[Travis]

Did any of you guys hear about this? I had never heard of sponging before. It seems like it would be pretty hard to do, holding a horse still while someone shoves a sponge up its nose.

[Seattle Slew]

It happened at Churchill back in 1996, that's the last time I heard about it. 10 horses were sponged, and one later died.

Here's the link to the Delaware story. Outrageous. Hope they catch who did it.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/horse...sponging_N.htm

[mtneer1212]

This is not hard to do at all. This is mild compared to some of the other things they used to do to these animals, like tubing and electrocution. It still goes on today, but it is much easier to get caught and the penalties are harsh, thank goodness. Now it seems that states are getting rid of horse steroids -- watch and see which trainers either move out of state to a steroid-friendly state or whose winning pct starts to fall rapidly.

[thezbar]

Originally Posted by mtneer1212

This is not hard to do at all. This is mild compared to some of the other things they used to do to these animals, like tubing and electrocution. It still goes on today, but it is much easier to get caught and the penalties are harsh, thank goodness. Now it seems that states are getting rid of horse steroids -- watch and see which trainers either move out of state to a steroid-friendly state or whose winning pct starts to fall rapidly.

Good post! I can write a long list of trainers who have gone to high percentage to gone from the game.