An update on the story about the Little Brown Jug and the harness racing drunken groom, the stolen cell phone and the cheap vanilla yogurt:
The trainers who protested Betting Line’s sizzling victory in the Jug on Sept. 22 have hired a Columbus law firm to “supplement” their initial objection. The firm produced a seven-page document that details alleged infractions against Betting Line’s trainer, Casie Coleman. The document was sent to William Crawford, executive director of the Ohio State Racing Commission, and Tom Wright, president of the Little Brown Jug Society. The Dispatch has obtained a copy.
And the plot thickens … but not too much.
The back story goes like this:
The night before the Jug, one of Coleman’s grooms had a wee bit too much hard cider, or whatever, and wound up sleeping in a horse trailer. When he arose, presumably to locate some Brioski, he discovered that he had been dispossessed of his cellular telephone. The good news is somebody had found the phone and knew the owner. The bad news is the somebody who found the phone was more interested in monitoring the groom’s text messages than returning the phone.
Screen shots of those messages are included in the supplemental complaint. Among the messages are these:
“Where is the (stuff) for betting line?”
“Anytime between 830-1030 range when its clear to saftly (sic) get his treatments into him.”
Tony Alagna, trainer of the second favorite, was shown these screenshots (or, it was possible he was shown the phone, which was never found/returned). Alagna and two other trainers, Jimmy Takter and Ron Burke, pressed the Jug judges to disqualify Betting Line based on the (stuff), supposedly illegal, that supposedly was administered.
Coleman issued an angry defense. She explained that Bettling Line is given yogurt to calm the stomach. She said the yogurt is administered orally, through a large syringe. She said her colleagues didn’t have the, um, manhood to go to her for an explanation, and ran to the judges instead. She wondered who stole the cell phone. She implied that the reason she was being targeted was because Betting Line was the prohibitive favorite to win the Jug, known as the Kentucky Derby of Harness Racing.
Betting Line went on to win the Jug final by eight lengths in a time of 1 minute, 49 seconds, a world record for a 3-year old pacer on a half-mile track. The other finalists skipped the post-race parade.
Now, for a summary of the paperwork:
The Supplement to the Objection says the complainants don’t know everything that happened in the Detention Barn, where horses are stalled on race day. “What we do know,” they said, “is that Betting Line’s record-breaking performance was remarkable even for a favorite.”
Savoir-faire is everywhere.
They described Coleman’s “seemingly belligerent reaction” as being “unfortunate for the integrity of the entire horse-racing industry, which still has work to do despite many strides in curbing illegal practices and cheating.”
Oh, the integrity! The three trainers who lodged the complaint have all been caught cheating. Burke’s stables have for years attracted fines, disqualifications and purse redistributions. Takter, supposedly among the more upright, was once fined $10,000 (Canadian) and suspended because his grooms forgot to hide their syringes. As for Alagna, he was fined and served a suspension — in March.
By the way, have any of you guys seen a cell phone?
Coleman has been caught before, too. Now she has a team of lawyers on her case. They are alleging she violated a host of rules ranging from Detention Barn infractions to fifth-degree felonies.
Presently, vials of Betting Line’s fluids are working their way through the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s testing lab, and soon, we’ll know who is shoveling what.
By Michael Arace who is a sports reporter for The Dispatch.
The Columbus Dispatch