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Among the items seized when police arrested over two dozen thoroughbred trainers and veterinarians in New York on March 9 was a bottle of cobra venom, used as a painkiller for lame racehorses.
“Chemical warfare,” said Greenfield’s John Dobrydnio, who’s been in the racing business since he was a kid. “That’s what it was like in those days, still is. Cobra venom’s been around a long time, but you’d better know your (stuff).”
Several years ago in a church parking lot in Hobe Sound, Fla., a farmer reached into his glove compartment and took out a few photos of rattlesnakes he’d captured near his home on the northeast side of Lake Okeechobee.
It reminded me of my own close encounters with rattlesnakes up the road in Jonathan Dickinson State Park. One day, I was jogging on a sandy trail and heard a loud noise coming from out of the scrub bushes. It sounded like dry leaves being rustled by a strong wind. Whatever it was spooked me enough to turn around and go back to the road.
Another time, I happened upon a five-foot rattlesnake that had been stretched across the trail. Its head was chopped off, much to the park ranger’s chagrin.
Near the Loxahatchee River one afternoon, a canoeist told me about the time he’d seen a rattlesnake slither alongside his boat. He whacked it over the head, picked it up with his paddle and put it in a cotton sack. “We took it home, skinned it and ate it,” he said.
Yum! Rattlesnake stew.
The snake farmer told me he milked rattlesnake venom and sold it to produce antivenom. “I got turtles, too,” he said, “and a few cobras.”
“Have you ever been bitten?” I asked.
“Couple of times, once by rattlesnake and I got nicked by a cobra.”
“What’s the difference?” I asked.
“A rattlesnake can really mess you up, but a cobra will either kill you or not.” The feeling from a cobra bite, he said, “is almost psychedelic.”
He invited me to come over and visit, but the thought of snake nightmares made me decline.
Maybe it’s available on the dark web, but cobra venom isn’t for sale on Amazon or eBay. When I entered those key words in the search bar, what popped up was a British beer called Snake Venom. Billed as the world’s strongest brew with a 67.5 percent alcohol content, an 11-ounce bottle costs about $50 on Amazon.
Stronger than Bud, weaker than cobra venom.
A New Hampshire fisherman landed a 37½-pound lake trout last month on Big Diamond Pond, a few miles from the Canada border. The big lunker broke the old record by nearly 10 pounds. “It was 15 minutes of chaos and fury,” Thomas Knight, of Center Harbor, N.H., told the Manchester Union Leader.
Another angler who witnessed the catch estimated the trout was about 60 years old. “Clean, cold water and plenty to eat,” said Chuck Malagodi. “It had to be one lucky fish to grow that big.”
The Associated Press reported that a Manchester, N.H., pee wee hockey coach was “relieved of his duties” after he punched a referee during a game at Bog Ice Arena in Kingston, Mass., on March 7. The fracas happened after Brian Pouliot was penalized for repeatedly slamming the bench door. Pouliot jumped onto the ice and confronted the ref, who he shoved down on the ice. A video clip showed the infuriated former UNH Wildcat player spit on the ref and threw punches, while 11- and 12-year-old skaters waited for the faceoff.
Horse racing handles have soared since the coronavirus shutdown. During a recent weekday card at Gulfstream Park, nearly $8 million was wagered via online sites like TwinSpires and TVG, and last Sunday $5.8 million was bet at Aqueduct.
Only owners, trainers, jockeys, outriders and other essential personnel are allowed inside, including track announcers and trackside reporters. At Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs last week, TVG’s Christina Blacker asked jockey Joe Talamo what it was like without railbirds screaming at the finish line. “I ran last,” smiled Smoking Joe, “so I’m glad no one was booing me.”
In December, Ed McCaffrey was named head coach at Northern Colorado, his first college coaching job. On the NFL Network, former Ravens coach Brian Billick congratulated him but couldn’t resist adding: “I look forward to seeing you next year when you’ve gained 20 pounds, have gray hair and are in psychotherapy.”
Saints coach Sean Payton stood in for Bill Parcells at Oaklawn Park last week to watch Parcells’ colt Three Technique finish fourth in the Rebel Stakes. (Payton tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday.)
Odds-on favorite Nadal won by a length for trainer Bob Baffert and owner George Bolton. Named after the tennis player, Nadal grabbed the $600,000 winner’s share.
When TVG’s Christina Blacker asked Bolton why he appeared so nervous before the race, he said it was because people expected him to win. “I’ve been on the cover of Loser Magazine twice, and it’s a tough magazine to be on.”
Binge-watching in the era of the big shutdown: “Babylon Berlin” (Netflix) is set in 1929 in hedonistic Berlin. The nightclub scenes are mesmerizing, the humor is dark, and the murders are investigated amidst a backdrop of fascist and communist power grabs. Watch the original with closed captions, not the dubbed version. … Narcos Mexico (Netflix) prompts Google searches. Was the 1988 presidential election really as blatantly rigged by plaza bosses as it’s portrayed in the show? Yes. Is the Joaquin Guzman character really the El Chapo? Yes. Who plays Mimi, the Texas girlfriend of plaza boss Pablo Acosta? Sosie Bacon, Brown University graduate and daughter of actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. … Skip “Spenser Confidential” and watch Mark Wahlberg’s “Deep Water Horizon” and “Patriot Day” where he lets actual events be the drawing card and not his tiresome tough guy persona. … The final season of “Better Call Saul” has Kim Wexler conflicted about good guy Jimmy McGill turned bad guy, Mike Ehrmantraut winds up at a doctor’s office in Mexico for no plausible reason, and Saul Goodman is offering 50 percent discounts as if lowlifes are going to go on a crime spree to take advantage. … Other recommendations: Homeland (Showtime), The Queen (Netflix) and Chernobyl (HBO).
SQUIBBERS: The Penn Relays at venerable Franklin Field in Pennsylvania were canceled after 125 continuous years dating to 1895. … The changes are reminiscent of when the 1942 Rose Bowl was moved from Pasadena to Durham, N.C., a month after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The Duke Blue Devils were undefeated (9-0) and ranked No. 2 in the country. They hosted 12th-ranked Oregon State (7-2) and the Beavers won, 20-16, as 14-point underdogs before 56,000 fans at Duke Stadium. … Tuesday on the NFL Network, the Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy was asked the how’s and why’s of the Tom Brady departure. “We’re going to be poking around on this for a long time in terms of the blame pie,” said Shaughnessy. … It’s getting bad when sports shows start airing unused interviews from last month’s Super Bowl. … Now Marlins infielder Eddie Alvarez can practice speed skating. Alvarez grew up roller skating in Miami and switched to speed skating. He made the U.S. Olympic 5,000-meter relay team and won a silver medal at the Sochi Olympics. … The AP reported that in Florida last week, police posted a message on their Facebook page to be on the lookout for a brown cow with a white head. “Faster than it looks. Talented fence jumper. Enjoys pools.”
Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for four decades in the Pioneer Valley.
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