"[T]he lack of an enforcement mechanism or incentive for accreditation is impeding the success of the Alliance’s accreditation efforts," Thompson said. "We encourage the industry to consider a long-term strategy to enact the type of enforcement mechanism necessary."

NYT turf writer Joe Drape suggests drug-free Kempton Kentucky Derby Challenge winner Mafaaz might be the horse to shame the American racing industry into banning race-day medications and improving horse safety. Published under the "Analysis" rubric, but more properly considered opinion for its agenda-driven conclusions ("Nothing has changed"), shaky connections (that slippery "It" at the start of paragraph seven, the correlation of racing's popularity in Europe and Asia to medication policies with no mention of cultural and structural factors), and lack of balance.

Or, as NTRA CEO Alex Waldrop put it: "Joe Drape's commentary on the current state of safety and integrity reforms ... contained errors and exaggerations and ignored irrefutable facts that did not support his premise." [Note the defensive tone that creeps into the accompanying Letter to the Editor. For the flaws in Drape's piece, he is correct more change must come to industry. I suspect Waldrop knows that too, even as he rightly defends what has been accomplished.]