Paulick blocks comments of anyone disputing position of his advertisers

[Jon Cohen]

The Paulick Report banned my comments because I had the temerity to dispute the absurd notions of his advertisers. When I discovered this I sent him the following, to which he never responded. I say to all serious people Stick with Byk. He isn't afraid of the truth.


Jon Cohen
Aug 29

To Ray:

It's both funny and sad that you have chosen to give up your position as an objective journalist interested in truth and facts to sell out and become nothing more than a shill for these blue blooded tyrants that have no desire for a healthy industry and only want to line their own pockets. You allow an endless parade of ridiculous comments and outright falsehoods regarding both the Lasix subject and raceday medication in general, and you castigate anyone that paints an informed, accurate picture as a malcontent rabble rouser unworthy of you or your site. That you have blocked my commenting speaks volumes about where you stand.

You had so much potential to be an objective voice, unfortunately, you have morphed into the worst kind of hypocrite. Your secret is out though, and people now know that you are bought and paid for by your advertisers, and controlled by the likes of Irwin, Farmer, et al. That's okay though, People in the industry now know that your site isn't about gravitas, it is a merely a propaganda tool for those paying for it.

It's sad that you are so afraid of the truth and so easily manipulated by dollars. Paraphrasing a line from Wall Street, "They're using you...They've got your prick in their back pocket and you're too blind to see it".

People are not going to sit idly by and allow the Phipps's, Farmer's and Irwin's to attempt a junta of the industry. People like Rick Hiles, who live in the real world, understand the differences between therapeutic medication and illegal drugs, and despite Cleanhorseracing.org's laughable attempts to paint it all with the same brush, even a fifth grader can grasp the difference. For at least the last twenty five years, these Kentucky breeders have siezed every opportunity to sell the best of what they had to offer to the highest bidders, which have included the Europeans, the Arabs, and more recently to the Japanese. The previous generation of American breeders spent their lifetimes importing the best of the best to improve the breed, and their successors have spent their lifetimes exporting them in a quest for dollars. Now that the world market is saturated, and as a result, the balance of breeding power has shifted, they lament the "weakened" Amercan Thoroughbred that they themselves have fostered, and actually have the guile to blame the end users of their product instead of themselves.

The duplicity exhibited by this group has come back to haunt them, and arrogantly thumbing their noses at the end users is simply no way to conduct business, just as you condoning their behavior is no way to conduct yours.

Just sayin'


Jon Cohen


PS, Do you or any of your cronies have a response to my comment..... "Another high profile horse in a high profile race in Europe breaks down. It must've been all the raceday medication and lasix. Oh wait, they don't use raceday medication and lasix there, Now who will people blame for this ?"

[freddymo]

I may not agree with everything you posted but you have ballz and one thing I concur with is Steve Byk loves the game and save his horrible opinionat SPA(kidding Steve) is a true advocate for honest folks.

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by Jon Cohen

The Paulick Report banned my comments because I had the temerity to dispute the absurd notions of his advertisers. When I discovered this I sent him the following, to which he never responded. I say to all serious people Stick with Byk. He isn't afraid of the truth.


Jon Cohen
Aug 29

To Ray:

It's both funny and sad that you have chosen to give up your position as an objective journalist interested in truth and facts to sell out and become nothing more than a shill for these blue blooded tyrants that have no desire for a healthy industry and only want to line their own pockets. You allow an endless parade of ridiculous comments and outright falsehoods regarding both the Lasix subject and raceday medication in general, and you castigate anyone that paints an informed, accurate picture as a malcontent rabble rouser unworthy of you or your site. That you have blocked my commenting speaks volumes about where you stand.

You had so much potential to be an objective voice, unfortunately, you have morphed into the worst kind of hypocrite. Your secret is out though, and people now know that you are bought and paid for by your advertisers, and controlled by the likes of Irwin, Farmer, et al. That's okay though, People in the industry now know that your site isn't about gravitas, it is a merely a propaganda tool for those paying for it.

It's sad that you are so afraid of the truth and so easily manipulated by dollars. Paraphrasing a line from Wall Street, "They're using you...They've got your prick in their back pocket and you're too blind to see it".

People are not going to sit idly by and allow the Phipps's, Farmer's and Irwin's to attempt a junta of the industry. People like Rick Hiles, who live in the real world, understand the differences between therapeutic medication and illegal drugs, and despite Cleanhorseracing.org's laughable attempts to paint it all with the same brush, even a fifth grader can grasp the difference. For at least the last twenty five years, these Kentucky breeders have siezed every opportunity to sell the best of what they had to offer to the highest bidders, which have included the Europeans, the Arabs, and more recently to the Japanese. The previous generation of American breeders spent their lifetimes importing the best of the best to improve the breed, and their successors have spent their lifetimes exporting them in a quest for dollars. Now that the world market is saturated, and as a result, the balance of breeding power has shifted, they lament the "weakened" Amercan Thoroughbred that they themselves have fostered, and actually have the guile to blame the end users of their product instead of themselves.

The duplicity exhibited by this group has come back to haunt them, and arrogantly thumbing their noses at the end users is simply no way to conduct business, just as you condoning their behavior is no way to conduct yours.

Just sayin'


Jon Cohen


PS, Do you or any of your cronies have a response to my comment..... "Another high profile horse in a high profile race in Europe breaks down. It must've been all the raceday medication and lasix. Oh wait, they don't use raceday medication and lasix there, Now who will people blame for this ?"

This is an interesting first post.

Personally I just don't understand coming to one site to immediately slam another (site), especially when it involves insulting any individual.

I'm sorry are we supposed to elevate you on our shoulders now and march around, having found a new savior? Or is it poor-me-ism... you're upset because your comments were deleted and then this wasn't answered (?).

Had i been called a shill and a hypocrite and basically a media whore (although you didn't use that word but the implication...) I doubt I'd have responded.

Your heading screams about deleted comments and yet you choose not to post those (?).

Were they offensive? Insulting? Were they insightful? What was the manner in which they were said?

When it comes down to it it is Mr.Paulicks site and he can control it however he wishes.

Steve is, of course, adored here but I fear that any such rah rah sis boom bah could be a little... well I am no one to say how anyone else would react especially our gracious host but if it were me I'd be put off but hey that's just me.

I have nothing to say re the subject matter... that is not something I want to get in to tonight.

Welcome to the forum.

Sorry if this isn't the nicest glad you're here kinda post but it's just one of my own idiosyncrasies... to see a red flag, real or imagined, at a first post as - shall we say- bold as yours.

[Calzone Lord]

This race-day drug debate is nonsense that doesn't want to go away.

I couldn't care less either way.

If you want to annoy most of the trainers and veterinarians and make the big newspaper in NY and some big owners happy -- outlaw the stuff and go with the rules in place from the other major countries.

If not, than put this crap to bed.

It's pointless to drag this stuff out.

It's not a real problem either way and barely is something even worthy of discussion.

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by freddymo

I may not agree with everything you posted but you have ballz and one thing I concur with is Steve Byk loves the game and save his horrible opinionat SPA(kidding Steve) is a true advocate for honest folks.

Handicapperernie begs to differ.

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

Handicapperernie begs to differ.

I was starting to worry about you cause I hadn't seen that very special name lately...

[Jon Cohen]

The point is this My Miss Storm Cat:

If one chooses to be a latter day Matt Drudge, the patron saint of aggregation news websites, and to be the clarion voice of what is right and what is not in the thoroughbred industry, one should not create a false bias by stacking the comments to one's articles and editorials with one sided replies and simply deleting any dissenting opinion(s) that accurately contradict such views. That behavior is neither fair nor balanced reporting, especially when you consider that some of the loudest "voices" being endorsed are the one(s) of the advertiser(s) of said website.

With regard to the lightning rod issue of lasix, therapeutic medication vs illegal drugs specifically, I don't think that there is anyone who doesn't want to see the users of the latter expunged forthwith from the business, however painting the former with the same brush is both inaccurate and amateurish. Censorship of anyone who endorses the use of the former to the further the agenda of a vocal minority is both disingenuous and counterproductive to addressing the serious issues at hand.

You are right, it is his ball, and he can play with whomever he wishes, however, in the age of social media and free access to news, duplicity and credibility are not synonymous.

Matt Drudge doesn't have a comment section.

Oh no Jon has discovered controlled opposition!! Everyone get their torches and meet in the town square!! We're hunting shills tonight!!

[Danzig]

it's paulicks site, he can do whatever he wants with it i'd imagine.

[Revidere]

I was impressed with words like temerity and castigate. The "just sayin" ending brought it down a notch or two.

Word

[Dahoss]

Can someone explain to me why this guy is getting a hard time here?

Even if you disagree with what he said, it's not like he is out of line or I would imagine the mods would have deleted.

[10 pnt move up]

I agree with a lot of the post, I really don't care about Paulick and his site, but the context of your statements, especially the part about breeding, are clear and on point.

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

Can someone explain to me why this guy is getting a hard time here?

Even if you disagree with what he said, it's not like he is out of line or I would imagine the mods would have deleted.

I was trying to figure out the same thing...

[Ray Paulick]

Jon Cohen,

First, thank you for spelling my name right and for mentioning http://www.paulickreport.com. It's much appreciated.

Second, the Paulick Report welcomes all points of view, provided the writers remain civil (and that admittedly is a tough word to define). If we blocked comments by people criticizing advertisers, as you insist we do, why would we have permitted you to post upwards of 50 public comments, many of them repetitive insults at people, some of whom are advertisers and some of whom are not?

Take a look at a story on today's home page, written by former assistant trainer and current bloodstock agent Lincoln Collins ( http://www.paulickreport.com/news/ra...d-s-integrity/) , opposing the use of race-day medication. There are people commenting who are very critical of his position. Tonight, we will be posting a counterpoint to Mr. Collins, written by trainer Dale Romans, an advocate of race-day medication (primarily Lasix).

Third, we have more than 40 advertisers, and I can say with confidence that I don't know what position the vast majority of those people/businesses have on issues. If it's like anything else in this industry, it's 1000-1 they all take the same position on whether the sun rises in the east.

I'm afraid your final comment was akin to dancing on the grave of a dead horse to further your position. I found it to be uncivil, in poor taste, and, as someone in this thread stated, it's Paulick's site. I made a deisicion to block you, not because of your point of view, but because of the way you state it.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

Can someone explain to me why this guy is getting a hard time here?

Even if you disagree with what he said, it's not like he is out of line or I would imagine the mods would have deleted.

The only thing you can guess is Mr Cohen motivation.. I thought it was a great post regardless of if I agreed with all of it.

[OldDog]

Well now we're getting somewhere.

[Jon Cohen]

Originally Posted by Ray Paulick

I'm afraid your final comment was akin to dancing on the grave of a dead horse to further your position. I found it to be uncivil, in poor taste, and, as someone in this thread stated, it's Paulick's site. I made a deisicion to block you, not because of your point of view, but because of the way you state it.

The "final comment"..............

"Another high profile horse in a high profile race in Europe breaks down. It must've been all the raceday medication and lasix. Oh wait, they don't use raceday medication and lasix there, Now who will people blame for this ?"


This was not "dancing on the grave of a dead horse" nor was it uncivil or in poor taste. It merely rebutted the ridiculous conclusion that some of your most prolific posters state, and restate ad nauseum; that raceday medication is the cause of breakdowns.

I was not impressed in the least with what Lincoln Collins had to say, and I look forward to reading Dale Romans' perspective on this subject.

[Calzone Lord]

In the good old days of horse racing in America... the major racetracks would bar the entry of horses who bled:

The rules would look like this:




Going one step further -- they could also suspend horses who have "raced inconsistently" for no other reason at all.


This is when the racing associations actually had power.

The idea was to protect the bettor and the image of the sport.

Politicians never got involved with anything. It was simply a matter of the individual racing associations doing what they felt was in the best interest of the bettors and the overall image of the sport.

This topic hasn't helped the image of the sport (NY Times coverage) and no one with even a morsel of power in this industry ever asks or cares to ask 'what is in the best interest of the bettor?'

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

In the good old days of horse racing in America... the major racetracks would bar the entry of horses who bled:

The rules would look like this:




Going one step further -- they could also suspend horses who have "raced inconsistently" for no other reason at all.


This is when the racing associations actually had power.

The idea was to protect the bettor and the image of the sport.

Politicians never got involved with anything. It was simply a matter of the individual racing associations doing what they felt was in the best interest of the bettors and the overall image of the sport.

This topic hasn't helped the image of the sport (NY Times coverage) and no one with even a morsel of power in this industry ever asks or cares to ask 'what is in the best interest of the bettor?'

This was still pretty much the case up until the 80's when people started taking to the courts to dispute stewards rulings and other matters. Politicians didnt bother much with racing because there wasn't much money at stake for them and when they did have anything to do with the track it was getting some free publicity handing out the Preakness trophy or something like that.

Your last sentence is completely correct and what the naysayers on Paulick and the high profile people who continue to harp on lasix and use that topic to drag the sport down dont seem to understand is that the negative image that they are portraying wont change if and when lasix is banned. As I have said so many times before for the vast majority of people it wont mean anything but an L missing in the program. There is no bump in handle or horse ownership coming from a raceday lasix ban and not a single person who disagrees with this has provided a single shred of evidence that supports their position. The irony of Lincoln Collins giving his position is that his entire message is more or less using a ban on lasix to try to protect the international status of American BRED horses so that the sales market can continue to be propped up with foreign money. That the bloodstock market and the advisors in Lexington, KY have more or less ruined the "sport" at the top of the game by selling so many of our top pedigrees to foreign interests, prematurely retiring our best horses, railed against handicap racing to the point where our formerly most important races are a shell of themselves, advising clients to send horses only to supertrainers in hopes to curry favor from them when selling horses to their clients, etc. The ultimate irony is that they have used the lasix argument to curry pretty horse PR, rally PETA types against us, encourage Joe Drape and company to continue to lob potshots at us, prodded politicians to threaten us and the real goal of the cause is to protect the very thing that has probably hurt the racing game as much as anything at least in the publics eyes, the breeding/broodmare/yearling sales market.

[freddymo]

I can see My Miss Storm Cat crying with such a post Mr Cohen. Yu really are a killer.

Seems like Ole Ray was pissed that you were jerking his advertisers and hence canned you I suggest you cut him a check and all will be ok.