused filly was there when you posted.

I don’t mean to be unkind, but posting something you “believe” as fact, can be damaging to other people.

I also edited my post once it was brought to my attention.
I honestly did NOT see the breeding of the horse mentioned at all when I read the report & made my OP.
It was simply a mistake… people make them all the time.
Apparently YOU didn’t catch the mistake right away either.

I watched the video and posted that is was horrendous. I didn’t miss the breeding. That’s why I mentioned it to you and asked for the links that proved your assertion.

Yes . I did catch your mistake and brought it to your attention. Facebook is not a good source for facts. I see that you don’t think it’s a big deal, but the facts are important to some people, especially those involved in such an horrible situation about which you are posting.

Not sure what gave you that impression :woman_facepalming:
I never said that at all.
As soon as you brought it to my attention I edited my post.

I’m done with you. Stop replying & stop messaging me.

OK.
I’m glad you edited the word that was the subject of my message to you.

Every state’s racing rules are different there are different “guidelines” for their subjectively administered punishments. Apparently when racing commissions try to crack down they are sued (see NYRA and Baffert) and they often lose. Hopefully HISA will put an end to this circus by having rules across the board with clearly defined punishments for the rule breakers.

I agree that what the Delaware Racing Commission did was ill advised (to say the least) and the reasoning for their decision was bizarre.

They seem to have no concept of the effect of that video on horse people, the general public and the anti-racing groups.

If the PTB in racing keep minimizing abuse and doping issues, they may severely damage public support for the sport before HISA has a chance to straighten things out.

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But if the racing comission has clear rules and defined penalties in place for breach of those rules, why can someone take them to court - essentially to avoid recieving those penalties as a result of a breach - and win? That is the part I can’t get my head around.

But I’m in Britain: we have no plea bargaining, juries are randomly selected, the crown courts are detached from local ties, contracts are enforced once signed and negotiation stops at that point of signature. A different mindset and culture. I read COTH for cultural insights.

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That seems to be the problem. Every state has different rules and the enforcement of them can be quite subjective. People can win in court because the rules are not well written and enforcement is inconsistent. It really is a mess.

Here is an article that gives a brief view of HISA. People in the U.S. are hoping that the implementation of HISA will bring some cohesion. Of course, at least two parties have already sued to prevent its implementation. :roll_eyes:

As to why the people in the U.S. are inclined to sue at the drop of a hat, I don’t know. Our legal system allows it (to an extent.)

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Big money + unprofessional management + the largest number of lawyers per head of population of any nation in the world = current state of USA racing? Is that a fair summary?

I worry because the health of TB racing and breeding in the USA has knock on effects around the world as it is such an international business. UK racing has some really deep problems to address at the moment.

Pretty much. Add “lack of a central governing body” to the list. This is the way it’s been done for eons and change comes slowly.

Situations like the reduction of this woman’s suspension certainly don’t help the public image of racing in the U.S.

The failure of the Kentucky governing body to disqualify the Kentucky Derby winner is another example. I don’t know why they are taking so long. They know they will be sued :roll_eyes: if/when they disqualify the horse so perhaps they are doing everything they can to prepare for that?

Anyway, the leniency given to this woman is disgraceful and it doesn’t take a person familiar with horses to see that. Another black eye for U.S. racing. It’s too bad because there are plenty of responsible owners and trainers here.

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