quote from the good wife

[Clockerbob]

In season one-episode 'bang' from the tv show a "good wife"

Will the lawyer says to his law partner diane, "I respect you"

and Diane replies, 'that's what they said to Secretariat before they put him down"

I don't understand!

[Andymays]

Didn't Secretariat have a notoriously crooked Vet?

[Kermit]

Didn't Secretariat have a notoriously crooked Vet?

Advanced Laminitis was the reason, don't know what went on before that.

[MaryS]

from 1974

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/ ... /index.htm

Secretariat's problem is with his sperm. He has been tested six times and these tests, according to the Claiborne vets, showed similar results—immature sperm in differing amounts. This being the case, the vets have no alternative but to declare the horse not fertile, at least in the stringent terms of the syndicate contract. The experts would like to hedge their findings, since Secretariat has been bred to four non-thoroughbred mares and two of three of these have been tested in foal. The outcome of the fourth breeding is still pending. But Lloyds does not want a qualified answer. It is demanding a yes or a no. The vets cannot stretch the truth enough to declare that Secretariat has perfectly normal sperm.

At the first hint of trouble with the Tweedy stallions, discussions began concerning the possible cause of the problem. Since both horses came from the same barn, Trainer Lucien Laurin was queried about medication used while at the track. He assured everyone that the champions had not received unusual or dangerous treatment.

This could be quite true, but questions are now being raised throughout racing about what is referred to as usual treatment. Increasingly, racehorses are receiving heavy doses of drugs, vitamins and steroids. In the old days there was less racing, and horses could rest from October until March. Now with classic colts competing year-round, track veterinarians are pressed by trainers to keep their runners constantly in top shape. Not nearly enough study has been devoted to the effects of booster medication. Many trainers have no idea what a vet is using on their animals and could not care less as long as the treatment is legal. The vet, in turn, has little concern over the effects on the horse after his racing years are over. He figures there will be other vets to treat the horse at the breeding farm. Modern steroids do help thoroughbreds remain at their physical peaks, but few people know what effect this medication may have on the genitalia. Similarly, the repeated use of hormones may diminish a horse's breeding capacity.

[Andymays]

Mark Gerard, veterinarian at center of horse-swapping scheme, dies at 76 - Washington Post
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011 ... ican-horse

In the 1960s and 1970s, Dr. Gerard’s clients included Kelso, a five-time American Horse of the Year, and Secretariat, the 1973 Triple Crown winner.
“He was regarded as a top-of-the-line vet,” said Bill Nack, who wrote the 1975 book “Big Red of Meadow Stable: Secretariat, The Making of a Champion.” “He was very cautious and introspective.”
Supplementing his income as a veterinarian, Dr. Gerard imported thoroughbreds to the United States from South America.
In 1977, he bought two bay colts — with nearly identical white markings on their faces — during a trip to Uruguay.
One of the thoroughbreds was Cinzano, Uruguay’s Horse of the Year in 1976. The other was Lebon, a dud who had not won a race in months.
When the horses were imported to the United States, Dr. Gerard sold Cinzano to Joseph Taub, a wealthy computer executive. Dr. Gerard sold Lebon to Jack B. Morgan, a trainer. Both horses were stabled at Dr. Gerard’s farm on Long Island in Muttontown, N.Y.
Then, in a case that a judge said “might have been authored jointly by Alfred Hitch and Damon Runyon,” Dr. Gerard emerged as the key figure in a scheme that unfolded in the pages of newspapers across the country.

In June 1977, Dr. Gerard claimed that the champion Cinzano fractured his skull and had to be put down. The horse was reportedly buried in a Long Island landfill. Lloyd’s of London had insured the animal and paid out $150,000.
But in reality, the horse that died was Lebon.
Cinzano, alive and running, was from then on known as Lebon, and Dr. Gerard switched the two thoroughbreds’ official papers to reflect the change of identity.
Racing in late September, Cinzano (as Lebon) was a 57-1 long shot in a turf race at New York’s Belmont Park.
Dr. Gerard placed nearly $2,000 in bets on the horse. The thoroughbred won by four lengths.
When Dr. Gerard collected his $77,920 in winnings, the betting window attendants had to fetch extra cash from a safe.
Dr. Gerard walked away with the money stuffed in a brown paper bag, but the veterinarian’s big win aroused suspicion.
Later, a Uruguayan sportswriter saw a photo of the winning horse and recognized it to be the famous Cinzano — not Lebon.
After a formal investigation, Dr. Gerard was found guilty of misdemeanor charges of “fraudulent entries and practices in contests of speed.” He was fined $1,000 and spent eight months in jail in Nassau County, N.Y.




Veterinarian to Triple Crown winner Secretariat dies in Wellingto | www.palmbeachpost.com

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/ ... -di/nLtPr/

[Clockerbob]

I just started watching the first three seasons of the ' good wife'
which is well written and acted. Season two episodes with michael j fox are the
best episodes. I though the line about Secretariat was clumsy.

[Andymays]

I just started watching the first three seasons of the ' good wife'
which is well written and acted. Season two episodes with michael j fox are the
best episodes. I though the line about Secretariat was clumsy.

Excellent Series.