Letters to the Editor June 3

Nasal strip ban in New York has foul odor

The May 27 article "Nasal strips taboo in N.Y." told of the ruling by Belmont Park stewards (whose authority is unclear) that the nasal strip that I'll Have Another has utilized will not be permitted for the Belmont Stakes.

Significantly, no one has accused the manufacturer, the distributor, or the trainer of utilizing the nasal strips for an ulterior purpose, such as to enhance performance.

Were this correspondent J. Paul Reddam, owner of I'll Have Another, I would call a press conference and tell the Belmont Park stewards that they have 24 hours in which to repeal this "rule" or I will take my horse and go home.

It does not take a great deal of imagination to predict what would happen to the Belmont Stakes without the presence of I'll Have Another.

In the final analysis, the question is: Who owns racing? The owners of the athletes, or the tracks, which act as though they were hospitals in relation to physicians who practice within their walls? We are not practicing medicine, we simply provide a place for independent contractors to work their magic.

Nathaniel J. Friedman - Beverly Hills, Calif.

Belmont detention an unfair move

After the horse has been out of the barn for all these years, the New York Racing Association finally decides to make stringent rules for the upcoming Belmont Stakes ("Security barn returns for Belmont," June 1), housing all horses running in the Belmont in a single, highly secured barn beginning three days before the race, taking blood tests on arrival, and limiting who will be permitted to enter. In addition, there will be checks of all equipment, feed, and hay.

The New York Racing Association and Gov. Andrew Cuomo's group are making trainer Doug O'Neill such a scapegoat that it's an embarrassment.

I am all for tight security (access to the backstretch at racetracks across the country has been a joke for years); not tolerating any shenanigans; giving horses only hay, oats, and water; meting out -- and enforcing - severe punishments for wrongdoers, etc., but it is unfair and unbalanced for anyone to be singled out and vilified for what so many others are doing as a matter of routine.

Steve Wolfson Sr. - Ormond Beach, Fla.