view raw text
Illinois Racing Board Suspends Two Reuters Grooms Reprimanded in Agitate Case at Sportsmans April 30 The Illinois Racing Board, in a special session at its downtown Chicago offices yesterday, indefinitely suspended trainers Phil Reuter and his daughter, Normalea Reuter, after hearing charges that N. G. Bouchards three-year-old gelding, Agitate, had been stimulated at Sportsmans Park last April 30. Miss Reuter serves as her fathers assistant. Reprimanded, but otherwise absolved of any punishment, were Lawrence Williams and Martin Tenza, grooms in Reuters employ. Agitate, under jockey William Zakoor, won the third race at Sportsmans on April 30 by eight lengths. Present at the meeting were all members of the racing board — chairman Paul Ser-dar, William S. Miller and Frank R. Wharton — and secretary Clement A. Nance. The body was represented in testimony by Charles Carroll, assistant attorney general. Also present at the hearing were Dr. Warren L. Skinner of Joliet, state racing veterinarian; Y. T. Oester, one of the copartners of Oester Laboratories, where all saliva and urine samples of truimphant thoroughbreds in Illinois are tested; Ted Cox, track steward; Thomas F. Ryan and Rufus Shilling, assistants to Dr. Skinner; and Lawrence H. Thompson, vice-president of the central division of the Horsemens Benevolent and Protective Association. Dr. Skinner and Oester revealed that saliva and urine tests taken from Agitate prove positive. The latter also elaborated on the fact that a very small per cent of both tests ever show positive on two counts — that either one or the other varies. Nothing internally, however, was administered to the horse, either on the day preceding, or on the day of the race. The medication was applied externally to Agitate by the above two grooms on the afternoon of the race upon instructions from Miss Reuter. Nance, said that he was notified by Oester on the day following Agitates race that both tests had proved positive. Nance, in turn, notified Dr. Skinner, the Sportsmans stewards and board members. Nance accompanied by captains Walter Corrigan and Thomas Downs, then went direct to the stables occupied by the Reuter-trained horses, after notifying Reuter, via the public address system, to come to his barns. According to Nance, they found approximately 200 bottles of various medicines, liniments and sundry liquids in the Reuter barn, but two bottles, given in evidence as the "freeze" applied to Agitate, were not found. Miss Reuter unavailable at the time, surrendered the two bottles the next morning. May 2, and readily admitted that some of the contents had been rubbed on the knees and legs of Agitate. Williams and Tenza testified that Miss Reuter appeared at her barns about 11:30 a. m., on the day of the race, and gave the former two bottles she was carrying. Miss Reuter instructed him, William said, "To this medicine in the nature of cold [apply Continued on Page Forty -S«x Illinois Racing Board Suspends Two Reuters Grooms Reprimanded in Agitate Case7 at Sportsmans April 30 Continued from taqt font water bandages to Agitates knees twice, starting at 1 oclock." Williams added that he followed instructions, not knowing it was illegal to apply any medication to a horse in the state of Illinois, or for that matter, Florida, where he had worked this past winter. Tenza said he worked on Agitates left knee and leg to just above the ankle, while Williams applied a similar chore to the horses right knee and leg. Miss Reuter, in a brief, but to the-point questioning on the "stand," readily admitted that she usually "ices" a horse that suffers miseries, just freezing his knees for the good of the animal. She stated that the "freeze" applied had been ordered and delivered, of course, from Dr. Leo J. Wagner, Louisville pharmacist, who supplies medications for horsemen throughout the country. She further stated that Wagner had assured her the medicine was "O. K.". that it is generally used. Reuter claimed he was not around his barns after 10 a. m., and this was corroborated by Williams and Tenza. In Reuters second, short grilling, he said that he had not returned to the stable area after 10 oclock on the morning of last April 30 and that he was ignorant of the medication being applied to Agitate. Phil also bluntly stated : "I did not stimulate the horse." Thompson, here for the M. J. Kern dispersal sale at Lexington Fields Thursday night, made a stirring speech after Cor-rolls summarization for the board. Thompson stated emphatically that, in his opinion, Miss Reuter had used the medication as a sedative with no willful intent to stimulate, defraud or break any state laws. And out of Thompsons "say," that much misinterpretation among horsemen prevails as to the use of "icing" horses, came an unanimous decision by all present that something should be done about clarification of the drug ruling. That "something" will come in the form of a meeting among horsemen, board members and stewards during the first week of the Lincoln Fields at Hawthorne meeting, starting May 18. It is tentatively set to be held in the track kitchen.
