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Illinois Board Suspends Two Trainers, Grooms in Recent Stimulation Cases Suspensions of Shepp, Beck, * Fisher, Cockman Are Made I ndefiniteFollowing Hearings The stimulation cases involving the horses Main Bet and Hard War were heard by the Illinois Racing Board at its regular meeting here yesterday and following the taking of testimony from the trainers and grooms of the two horses, the Board announced the indefinite suspension of Rollie T. Shepp and Grover T. Fisher, trainer and groom, respectively, of Main Bet, and John F. Beck and Alfred Cockman, trainer and groom respectively, of Hard War. Saliva tests on Main Bet and Hard War both disclosed the presence of coramine, a drug which, according to the state chemist, can be used either as a depressant or a stimulant. Main Bet, a favorite in the wagering, in his race on May 25, ran next-to-last in an eight-horse field, while Hard War won his race on May 30. All horses owned and trained by both Shepp and Beck also were suspended. The Board further ruled that the horses owned by Robert J. Diensts River Divide Farm, for whom Shepp trains, would be restored to good standing upon appointment of a trainer approved by the Board. The same ruling applies to the horses of D. B. White-house, for whom Beck trains and who owns Hard War. .At yesterdays meeting, the Board restored George B. Ray, a valet, who was suspended two years ago at Fairmount Park, to good standing. The stewards ruling suspended Daniel Wolfe for falsifying his trainers license application was sustained and it was further ordered that Wolfes license be revoked and that he be denied the privileges of the tracks in the state. The application of apprentice Logan Batcheller for an extension of his appren-. ticeship, which normally would expire on June 24, was taken under advisement. Due to physical disability, Batcheller lost 63 days of riding and under a recent change in the Illinois rules of racing, an apprentice, injured in line of duty, may make application for allowance of time lost as a result. Bonds for the forthcoming Arlington Park meeting were approved by the Board. Following the relating of procedures fol- ► lowed in the taking of the saliva test of Main Bet, first by state steward William A. Hamilton, who ordered the test be taken and Dr. Martin F. Kent, state veterinarian, who acquired the specimen from the horse, laboratory technicians and chemists testified as to the tests made and how three of those tests revealed the presence of cora- mine. Dr. Y. T. Oester, head of the Chicago Biological Laboratory, which, is the official testing agency for the state; Thomas F. Lomangino, chemist, and Arthur W. Lin-dahl, Jr., and Richard Plough, laboratory workers, told of the procedures followed and conclusions arrived at. Shepp then was called to the stand and stated that there was nothing unusual in the mannerisms of the horse Main Bet on the day of the race in question. He said he galloped the horse that morning as is the usual practice he follows with horses in his stable. Shepp said he was completely innocent and didnt know how the stimulant got into the horses system. He said he saw no strange persons about the stable area that day and that his three grooms were on duty at all times. A bottle of procaine, which was discovered in the tack trunk, and which was found when a routine search was made of Shepps barn following the chemists positive report, was introduced in evidence. Shepp said the bottle had been in the trunk for the past few years but it never was used. Dr. Oester said that procaine, somewhat similar to cocaine, can be used as a stimulant. However, it was brought out that procaine does not contain coramine. It is usually used, Dr. Oester said, as a local anaesthetic* Grover T. Fisher, groom in charge of Main Bet, testified and corroborated Shepps testimony that nothing unusual was noted about the horse that day and that no strange persons were seen around the barns that day. Robert J. Dienst, owner of the River Divide Farm stable which owns Main Bet, came from his Columbus, Ohio, home to attend todays hearing. Dienst said he could offer no reason as to how the horse was administered the drug. Dienst said he was making his first visit to Chicago and that he had given Shepp the power to act in his behalf regarding stable employment. He knew Shepp for 20 years, Dienst, who is a prominent Ohio business man and part owner of the Beulah Park race track near Columbus, testified. Substantially the same procedure was followed in the Beck case, with Hamilton, and other state officials stating the manner in which the coramine eventually was discovered in the saliva of Hard War. Beck, like Shepp, denied any knowledge of how or when his charge might have been stimulated. Cockman likewise said he knew of no one strange around the stable area the day of the race in question and was at a loss to explain how the horse could have been stimulated. Chairman Stuyvesant Peabody, Jr., presided at yesterdays session and present also were members, Barnard J. Fallon and Frank E. Mandel, as well as secretary Joseph P. Broderick.
