Top harness racer Eric Ledford, his father, a master horse trainer in Illinois, and stable workers pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance (AP Link here). Searches of the Ledford team's New Jersey stables uncovered the anabolic steroid Equipoise, and the blood expander EPO.
Ledford is a big deal in harness racing. His career spans 3,733 wins and purse earnings of $42.2 million. Ledford won the famed Hambletonian in 2002.
Ledford, who won trotting's most prestigious race with Chip Chip Hooray in 2002, pleaded guilty to third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance, Equipoise, before state Superior Court Judge Bette E. Uhrmacher in Monmouth County.
Ledford's father, Seldon, a nationally known 60-year-old trainer from Illinois, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess Equipoise, an anabolic steroid.
The Newark Star-Ledger reported the rider's fortunes catapulted over the years. Although the jockey attributes his good fortune to better horses, perhaps he also employed better chemists.
Ledford's purse earnings at the Meadowlands have soared recently, from an average of $186,556 per year between 1991 and 2003 to $3,071,472 in 2005. Ledford, who made his name on the Illinois racing circuit, attributes that to having better horses to work with and more of them.
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Posted by: iknowall | 06/01/2007 at 08:30