Arrests following search

Driver Eric Ledford was arrested in the drivers' room at the Meadowlands before Friday night's program. The arrest came following a search by New Jersey State Police at the stable of his father, Seldon Ledford, at Showplace Farms earlier that day.



The State Police searched the stable of Seldon Ledford Friday morning at Showplace Farms in Englishtown. Later that day all of Seldon Ledford's horses that were entered to race at the Meadowlands this weekend were scratched. Horses trained by Ledford also were scratched at Maywood Park



Seldon Ledford has been leading the Meadowlands' trainer standings this meet with superlative statistics, prompting speculation about his training methods.



According to a story in the Newark Star-Ledger, the State Police's horse racing squad leveled charges yesterday that something more sinister was behind Ledford's success: illegal blood doping that improved the horses' times by two seconds or more.



Also on Friday State Police arrested a veterinarian and a trainer who work for Ledford, along with the trainer's wife, on charges they rigged races by giving horses endurance-enhancing drugs that made them faster.



The Saturday (April 1) Star-Ledger story said no charges had yet been filed against Seldon Ledford, although the investigation is continuing.



The Star-Ledger story said state troopers seized significant quantities of the banned drug Aranesp from the homes of veterinarian John Witmer and trainer Ryan Dailey. The story's source for this information was state Deputy Attorney General Christine D'Elia. She said they also confiscated suspicious liquids and syringes from from Seldon Ledford's stable at Showplace.



In addition to scratching the Ledford-trained horses entered to race this weekend, the New Jersey Racing Commission also placed all 50 horses he trains on indefinite suspension while the investigation unfolds.



When State Police showed up at Ledford's stable Friday morning, they also discovered a dead horse in a stall. The New Jersey Racing Commission ordered a necropsy on the horse.



New Jersey recently began testing for blood builders, commonly known as EPO, which are known to enhance the body's ability to carry oxygen and improve stamina.



The Star-Ledger story said New Jersey authorities suspect trainer Ryan Dailey, 33, and his wife, Ardena, 32, would administer the EPO to horses at Ledford's Monmouth County stable.



"With this type of drug you can give it four or five days ahead of time and still have it be potent ... up to three weeks," Deputy Attorney General D'Elia told the Star-Ledger. "The EPO has detrimental effects, though, and can

cause liver damage and coagulation of the blood. It's pretty cruel to the horses to use it as a performance-enhancing drug."



The Star-Ledger story said the Daileys face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of rigging a publicly exhibited contest. Eric Ledford and the veterinarian, Witmer, 68, of Freehold, face up to 18 months in prison if convicted of conspiring to rig the races.

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