I do not know if anyone else has the opinion that Avila made sure that Masochistic, a Cal bred, sired by an unraced son of Seeking the Gold, did not run well in his first start at Santa Anita by giving him a tranquilizer, and then shipping him to Churchill Downs a couple of months later and running on the Derby undercard in a race in which he not only went off as the favorite but aired in a hand ride. This whole affair reeks of putting one over on the public. It is all well and good if a trainer does not want to win a race, but using a drug overdose to accomplish the loss is not. I do not know if Masochistic's works going into the Kentucky race indicated that he was sharp enough to air by 14 lengths in a hand ride or for that matter sharp enough to make him a favorite, but if you ask me I would say that something stinks here.
DDT
Avila suspension and fine
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