Friday, April 2, 2004
Let the punishment fit the crime
By Dave Johnson
Special to ESPN.com
Let me get this straight. Billionaire Martha Stewart is facing 20 years in the slammer for lying to the feds about a measly $40,000 profit in the stock market, while jockey Kieren Fallon was handed a mere 21-day suspension for his part in a race that gave the distinct impression that he was trying to lose. A race in which 1.5 million pounds (about $2.5 million) changed hands? We don't know the truth on this one ... yet.
These are crazy times in or out of the racetrack, in or out of the kitchen.
Dennis Kozlowski has been charged with looting Tyco for about $600 million through unauthorized bonuses, falsifying documents and misleading the public to bolster his stock holdings. He is running around free, for the moment.
Jockey Corey Nakatani was given a 30-day suspension for a "wanton act that resulted in a racing accident." Note that the suspension is under appeal and that the other jockey involved in the spill (Javier Santaigo) was not injured, nor were the horses.
Donald Trump, whose casino empire is in terrible shape, has emerged as the star of the new outrageously successful television series, "The Apprentice," where The Donald will be paid millions to say "You're fired," at the end of each segment for the next two years.
These are crazy times in or out of the boardroom, in or out of the paddock
Michael Eisner, who I used to work for at ABC Sports, is desperately trying to hang on to his job at Disney, not because he violated the law, but for not getting along with three board members.
And Vancouver hockey player Todd Bertuzzi will be sitting out the rest of the season, the playoffs and perhaps some of next year because of a hit he gave Colorado's Steve Moore during a game in the NHL, which would not survive without rough play.
These are crazy times in or out of the Magic Kingdom, on or off the ice.
It's so simple. I say let the punishment fit the crime.
Before I worked at Fairmount Park or Cahokia Downs, calling races in the evenings, I worked as a clerk in a law office in St. Louis during the days.
The rent I paid back in 1964? $50 a month
Salary for the first night I announced the races? $25.
The education and experience of life though the eyes of the law? Priceless!
There is a reason that statue of the lady in front of every Court House from Laurel to Laguna and from Boise to Bossier City is blindfolded.
Justice really should be blind. But it ain't, Blanche. It ain't.
The two best lessons I took from that St. Louis law office to the all those racetracks, all those networks, all those gin joints and now semi-retirement are these:
1. Selective justice is worse than no justice at all.
2. "Quis custodiet ipse custodes?" or "Who watches the watchers?"
Thoroughbred racing should take a longer look at itself; finding out who is getting fleeced and who is responsible when things go wrong.
When greed, holding onto a job, passing the buck and sweeping scandal under the rug are more important than the integrity of the sport, someone has to blow the whistle. Someone in authority must punish. And let the punishment fit the crime. Every time.
The Kieren Fallon incident appears to be the most stupid and transparent theft of racetracker's money in memory. Many in Great Britain say it is the biggest crisis ever in racing.
On a Tuesday afternoon in early March, champion jockey Fallon showed up to ride one race at Lingfield, an obscure racecourse outside London, in a minor race that had a tiny purse of $2,550. That was very unusual, perhaps comparable to Jerry Bailey showing up at Emerald Downs to ride one $2,000 maiden-claimer on a Wednesday.
Fallon was in front by 10 turning for home, apparently an easy winner. But then, the jockey began to act strangely. Fallon started looking around for competition and then slowly put the brakes on his mount. And guess what? The one-time 10-length leader got caught near the wire by the favorite, Rye. Fans went ballistic. Every punter in every bookmaking shop in Britian was outraged. The incident made headlines in all the papers and was all over TV.
But here is the kicker: Betfair, the betting exchange I wrote about last month on this site, notified The Jockey Club and the track stewards 10 minutes before the race about the unusual betting action against Fallon's mount! Betfair reported that the handle was more than three times normal on this one race. That's the silver lining inside this dark cloud of scandal; with the type of technology and cooperation that's now available, it's harder to sweep questionable activities under the rug.
Betting exchanges allow registered clients to either back or bet against a horse. If you know who is not going to win, you can make a lot of money. As a professional gambler in England said, "Racing is no more crooked than it has ever been, it is simply that the small bit of the sport that is crooked is easier to see!"
But if the wrongdoers are not thrown out of the sport, on both sides of the Atlantic, horse racing will become more like professional wrestling in the minds of television programmers, newspaper editors and the fans themselves.
Earth to Stewards: Hello! $2.5 million has been bet on the Lingfield race and most of it wagered on Ballinger Ridge to lose!
If I had wagered on that race, I would want to know, who is watching the watchers. Then I'd want to know who made the score (Betfair will open their books to the authorities), and if anything was illegal, let the punishment fit the crime.
And if they found out that jockey Fallon had anything to do with the betting coup, I would hope that the British Jockey Club would call him into their board room, and taking a lesson from Donald Trump, tell him "You're fired. For life!"
