Jones Orders Drug Test On Eight Belles

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166659.post-35233151261959929762008-05-07T00:00:00.005-04:002008-05-07T00:16:58.072-04:00Jones Orders Drug Test On Eight BellesSometime during Derby week I heard trainer Larry Jones say that Eight Belles stood almost 16 and a half hands, in fact next to stablemate Proud Spell she looked like a draft horse. That being said, Jones has ordered a drug test to prove that his filly's size was not the result of steroid use. From USA Today: <blockquote>"I guarantee there were no steroids ever on the horse," Jones said at a news conference. " We're taking a lot of abuse out there. ... We're being accused of steroid abuse because she was so large. I can tell you that (owner Rick) Porter goes to the sale to look for good horses and that's one of the thing you look for -- a horse that's big enough, strong enough and fast enough to compete in big races."</blockquote>While I have my doubts about Big Brown, considering trainer Rick Dutrow's track record of repeated violations and suspensions, there is no doubt in my mind that Larry Jones runs a clean barn without using illegal drugs or steroids on his equine athletes. The necropsy on the Derby runner-up was completed on Monday, and although no formal results have been released, Jones has said that he hopes the post-mortem examination would uncover previously undiscovered "soundness issues." Jones has also fought back against PETA's claims that jockey Gabriel Saez was to blame for the filly's death. <blockquote>"I think that it is really the most ridiculous thing I've heard," <a href="http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23658714-5013405,00.html">Jones said</a>. "I hate the fact they are using this as a fund raiser. They are using this as a money maker. They're not doing this for the benefit of anything."</blockquote>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06801414754458604594noreply@blogger.com