In a recent column, I spoke about the fact that bettors in the racing industry are growing tired of the lack of accountability in trainers giving their horses’ illegal substances and a lack of protection for the bettors.  The frustration doesn’t exist on a moral level, but on a financial one.  The problem is, even if they suspect a trainer is doing something to gain an edge, they don’t know when they are going to be implementing that edge and when they aren’t. Recently it was reported by the Associated Press that a horse bettor in Illinois was suing a trainer in New Jersey due to his horse, Tag Up and Go, being disqualified from purse money after testing positive for EPO in a race at The Meadowlands.  Of course, the disqualification after the fact does nothing for the bettors.  The reaction on social media was predictable.  Those that could define themselves as bettors spoke about the fact that there is little protection for them and that this was a long-time coming.  Horsemen of course took a different view.  Many pointing to the fact that it’s gambling after all and you aren’t refunded, for example, if the horse you bet suffers a broken sulky mid-race. Regarding this specific lawsuit, I am not sure how the bettor and his lawyer determined the amount that the bettor would have won.  Outlined in the suit is the point that the bettor would have cashed Win, Place, Show, Exacta, Trifecta and Superfecta Bets.  Given that, if you removed Tag Up and Go from the equation the next four horses were  5-1, 5-1, 5/2 and 7-1.  So unless the bettor had sizable wagers, I’m not sure how he is arriving at $31,835.50, which includes punitive damages.  In addition, the bettor and his legal team would need access to all pool information, including how all the exotic pools were split amongst all the possible combinations to determine the potential winnings.  Therefore I am pretty skeptical from the beginning, but let’s move on to the bigger picture. The suit is filed in conjunction with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an organization that I wouldn’t have a nice word to say about if my life depended on it.  At best, I can call them hypocrites.  The suit alleges fraud and violations of the RICO laws which goes beyond the scope of the power of racing regulatory bodies, who have always held that bettors had no recourse when it came to disqualifications stemming from post-race positives.  This lawsuit works around that fact. While I want to see more protection for bettors, specifically when it comes to trainers who are cheating, even I will admit this is rather extreme and sends the entire industry down a very slippery slope.  In the unlikely scenario where this suit was argued successfully by the plaintiff, it opens up the possibility of a wide variety of lawsuits.  If a driver is suspended or fined for “lack of effort” in a drive, a bettor could try and sue for damages.  Perhaps the bettor would sue the racetrack for allowing a driver or trainer to compete at their facility, given the fines or suspensions they may have.  They can sue regulatory bodies for licensing the individuals.  This all seems ridiculous, but these are the kind of doors that will be opened if this lawsuit were successful. Again, I am a huge proponent for accountability.  I fully support measures taken that protect the horses, drivers and the bettors and maybe there is something to be said for what the fear of being sued by a bettor will cause in the minds of trainers that are cheating.  But I believe this does more harm than good. I believe it creates all kinds of potential problems down the road and will only create a more tangled web of nonsense that the industry does not need. I can even argue that this would create issues for all gambling industries.  Is someone who bet the Phillies to win the 2009 World Series going to sue Alex Rodriguez because he was taking performance enhancing drugs that year while leading the Yankees to a championship?  Perhaps someone can sue Tom Brady for deflating footballs in a game where he or she bet against the Patriots? Yes, gamblers deserve protection, but I also recognize that they call it gambling for a reason and there are certain intangibles that are a part of races and other sporting events that sometimes we can’t do anything about.  Just recently an individual with a live “Rainbow Six” ticket at Gulfstream Park was watching the horse he needed to take down the $571,744 jackpot pull away in the stretch.  Suddenly, the horse veered in and the jockey fell off just before the finish line. Surely no lawsuit can stem from these events, but it just adds to the point, that there are some things that are just a part of gambling.  You should expect a jockey or driver to give you 100% every time he steps on the track.  You should expect trainers to be honest.  But that’s just not always going to be the case and unfortunately when you put your dollars through the window you are acknowledging that point and accepting the way the current system handles these situations.  In my opinion, you can’t bet on a race knowing that if a horse is disqualified due to a post-race positive after the fact, the results from a pari-mutuel standpoint do not change and then file a lawsuit because it cost you money.  However, as I said a few columns back, be forewarned that the bettors are getting very tired of what is taking place.  This is just the first extreme example of that point.