February 2020 Issue

Page 6 February 2020 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN 141 Emmitsburg Road, , Thurmont, MD 21788 www.theeylerstables.com theeylerstables@gmail.com 301-471-5158 • Buy with confidence with our 3 day soundness guarantee • Since 1933, Maryland’s leading marketplace for horses. • Large selection of new and used tack both English & Western • Selling quality horses & ponies, registered & grade, all breeds & disciplines THE EYLER STABLES HORSE & LIVESTOCK AUCTION Livestock & Produce 1st Friday of the month at 6pm. Horses & Tack 3rd Friday of the month with Tack at 6pm & Horses at 8:30pm Tired of running to the tack shop to find your East Coast Equestrian? SUBSCRIBE! You’ll get it in your mailbox each month (before it hits the tack shop) for as long as you like. PLUS : Place FREE classifieds each month. Just $20! Visit eastcoastequestrian.net to sign up. New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the New Jersey Racing Commission have deployed a new asset in the effort to prevent cheating in the horse racing industry – a spe- cially-trained scent-sniffing dog named Shadow. A two-year-old black Lab- rador, Shadow is New Jersey's first-ever K-9 horse racing inves- tigator, and is already proving to be a valuable tool in deterring licensees who might seek a com- petitive or wagering advantage by drugging race horses. The Racing Commission has put Shadow on regular patrol at New Jersey racetracks, including Monmouth Park, Freehold Race- way, and the New Meadowlands Racetrack. Shadow made his first find in 2019, detecting the pres- ence of a prohibited substance. “A big part of the job for any regulatory and enforcement agency is to stay one step ahead of those who would seek to profit by breaking our laws and rules,” said Attorney General Grewal. “Shad- ow is an incredible asset in that New Jersey Black Lab Searches for Drugs Banned in Racing respect, because cheaters in horse racing can't cheat without using prohibited substances, and he is specifically trained to sniff them out. Shadow is helping not only to protect horses, but to preserve the integrity of the horse racing industry throughout our state.” Racing Commission Exec- utive Director Judith A. Nason credits Shadow with having “vastly increased the Racing Commission's investigatory ability,” and with helping to send a strong cautionary message to would-be horse dopers. “One very important purpose of Shadow is to deter trainers or owners from even the thought of giving a prohibited substance to a horse,” said Nason. “We believe Shadow will prove to be an efficient, cost-effec- tive tool in catching and penalizing licensees who cheat,” Nason said. “The Racing Commission already has four human investigators. That's eight boots on the ground. By adding Shadow, we now have 12 boots on the ground – although four of them are paws.” Earlier this year, Attorney General Grewal challenged the leadership of every division and commission within the Depart- ment of Law and Public Safety to look for ways to better serve the public by identifying new ways to collaborate with each other. As part of that process, the Racing Commission identified the need for adding a trained, scent-sniffing dog that could detect the presence of substances unique to horse racing that cannot lawfully be possessed by anyone but a licensed veterinarian. The New Jersey State Police partnered with the Racing Com- mission in this effort and through its Canine Academy found a two- year-old black Labrador retriever for the Racing Commission and, following a Racing Commission naming contest, the dog became officially known as “Shadow.” With Investigator Joseph Sczerbowicz manning the leash, Shadow now spends Monday through Thursday patrolling race- tracks and licensed farms to ferret out banned chemicals that might be concealed in stalls or barns – sometimes in places where a rou- tine inspection might not uncover them, such as locked drawers, toolboxes or even piles of hay. And on race days – Fridays and Saturdays – Shadow is deployed at New Jersey's Thoroughbred and Standardbred racetracks. For investigative reasons, Executive Director Nason will not disclose details concerning what substances Shadow is able to detect. However, she confirms that he is trained to find a host of banned chemicals known to be used by cheaters, as well as relat- ed paraphernalia such as syringes and hypodermic needles. “The people hiding drugs and needles have always had an intrinsic advantage, because it's easier to conceal these things than to locate them,” said Nason. “But Shadow could turn out to be a true game-changer. Not only can he search a lot of territory very quickly, he can also detect banned sub- stances in hiding places where we humans might not find them.” New Jersey Attorney General Grewal poses with Shadow, a black lab specifically trained to sniff out prohibited substances--those unique to horse racing that cannot lawfully be possessed by anyone but a licensed veterinarian—at the state’s racetracks and licensed farms. Photo credit: NJ Attorney General’s office