Bullet Work by Steve O'Brien

performance.
    By regulation, the tracks and information
services had access to race-day medication information, and that
was shared with the betting public. Lasix made horses lighter
because of the water weight loss, and since there shouldn’t be
excess fluid in their lungs, they ran faster.
    To be prescribed Lasix, the horse had to be
examined by a vet who scoped the lungs following a race or workout.
If evidence of bleeding was present, the horse could go on the
Lasix list and be treated on race day. The actual degree of
bleeding, or presence at all, was a subjective determination made
by the vet. If the vet said there was blood, the horse could get
Lasix. End of discussion. Once on Lasix, the saying went, always on
Lasix. As long as the horse ran in jurisdictions that allowed
Lasix, it would race with the substance.
    To hit the optimal time zone for
administration of Lasix, a vet would travel from barn to barn on a
schedule to allow several hours for the Lasix to kick in. If the
vet’s clients had horses running throughout a race card, he would
time his visits to the barns to administer the medication. Then he
would check off the horses as the day progressed. Giving the
medication too late or too early could have adverse effects, so
vets operated on a strict schedule.
    A vet van was a virtual cornucopia of
pharmaceuticals, all identified and stocked in plastic trays
similar to a carpenter’s workbench. In this case there were several
workbenches fastened to the interior of the van, along with rubs,
wraps, and other therapeutic devices.
    Although vet vans were required to be locked
when not occupied, most vets would park near a barn and leave the
side or back doors open. They administered the required therapy,
returned to the van, and moved to the next barn.
    A vet on his rounds was like a milkman. He
made deliveries, provided services, and moved onto the next
location. If someone knew the relationships of a specific
veterinarian and could match up horses scheduled to receive Lasix
injections, the person could fairly accurately predict the path of
the vet as he distributed services. Most people didn’t care and
never knew the difference.
     
      
     
    Falcon knew the difference.
    The card had set up perfectly for Falcon. Two
unprotected trainers, Dave Simpkins and Kenneth Oliver, had
race-day Lasix performers in the same race, the eighth. So while
Dancett was giving an injection to a horse scheduled to race in the
seventh, Falcon was able to get to the open vet van door. He pulled
open the drawer holding the Lasix, withdrew all four boxes, and
replaced them with two identical boxes.
    Then he disappeared.
     
      
     
    Dancett drove to Simpkins’ barn and pulled a
Lasix box containing the med and pre-packaged hypodermic needle
from the drawer. He frowned because he thought he had more than
just the two boxes left. At least he had enough to finish today’s
entrants. He made a mental note to stock up in the morning as he
never wanted to be short of such a valuable product. Lasix was a
medication that moved through the vet vans quickly, so he shrugged
and injected Simpkins’ gelding with the substance. Then he drove to
Oliver’s barn and repeated the process.
     
      
     
    Neither Simpkins’ nor Oliver’s horse won that
day. In fact, neither got a check.
    Both dropped dead before being led over for
the eighth race.
    On another part of the track, Raven smiled as
Dean Horn struggled to explain to the racing audience why two
entrants in the eighth had to be late scratches.
    Fear on the backside was palpable. Raven
witnessed it firsthand every day. Confusion and uncertainty filled
the air. It was a stench that intensified with time.
    The backside smelled of fear. Raven only
smelled the money.
    They had no idea what was coming.
     
     

Part Two
Onto the Backstretch
     
    People attacked what
they feared.
    It was simple. It was
predictable.
    They feared what they
chose not to understand.