Horse racing has always been known as one of the more prestigious sports, but its history is filled with scandals and misconduct. People have tried to manipulate races for betting purposes, horses have been swapped to increase their odds of winning, and racehorses have even been abducted. Performance-enhancing drugs and the mistreatment of horses have also placed a black eye on the sport over the years. Here is a list of ten outrageous horse racing scandals.
Related: Top 10 Olympic Scandals
10 Faking a Horse’s Death
History of Belmont Racetrack (PROFILE)..starring Teresa Genero
Dr. Mark Gerard was a veterinarian to famous horses such as Secretariat, but he purchased two of his own horses in 1977. Cinzano was the first horse, who won seven of its eight races, and it was named Uruguay’s Best Three-Year-Old Colt in 1976. The second horse, Lebon, only won one race in two years. Cinzano cost Gerard $81,000, while Lebon was bought for only $1,600.
Right after the two horses arrived at Gerard’s farm, Cinzano fractured his skull and leg after striking his head on the ceiling. Cinzano’s accidental death was recorded. Gerard continued to race Lebon, and it surprisingly won at Belmont Park in September of 1977. A journalist notified the New York Jockey Club after claiming the winning horse was actually Cinzano.
The two horses had similar white stars on their foreheads, but one sat slightly lower than the other. It was determined that the identity of the horse was swapped, and Gerard and the horse’s trainer were immediately suspended. Gerard also spent a year in jail, was fined $1,000, and was banned from all racetracks for life. [1]
9 Gay Future Scandal
Murphys Stroke – Gay Future Gamble
Tony Murphy was known for living lavishly and even drove a gold Rolls Royce. Murphy led an Irish betting syndicate that would organize a brazen scheme that involved a horse known as Gay Future. They entered the horse into a race and then placed strategic bets across several places in the UK. They also ran two other horses under the same trainer’s name to confuse bookmakers, and conspirators would place single, double, and triple bets that included the other two horses. The two horses were pulled by plan before the race, and all bets turned into single bets on Gay Future.
On the day of the race, the conspirators swapped the real Gay Future for a more impressive horse, Arctic Chevalier. After the two horses were pulled, this horse and one other were the only ones still in the race. To deter bettors from placing wagers on Gay Future, they soaked its legs with soap to make it appear sweaty and unhealthy. “Gay Future” would win the race by a landslide, but journalists and bookmakers started investigating the situation after learning the other two horses didn’t even travel to the racecourse.
Murphy and his group were caught, and the payouts were halted. He was convicted of attempted fraud but never served time for his actions. [2]
8 2002 Breeder’s Cup Betting Scandal
They Won MILLIONS Rigging Betting Tickets!
After the conclusion of the 2002 Breeder’s Cup, Derrick Davis had winning Pick Six tickets, where bettors attempt to select the winners in six consecutive races. David won more than $3 million with his lucky picks, but he was the only person to have winning Pick Six tickets. The tickets were purchased with a newly opened telephone account with Catskill Off-Track Betting, and the betting pattern triggered an investigation by several organizations.
The investigation showed that one of Davis’s fraternity brothers, Chris Harn, was a senior computer programmer for Autotote, which handled the telephone betting service. Harn had the ability to make changes in the system after several races were run to select the winners for Davis’s tickets. It was also found that Harn rigged other bets with another fraternity brother, and all three of the men received sentences for their actions. [3]
7 30 Horses Die in Six Months
Santa Anita track owners and trainers under investigation after horse deaths
After 30 horses died at Santa Anita Racetrack in six months, a public outcry occurred that demanded answers. Twenty-three of those deaths occurred between December of 2018 and March of 2019. The racetrack received increased attention as the condition of the track and treatment of horses was investigated. The racetrack resisted calls to suspend or move races and denied any wrongdoing. Managers of the track finally decide to temporarily shut down the track.
Many believed heavy rainfall messed up layers of dirt, leading to a risk of fractures for horses. Scientists ran many tests that disproved that theory, and the tests failed to show anything unusual. After the results were revealed, Santa Anita reopened its doors. The California Horse Racing Board discovered some issues, including trainers feeling pressured to have horses run, but there were no procedures or illegal drugs that could be found that led to the deaths of the horses. [4]
6 2020 Horse Doping Scam
Officials Announce Charges In ‘Cruel And Systematic’ Horse Racing Doping Scandal | NBC News
Maximum Security was disqualified as the winner of the 2019 Kentucky Derby after interference, but the horse went on to win four of five high-profile races. The trainer of Maximum Security, Jason Servis, and more than two dozen other trainers and veterinarians were charged in a widespread international scheme to drug horses to make them faster.
Charges were brought to 27 individuals for drug adulteration and misbranding conspiracy. The investigation showed that horses were given performance-enhancing drugs that led to cardiac issues, overexertion leading to fractures, an increased risk of injury, and even death. Jorge Navarro was another trainer who was charged. One of his horses, X Y Jet, won more than $3 million in races, but the horse later died of an apparent heart attack. [5]
5 1968 Kentucky Derby Winner Disqualified
50 years ago, Kentucky Derby disqualified winner for first time
The 1968 Kentucky Derby was nothing short of phenomenal. Dancer’s Image rallied three-fourths of the way through the race from last place to win by just a mere length and a half. Days later, it was announced that the horse was disqualified after testing positive for phenylbutazone, an anti-inflammatory drug. The horse’s owner, Peter Fuller, sued over the decision, but the case dragged on for nearly five years.
Fuller believed that someone who disliked him may have sabotaged his victory. He was a white man who was an avid supporter of civil rights. He had even donated $60,000 to Coretta Scott King after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He said that he had received several death threats and angry letters leading up to the 1968 Kentucky Derby.
He thought someone could have slipped the horse the phenylbutazone before the race. The truth was never revealed, but the drug is no longer against the rules for racehorses. [6]
4 Bold Personality Spray Painted to Mimic Another Horse
Inside the horse switching scandal that rocked Australian racing | A Current Affair
Fine Cotton was a racing horse with little success, but the owner, John Gillespie, had planned to swap the horse with another one of his racehorses. Dashing Solitaire was a better racer and resembled Fine Cotton, so Gillespie decided to swap the horses before the race. The plan was derailed when Dashing Solitaire was injured and unable to race. Gillespie decided not to give up on his scheme and chose to use yet another horse.
Bold Personality was another good racehorse, but it looked nothing like Fine Cotton. The color and marking were both different. The conspirators used hair dye to change the color of the horse and then used spray paint to mimic the white socks of Fine Cotton. The horse won the race, and the conspirators were set to rake in the money, but people started questioning the win. People started to realize that white paint was dripping down the horse’s hind legs. The horse was disqualified, and Gillespie spent four years in jail. [7]
3 “Big Tony” Bribed Jockeys
Anthony Ciulla, better known as “Big Tony,” bribed several jockeys in hundreds of races during the 1970s. He would instruct jockeys to slow down their horses during races to allow less favorable horses to win, resulting in higher payouts.
During an Atlantic City race in 1975, the jockey was too obvious in slowing the horse, and he eventually gave up “Big Tony.” He was arrested and spent time in prison, but the FBI offered him a deal to reduce his sentence. He testified against jockeys and trainers, several of whom had fixed races for him, and he was then granted entry into the Witness Protection Program. [8]
2 Horse Abducted & Never Found
Shergar: The Mystery Of A £10m Horse – BBC Stories
Shergar was a racehorse gaining fame after winning the Epsom Derby by the largest margin ever, and it went on to win several other races before his retirement in 1981. The horse went to work as a stud in Ireland, but Shergar was abducted by masked gunmen in 1983. They forced someone to load the horse, and they drove away long before police were contacted about the abduction.
It was believed that the horse was stolen by the IRA. The group was apparently low on money, and they were resorting to kidnapping to gain funds. A ransom of $3 million was demanded, but the owners decided not to pay, hoping it wouldn’t lead to future abductions. Nobody ever claimed responsibility for the abduction, and the horse has never been found. [9]
1 2021 Kentucky Derby Winner Fails Drug Test
Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit fails post-race drug test – Tests for twice the drug limit
One of the biggest scandals in horse racing history came after the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Medina Spirit won the Kentucky Derby that year, but the horse failed a drug test after the race. Medina Spirit tested for high levels of betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory, violating the Kentucky protocols. The horse was stripped of its win, and the trainer, Bob Baffert, was fined and suspended.
Baffert initially received a 90-day suspension from the sport and was ordered to pay a $7,500 fine. His ban was later extended due to concerns regarding the safety of racing. His horses had failed 30 drug tests over a 40-year span, with Medina Spirit being the fifth within a year. Medina Spirit died suddenly seven months after the 2021 Kentucky Derby. [10]
fact checked by
Darci Heikkinen