The more things change, the more they stay the same

[Fearless Leader]

Here is an excerpt from Andy Beyer's obituary on Oscar Barrera, published on April 11, 1991.


"....Even after the magic had disappeared and Barrera had ceased to be a significant factor as a trainer, he had left a permanent mark on New York racing. Most other trainers believed that Barrera was cheating flagrantly, and many of them concluded from his success that crime does pay. For all its pretense of being the citadel of the sport, New York may have the most drug-ridden racing in America. Implausible trainers regularly emerge from obscurity to perform mini-miracles and in some cases move to the top of the trainers standings. Bettors in New York speak matter-of-factly about "juice trainers", and many are surely alienated by the presumption that so many people in the game are cheating. The proliferation of juice trainers has driven owners out of the game because they know they can't compete with rivals who possess an unfair edge"


Two decades later and almost nothing has changed.