RWITC trainers want to have their cake and eat it too - By Usman Rangeela I Mirror
Posted on - 30 Aug 2011
RWITC trainers want to have their cake and eat it too
Usman Rangeela
Pune Mirror
After being scorned by the racing fraternity for the manner in which the Boldenone case was handled, the RWITC Stewards are steadily recovering their lost ground.
To start with, the Stewards acted swiftly in tweaking the prevailing medication rules wherein a professional whose horse tested positive during random sampling would be let off with a monetary fine.
The two horses which tested for Boldenone after spending time at the Manju Meadows gave a rude wake-up call to the RWITC Stewards. They realised that imposing fines was in no way a deterrent and immediately decided that all future drug-abuse cases would attract punishments on par with routine medical infringements.
Another trump card which the Stewards are holding close to their chests is having the discretion on deciding the quantum of punishments having de-classified Boldenone last summer.
Meanwhile, positive reports for Boldenone from samples which were compulsorily drawn from three more horses on their arrival from the stud farm have further skewed the argument in favour of the Stewards.
STRANGE DEMAND
Once the new notification came, the trainers expectedly believed it would be wise to meet the Stewards last Saturday in an effort to compel them to do a rethink on future punishments for professionals if their horse/s tests positive for banned drug substances during random sampling.
Strangely, the representatives of Western India Trainers Association (WITA) said they were not against the Stewards being strict with horses arriving from stud farms but pleaded that status quo be maintained if horses are in training and have not left the centre.
The WITA members were probably unaware of the four-month punishment meted out to trainer S Dominic by the Bangalore Turf Club on Saturday for his horse Still Will testing positive during random sampling.
Hence, WITA’s move was nothing short of asking the turf club to compromise on the integrity of the sport while shirking their own responsibility in following the medication rules in letter and in spirit.
It seems that the trainers want to have their cake and eat it too! The Stewards however refused to budge and made it clear that there would be no compromise on the punishment issue.
DETERMINED APPROACH
Asserting that a change in the medication rules for random sampling was the need of the hour, Jain says, “The finding of a banned substance, if it has not been logged, is logically even more serious than a routine drug finding as its very possession is banned. Hence treating punishments from its finding on par with other medication infringements is only fair and reasonable. I am surprised the trainers are objecting to this. The reporting of five cases under random sampling only supports our decision.”
In response to the questions being raised about the timing of the new notification and the urgency to implement it midway through the racing season, Jain gives a sense of how serious the Stewards are about preserving the integrity of the sport when he retorts, “If one notices an anomaly (shortcoming in the prevailing RWITC medication rules), should not the club correct it as it is applied only prospectively?”
