Horse Racing And Scams?

Question

I have just read a book on Horse Racing (none fiction) and the scams that are involved in the sport.

I was wondering are there any scams in horse racing in this day and age?

Thanks

Answer 1

ALL OF THIS CHEATING, AND WE STILL GO BACK

FOR MORE!!!!!

a friend of mine, has a horse going at santa anita in a

few days. if you want this free tip, e-mail me at bwj1963

@yahoo.com........

good luck and good racing!!!!!

Answer 2

more than i wish to mention, its a mugs game.

Answer 3

yes a few years ago some idiots fixed the pick 6 in breeders cup day and won well over a million but got caught when they were the only winners and won twice

Answer 4

Tons, they happen a lot, but not as much as the average gambler thinks it does. It is very hard to fix a horse race, but it does happen, but not always successfully. here is one that I know is true, this is not fiction, it is right from the jockeys mouth or should I say horses mouth...,  and he was a very honest  jockey by the way. it happened in 1967/68. Here it goes.

He was the leading rider at the meet at this time and never stiffed(not letting a horse run) any horses, Joe(fictitious name) was on a longshot in this particular race. All the other jocks in the race got together and decided, since they knew joe would not go along with them, to put him on the lead. that means that all the other horses in the race were being stiffed except joes horse and he was left in the dark about it all.

As the announcer announced " And they're off and running" they were, except joes horse which had stumbled and almost lost joe. By the time he got himself back in the saddle they, joe and his horse were 50 lengths behind the last horse. Well to make a long story short and a sprint race long, this was the slowest horse race in history, it had to be. And by the way joe got thru on the rail and won the race by a neck, but all the other jocks were more tired from holding their horses than joe was from riding his horse hard every jump of that race. So sometimes cheating pays, but it is not always easy. the horse paid 46$ and change, but who counts the change.

Answer 5

And then there is the jockey's meeting before the last race to determine who needs the money most.

(This is just a cynical comment made by a beaten down horse player.)

Answer 6

To answer the question, YES it does happen, and as another person mentioned, not as much as what you might think.  Harness racing is much easier to "fix" than a regular horse race. As a professional handicapper, I've seen a variety of ways that not just jockeys cheat, but trainers as well. Jockeys have been known to use what is commonly known as a "buzzer" during a race. This is a small electrical device that shocks the horse. Sometimes it makes the horse go faster, and sometimes it makes them go slower, if the horse doesn't like it. Cute story, a jockey friend of mine was telling me of an instance where a jockey had put the buzzer in the waistband of his riding pants.  As the horses left the starting gate he reached for his buzzer, and it slipped and fell down the leg of his pants. The jockey got zapped all the way around the track.

Other things that trainers do include using illegal medicines, and a thing called a milk shake. The milk shake is composed of gatorade, and sodium bicarbonate which is pumped into the horses stomach with a hose. This causes lactic acidosis and gives the horse more stamina during the races. While I haven't heard whether this has long term effects on a horse, in my opinion it is still cheating the public, by giving the horse an advantage over the others. I don't know about other states, but here in California,  the penalties for doing these things are generally pretty lax, and usually mean a slap on the hand. In the jockeys case, most recently a jockey was suspended for 1 year for using a buzzer to gain advantage.. Too many times long after the public has thrown a potentially winning ticket away, usually days after, a horse is disqualified for being found to have illegal medicine. A good source for additional info is to to visit the CHRB website at www.chrb.ca.gov and read the minutes of the stewards meetings.