You can believe as you choose. Depends on the size of the bill.
Regardless of what either one of us believes, it is a fact that stewards cannot give away horsesâmuch less do it often as you previously stated. The size of the bill has nothing to do with it. The stewards do not have the authority to assume possession of someoneâs racehorse.
If you got your horse because an owner gave him to the trainer to cover unpaid bills, thatâs a totally different scenario. Owners and racetrack stewards arenât the same thing.
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Do you have a link/copy ?
Itâs not a matter of what anyone chooses to believe. Itâs the difference between fact and fiction.
LaurieB (whoâs got a very good record with her maresâ produce) and a few others here are intimately involved in Thoroughbred racing and breeding. Theyâre hands-on and know/have worked with some of the big names you see mentioned in The Blood-Horse and TDN.
You have the opportunity to learn a lot in this subforum from some very knowledgeable people with actual âstreet credâ.
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You are free to chose to believe what ever it is you like. The CHRB has minutes posted. Feel free to peruse.
If this thing you keep alleging actually happened, why donât you give us a link so we can read about it?
Thereâs no point in us wasting our time looking for something that doesnât exist.
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I can back Kasey up on this one. Payment issues used to be brought to the Stewards and were part of the Stewards Minutes. Rather than dealing with liens, cost of care for someone elseâs horse, proof of ownership (it is a crime to sell a horse that is not legally yours), and possible abandonment the stewards would âencourageâ delinquent owners to transfer ownership of the horse to the trainer. After discussion, if the owner does not comply a complaint is filed and a fine is levied. The final step is to take the ownerâs license. This is is common practice. Whether currently part of the minutes record, I cannot say. These last several years have taken a toll on public perception of the thoroughbred racing industry.
It seems that you are more in agreement with me than with Kasey as we are on the same page about it being the horse owner who might âgiveâ a horse to a trainer to settle unpaid bills. Your mention of offering âencouragementâ does not imply to me that the stewards often take possession of racehorses and then give them away.
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This seems to be the go-to dismissive response to anyone who does not agree with you 100% or has the gall to present their own firsthand experience that goes contrary to what you insist is the norm ⊠and it is not exactly conducive to conversation/discussion. 
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I agree with your line of thought. In one dispute I was party to in NY, an ownership group was into us for about $10k and no sign of payment was on the horizon. My owner didnât go to the stewards (theyâre there to administer the rules of racing) but straight to the Commission, which was then the old NY Racing and Wagering Board. They were very clear in their response that they werenât there to adjudicate a financial disagreement between two parties, but they gave a very stern reminder to the ownership group that part of maintaining a license required financial responsibility.
That is a way different story than âOften times stewardâs in America will give the horse to the trainer as payment.â as Kasey said. (Replying to Pam McCâŠI have no clue how to do the quote dealie).
Thats exactly right. Stewards will act as mediators on occasion, and will remind owners of their financial responsibilities and what the consequences can be, but they absolutely can NOT confiscate an ownerâs horse to give to a trainer.
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Here it is.
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It is my experience these forced transactions happen pretty often. I donât see them written in the minutes these last two years (but witnessed more than just a few this year). Looking at the Santa Anita minute record I can see that jockeys are still being caught with buzzers. Seams to me these people should be banned from racing altogether.
Where do you see someone caught with a buzzer?
I would guess Quarter horse racing but I donât keep up with it.
As you know, itâs unusual, always a big deal in TB racing when it happens, and is covered by all the TB media.
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Do PETA and the like devote as much time to QH racing as they do TBs?
Itâs a lot dirtier, or used to be, plus the AQHA is fine with overbreeding as they support slaughter as a means of dealing with the excess.
Sad, but true about the AQHA.
Even worse are the big lick Tennessee Walking Horses. How on earth is that still allowed to go on?
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