Pete
After winning a September 3 race at MGM Northfield Park in Ohio, a horse named Gardy’s Legacy tested positive for meth.
In response, the Ohio State Racing Commission imposed a one-year suspension and a $1,000 fine on the horse’s trainer, Samuel Schillaci, who also had to saddle up the $4,500 prize money he won. Some activists think this isn’t enough.
“Evidence shows this trainer administered a dangerous street drug to a horse and got a slap on the wrist for it,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “There should be no place in Ohio racing—which receives subsidies that could be going to the state—for someone who risks a horse’s life with meth.”
PETA sent a follow up letter to the Ohio State Racing Commission asking for a bigger punishment, including the trainer’s permanent ban.
“This small administrative fine and suspension aren’t commensurate with such a serious violation. Administering meth endangers a horse’s life, and trainers who treat a horse so callously will do the same to others, too. The commission should consider not only the safety of Gardys Legacy A but also that of all the other horses in Schillaci’s barn.”
It isn’t completely clear why the horse was tested.
“Back when I raced and trained horses, the drug issue didn’t exist,” said Freddie Hudson, CEO of the U.S. Harness Racing Alumni Association. “The drug issue started coming about in the 1980s and it’s gotten out of control.”
