Coleman fires back

In an interview in Wednesday's Toronto Sun, trainer Casie Coleman said the recent decision by Woodbine Entertainment Group officials to order her to race her horses out of the detention barn is "complete (crap), I've done nothing wrong."

Coleman said she has stopped going to the grandstand after the races to eat or drink because of what she believes is the public's newly-formed perception of her because of the ruling, and she said she also offered to let WEG send someone to her barn and "follow me around like a dog." She told writer Rob Longley, "If I've done something wrong, give me whatever I have coming. It's hard to explain to an owner why I'm in a detention barn when there's no reason for it.

"I'm confused. What are we supposed to do, go out there and stiff our horses?" she went on to say. "Obviously I'm supposed to lose. If you win, you get in too much trouble."

Coleman was the 2005 O'Brien Award winner as Canada's Trainer of the Year and on Tuesday she was announced as a finalist for the 2006 award. She is the leading trainer in Canada in 2006 with more than $3.8 million(C) in purse earnings. Her 214 wins on Canadian soil rank her third in that category.

Woodbine vice president of Standardbred racing Bruce Murray told Longley, "As a condition of entry here everybody understands that the race office can designate any race or horse to retention."

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