Swift Justice, Dave Palone, 1:50 & a Tough Game

It's big news. In 2006, and then I think while under appeal again in early 2007 trainer Mickey Burke had two lidocaine positives.

From harnessracing.com:

Harnessracing.com has received confirmation from the New Jersey Racing Commission that trainer Mickey Burke will have an administrative hearing before the office of adminstrative law May 5, 6 and 14 regarding two lidocaine positives at the Meadowlands in late 2006.

Burke was voted the 2006 Glen Garnsey Trainer of the Year by the U.S. Harness Writers Association. Last year Burke's stable set all-time highs with 673 victories and $10.7 million in purse earnings. Burke's barn was also the busiest with 2,774 starters.


If he is loses his case, does that mean he has to give the $10.7 million back?

In other news, NBC is reporting a man landed on the moon, the Charles Manson case starts next week and a school bus driver who got caught for drunk driving was finally fired after two years of appeals. Your kids are safe now.

Dave Palone is a man on a mission. Well maybe nothing that dramatic, but I would like to get his weekly paycheck from the Meadows. Over a two day period he has won 18 races. We discussed way back when that he was clicking something fierce in November and December in this post.

Is this good for the bettors? Nope. But no matter what, it sure is fun to watch. (Although if you did bet Dave in every start Monday and Tuesday you did get back $1.28 for every dollar bet).

As I mentioned earlier, slots money has really turned this game on its ear - in many cases not for the better. Places like Pocono and Chester who race in front of a handful of fans take entries from the Meadowlands, who race in front of many. And places like those and the Meadows take away some of the most recognizable drivers. Palone is a Pittsburgh homer, so perhaps he is a bad example, but guys like Tetrick and Morgan should be at the M, and probably would if these slots-stacked places raced for Rosecroft like purses.

Another dichotomy in a long list for our sport.

Regardless, if Dave Palone can find a way to get a few more drives than usual, he would beat Tetrick's record easily. At this clip he needs only 3512 to beat what Tim did in over 4700 drives. An amazing feat, in our game which seems to have records broken on a yearly basis.

I did stumble upon something funny tonight about Dave. When checking Valerie's thoroughbred blog it turns out she played little league with him. We find all those juicy tidbits here at Pull the Pocket :)

I see Arch Madness is returning. Is the 1:50 mark broken this year for a trotter? I think it is, and I think this horse does it. Maybe at the Red Mile.

Last, some horrible news to anyone involved in this sport. North America Cup eligible (#8 on our list) Roberts Rage is fighting for his life. I just watched a story on him last night on the Score and they were all looking forward to him having a great year. He is a nice horse and a fast horse and this is a shame. It shows how in our game you can be on top of the world on a Monday, dreaming of having a great horse, and on Wednesday you can be sleeping beside his stall, trying to save his life. Let's hope this horse beats the odds.