Deny, deny, deny.
That's the common defense tactic employed by some of the biggest-named drug cheats in recent sports history.
The list of offenders is endless.
Lance Armstrong, Alex Rodriguez and Marion Jones are among the disgraced headliners who pathetically turned sanctimonious denials into sobering admissions.
It's impossible to feel sympathy for any of the admitted cheaters.
Sports depends on a defined set of rules and regulations agreed upon by all competitors.
The rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs breaks the code of fairness, forcing those who play by the rules to compete against members of the doping fraternity.
It's an intractable problem in sports and one that needs a solution sooner rather than later.
Consider sport's latest rulebreaker, horse trainer Bob Baffert.
Immediately after the Kentucky Racing Commission announced a drug violation involving Derby winner Medina Spirit, the well-preserved 68-year-old trainer vehemently denied the allegations.
Baffert -- upon advice from his family, friends and most of all, longtime attorney W. Craig Robertson III -- changed his story 48 hours later by claiming Medina Spirit tested positive as a result of an ointment used to treat a skin disease.
Baffert has more excuses than a broke sports bettor on a Tuesday morning.
But his excuses don't carry any weight because of a catch-all rule in horse racing titled "Trainer Responsibility."
The rule basically states "the trainer shall be responsible for -- and be the absolute insurer of -- the condition of the horses he enters regardless of the acts of third parties."
Fair or unfair, the rules dictate the trainer is ultimately responsible for the horse's welfare.
Baffert's magnetic personality and clever one-liners are growing old amid a cloud of suspicion and recurring drug violations.
The man who saddled two Triple Crown winners over a four-year span (American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018) is now in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Baffert avoided media scrutiny by not attending last Saturday's Preakness Stakes in Baltimore where his Derby hero-turned-villain faded to finish third as the 2/1 favorite after setting a challenged pace.
Unfortunately, Medina Spirit, like his high-profile trainer, was not available for comment.
Expect Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun to be declared the official Derby winner within the next couple of weeks when a split sample of Medina Spirit's blood test confirms the earlier findings.
And you thought the 22-minute stewards' inquiry and ultimate disqualification of Maximum Security in the 2019 Kentucky Derby was bad for the sport?
Medina Spirit soon will join Dancer's Image (1968) as the only two horses disqualified for drug violations in the 147-year history of horse racing's biggest event.
The dirty sport just got dirtier.
GREETINGS FROM ST. LOUIS.....I plan to attend tomorrow night's Major League Baseball game between the Cardinals and Pirates, the first and last-place teams in the National League Central.
Interestingly, a wager on both teams in every game this season produces virtually the same result (+2 units or thereabouts), showing the betting marketplace has adjusted nicely to the better-than-expected results of both clubs.
JT Brubaker and John Gant will be the mound opponents.
A quick look at a book titled "The Cardinals Way" is required reading before a trip to Busch Stadium.
Did you know the first team-employed statistician in baseball was a staff member of the St. Louis Cardinals?
His name was Travis Hoke and he charted every game with "base-and-out efficiency" in mind.
The year was 1917.
TUESDAY'S BEST BET.....Before the night game at Busch Stadium, I'll watch the seven-race afternoon card at the old Fairmount Park, now named FanDuel Sports Betting and Horse Racing.
The management at William Stiritz's racetrack desperately needs a course in branding and marketing.
The new name is a mouthful and doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
l prefer FanDuel Park or better yet, FanDuel Downs, for alliteration purposes.
But credit the old Fairmount Park for teaming up with Flutter Entertainment to build an impressive FanDuel sports book inside the dilapidated property with handsome high-definition television sets and easy-to-use betting kiosks spread across a comfortable, well-appointed room.
The state-of-the-art televisions look and sound good in the new sports book and they stand in sharp contrast to the big-bodied, poorly-formatted television sets, circa 1995, in the grandstand and clubhouse.
Ugh.
Go to the fourth race on Tuesday and circle #4 W W Scout's Honor as the day's most likely winner.
Listed as the second choice at odds of 3/1 on the morning line, the Scott Becker-trained charge broke his maiden in impressive fashion on May 1 and should wheel back and win again.
The second and third-place finishers in W W Scout's Honor's maiden win came back to run first and second in a highly-rated race last Saturday night.
I'll look to key W W Scout's Honor on top in both vertical and horizontal wagers without forgetting a solid win bet and NO place or show support in the short seven-horse field.
Post time for Tuesday's fourth race is set for 2:27 p.m. CT.
Let's get the money.
That's the common defense tactic employed by some of the biggest-named drug cheats in recent sports history.
The list of offenders is endless.
Lance Armstrong, Alex Rodriguez and Marion Jones are among the disgraced headliners who pathetically turned sanctimonious denials into sobering admissions.
It's impossible to feel sympathy for any of the admitted cheaters.
Sports depends on a defined set of rules and regulations agreed upon by all competitors.
The rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs breaks the code of fairness, forcing those who play by the rules to compete against members of the doping fraternity.
It's an intractable problem in sports and one that needs a solution sooner rather than later.
Consider sport's latest rulebreaker, horse trainer Bob Baffert.
Immediately after the Kentucky Racing Commission announced a drug violation involving Derby winner Medina Spirit, the well-preserved 68-year-old trainer vehemently denied the allegations.
Baffert -- upon advice from his family, friends and most of all, longtime attorney W. Craig Robertson III -- changed his story 48 hours later by claiming Medina Spirit tested positive as a result of an ointment used to treat a skin disease.
Baffert has more excuses than a broke sports bettor on a Tuesday morning.
But his excuses don't carry any weight because of a catch-all rule in horse racing titled "Trainer Responsibility."
The rule basically states "the trainer shall be responsible for -- and be the absolute insurer of -- the condition of the horses he enters regardless of the acts of third parties."
Fair or unfair, the rules dictate the trainer is ultimately responsible for the horse's welfare.
Baffert's magnetic personality and clever one-liners are growing old amid a cloud of suspicion and recurring drug violations.
The man who saddled two Triple Crown winners over a four-year span (American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018) is now in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Baffert avoided media scrutiny by not attending last Saturday's Preakness Stakes in Baltimore where his Derby hero-turned-villain faded to finish third as the 2/1 favorite after setting a challenged pace.
Unfortunately, Medina Spirit, like his high-profile trainer, was not available for comment.
Expect Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun to be declared the official Derby winner within the next couple of weeks when a split sample of Medina Spirit's blood test confirms the earlier findings.
And you thought the 22-minute stewards' inquiry and ultimate disqualification of Maximum Security in the 2019 Kentucky Derby was bad for the sport?
Medina Spirit soon will join Dancer's Image (1968) as the only two horses disqualified for drug violations in the 147-year history of horse racing's biggest event.
The dirty sport just got dirtier.
GREETINGS FROM ST. LOUIS.....I plan to attend tomorrow night's Major League Baseball game between the Cardinals and Pirates, the first and last-place teams in the National League Central.
Interestingly, a wager on both teams in every game this season produces virtually the same result (+2 units or thereabouts), showing the betting marketplace has adjusted nicely to the better-than-expected results of both clubs.
JT Brubaker and John Gant will be the mound opponents.
A quick look at a book titled "The Cardinals Way" is required reading before a trip to Busch Stadium.
Did you know the first team-employed statistician in baseball was a staff member of the St. Louis Cardinals?
His name was Travis Hoke and he charted every game with "base-and-out efficiency" in mind.
The year was 1917.
TUESDAY'S BEST BET.....Before the night game at Busch Stadium, I'll watch the seven-race afternoon card at the old Fairmount Park, now named FanDuel Sports Betting and Horse Racing.
The management at William Stiritz's racetrack desperately needs a course in branding and marketing.
The new name is a mouthful and doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.
l prefer FanDuel Park or better yet, FanDuel Downs, for alliteration purposes.
But credit the old Fairmount Park for teaming up with Flutter Entertainment to build an impressive FanDuel sports book inside the dilapidated property with handsome high-definition television sets and easy-to-use betting kiosks spread across a comfortable, well-appointed room.
The state-of-the-art televisions look and sound good in the new sports book and they stand in sharp contrast to the big-bodied, poorly-formatted television sets, circa 1995, in the grandstand and clubhouse.
Ugh.
Go to the fourth race on Tuesday and circle #4 W W Scout's Honor as the day's most likely winner.
Listed as the second choice at odds of 3/1 on the morning line, the Scott Becker-trained charge broke his maiden in impressive fashion on May 1 and should wheel back and win again.
The second and third-place finishers in W W Scout's Honor's maiden win came back to run first and second in a highly-rated race last Saturday night.
I'll look to key W W Scout's Honor on top in both vertical and horizontal wagers without forgetting a solid win bet and NO place or show support in the short seven-horse field.
Post time for Tuesday's fourth race is set for 2:27 p.m. CT.
Let's get the money.
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