2016 Belmont Stakes winner . . .

[Calamber]

[QUOTE=Drvmb1ggl3;8700072]
Kent D stops riding again.
How he gets away with that crap…[/QUOTE]

Here is his explanation in the BloodHorse. I would expect no less of someone who had a horse basically spitting the bit, something wrong, horse not running like he knows he can. A bit cynical to think he “quit riding”, and on his brother’s horse no less. I don’t think so.

"Along the outside, Desormeaux began asking more of the Preakness-winning Exaggerator, but to no avail.

“It was a gallop to the half-mile pole,” explained Desormeaux. "I couldn’t believe we were going so slow for such an animal, such a talent, such a horse with expeditious speed. We quickened at the four and a half, and this horse I had about 10 pounds of pressure on the reins asking him to wait. It took about that. I was pulling with about 10 pounds of pressure.

“We switched leads where we normally start racing on little racetracks and the guys in front quickened and I elected, ‘Ok, well I like my position and don’t want to lose it. He can a run half a mile from here.’ So, I released the lines and now I had about four pounds of pressure on him, and they kept opening up on me. I was praying to God that the reins were lying to me. The horse that was keen to progress was not underneath me. I nursed him to the quarter pole and set him down, put him down for a mad drive and said, ‘Show me your stuff,’ and there was nothing there. By the time we got to the eighth pole he was stepping on his tongue and I said that’s enough.”

[mommy_peanut]

[QUOTE=Calamber;8700205]
Here is his explanation in the BloodHorse. I would expect no less of someone who had a horse basically spitting the bit, something wrong, horse not running like he knows he can. A bit cynical to think he “quit riding”, and on his brother’s horse no less. I don’t think so.

"Along the outside, Desormeaux began asking more of the Preakness-winning Exaggerator, but to no avail.

“It was a gallop to the half-mile pole,” explained Desormeaux. "I couldn’t believe we were going so slow for such an animal, such a talent, such a horse with expeditious speed. We quickened at the four and a half, and this horse I had about 10 pounds of pressure on the reins asking him to wait. It took about that. I was pulling with about 10 pounds of pressure.

“We switched leads where we normally start racing on little racetracks and the guys in front quickened and I elected, ‘Ok, well I like my position and don’t want to lose it. He can a run half a mile from here.’ So, I released the lines and now I had about four pounds of pressure on him, and they kept opening up on me. I was praying to God that the reins were lying to me. The horse that was keen to progress was not underneath me. I nursed him to the quarter pole and set him down, put him down for a mad drive and said, ‘Show me your stuff,’ and there was nothing there. By the time we got to the eighth pole he was stepping on his tongue and I said that’s enough.”[/QUOTE]

Maybe the horse was truly tired & wasn’t up for it today or maybe the fact that Kent kept a strangle hold/fighting with him threw Exaggerator off his game.
Regardless Kent ALWAYS has some type of excuse other than his abysmal riding when not wining a race.

[Gestalt]

Destin surprised me, he ran a great race. Congrats to Creator and company!

[Gestalt]

[QUOTE=Montanas_Girl;8699898]
This is incorrect. A male with one testicle descended is a monorchid; a male with no testicles descended is a cryptorchid.[/QUOTE]

Did you read the articles? That is not what they explain. I’m not a vet, maybe you are, but the article says if the non-descended teste is removed and the normal one left it is called a monorchid. There is no reference to a double.

[Montanas_Girl]

[QUOTE=Gestalt;8700243]
Did you read the articles? That is not what they explain. I’m not a vet, maybe you are, but the article says if the non-descended teste is removed and the normal one left it is called a monorchid. There is no reference to a double.[/QUOTE]

I’m not a vet, but terminology is the very first lecture I give in my Introduction to Animal Sciences course every fall. In horses, for reasons I will never understand, it is very common to label both types of animals “cryptorchid”, but that isn’t technically correct.

[mommy_peanut]

[QUOTE=Montanas_Girl;8699898]
This is incorrect. A male with one testicle descended is a monorchid; a male with no testicles descended is a cryptorchid.[/QUOTE]

Incorrect also.

A cryptorchid can be unilateral (ONE undescended teste) or bilateral (both testes are undescended).
A monorchid is a horse that has only ONE teste/testicle, regardless of if it’s descended or not.
Now usually this is due to the horse originally being a unilateral cryptorchid, so the undescended teste is removed. However if the horse was born with only one teste, than it would also be called a monorchid. Even if that one teste descended.

[Where_sMyWhite]

[QUOTE=mommy peanut;8700235]
Maybe the horse was truly tired & wasn’t up for it today or maybe the fact that Kent kept a strangle hold/fighting with him threw Exaggerator off his game.
Regardless Kent ALWAYS has some type of excuse other than his abysmal riding when not wining a race.[/QUOTE]

So when his horse looses, it’s always Kent’s fault due to abysmal riding??

Sure, sometimes his riding is bad but maybe, perhaps, not every single time. Maybe today Kent’s riding was fine and Exaggerator just didn’t have it. He wouldn’t be the first horse that couldn’t perform as expected in the Belmont after running the first two races of the triple crown.

Seems a bit sweeping to say that every horse Kent rides that doesn’t win is always because of Kent’s abysmal riding. I suspect every rider that doesn’t win does have some “excuse” or reason as to why they didn’t. Seems like the trainer is going to ask…

[Montanas_Girl]

[QUOTE=mommy peanut;8700255]
Incorrect also.

A cryptorchid can be unilateral (ONE undescended teste) or bilateral (both testes are undescended).
A monorchid is a horse that has only ONE teste/testicle, regardless of if it’s descended or not.
Now usually this is due to the horse originally being a unilateral cryptorchid, so the undescended teste is removed. However if the horse was born with only one teste, than it would also be called a monorchid. Even if that one teste descended.[/QUOTE]

I feel like we are beating a dead horse here (no pun intended), but, although horse people, even vets, often use that terminology, it is not correct. I am about to sign off for the night and so don’t have time to keep digging, but here is the first reputable source I was able to come up with: www.agriscience.msu.edu/3000/3020/3025/3025b.ppt.

I looked for a non-PPT file but couldn’t find one in my cache of links that was available for public viewing.

[mommy_peanut]

[QUOTE=Where’sMyWhite;8700279]
So when his horse looses, it’s always Kent’s fault due to abysmal riding??

Sure, sometimes his riding is bad but maybe, perhaps, not every single time. Maybe today Kent’s riding was fine and Exaggerator just didn’t have it. He wouldn’t be the first horse that couldn’t perform as expected in the Belmont after running the first two races of the triple crown.

Seems a bit sweeping to say that every horse Kent rides that doesn’t win is always because of Kent’s abysmal riding. I suspect every rider that doesn’t win does have some “excuse” or reason as to why they didn’t. Seems like the trainer is going to ask…[/QUOTE]

You quoted me, but must not have bothered to actually read my post.
Maybe you should go back and read what I posted.
I did NOT say every lost race is the fault of KD.
I also did NOT say that Exaggerators loss was KD’s fault.
Next time read for comprehension.

[Sunflower]

Race commentators said Exaggerator was “rank” and pulling to run and arguing with his rider, which takes a lot of energy from the horse. Also, Exaggerator ran wide, when in the Preakness, as the rider said, they “painted the rail” with a trip along the inside.

It’s horses. It’s racing. There are no guarantees.

[Maythehorsebewithme]

Creator’s Tongue

What happened here? Pics of the finish show no tongue, but when he was ponied back to the winner’s circle, his tongue was hanging out on the left and almost looked stuck–like he could not get it back in. There is a pic in the NY Times print edition in which it looks like his groom is trying to undo the tongue tie, tongue still hanging out.
Not familiar with tongue ties–does this happen often? How unpleasant/painful is this for the horse?

[CVPeg]

Sister and I always confer before the big races. She said she had overheard earlier concerns about a recent workout Exaggerator had where he went too fast/too far, and stayed on the wrong lead. I had heard the end of a conversation about this kind of work, but didn’t know it was Exaggerator. Never heard any discussion of this yesterday. Maybe this explains it, and commentators also mentioned he was being rank in the race, and little KD could do.

Creator was nowhere on my radar screen. Afterwards, went back and played the Kentucky Derby - wow - he had such a bad trip. Almost had to reverse direction to keep from being in a mishap, then tried to pick up again and move on. So his connections were right for having faith in him. So glad for Irad.

My main disappointment yesterday was some undercard betting. Did pretty well with a winner here and there with just a little bit of betting money. Liked the longshot Generazio horse in the Jaipur, saw the 2nd owned by them in the same race, and almost picked that exacta - “What if?” I thought. Well, “what if” wasn’t played, and the exacta paid $800+! :sigh:
But yesterday did confirm that I always do better with a chance to really see the post parade and their activities before entering the gate. So better to bet at home, and when at the track, just enjoy.

[Where_sMyWhite]

[QUOTE=mommy peanut;8700235]
Maybe the horse was truly tired & wasn’t up for it today or maybe the fact that Kent kept a strangle hold/fighting with him threw Exaggerator off his game.
Regardless Kent ALWAYS has some type of excuse other than his abysmal riding when not wining a race.[/QUOTE]

Sorry I didn’t comprehend this post… seemed pretty clear to me at the time.

[saratoga]

I was surprised to hear that he quit drinking after the Preakness. Its not like a Triple Crown was on the line but that would be such a jolt to the body, I would think you’d want to do it on some down time!

[Palm_Beach]

[QUOTE=saratoga;8700935]
I was surprised to hear that he quit drinking after the Preakness. Its not like a Triple Crown was on the line but that would be such a jolt to the body, I would think you’d want to do it on some down time![/QUOTE]

He’s had some demons to expel. Jockeys don’t really get “down time.” Riders like Kent are always on “go.” They never know if the maiden 2 yo they are getting on tomorrow will be next year’s Derby favorite. And the big outfits expect to get the best riders even on ordinary days. It’s hard enough on the riders just trying to make weight, much less make weight with substance abuse problems. Riders need to be as healthy as possible, clear headed and able to make snap decisions during the race.

[Shammy_Davis]

[QUOTE=Palm Beach;8701014]
He’s had some demons to expel. Jockeys don’t really get “down time.” Riders like Kent are always on “go.” They never know if the maiden 2 yo they are getting on tomorrow will be next year’s Derby favorite. And the big outfits expect to get the best riders even on ordinary days. It’s hard enough on the riders just trying to make weight, much less make weight with substance abuse problems. Riders need to be as healthy as possible, clear headed and able to make snap decisions during the race.[/QUOTE]

http://www.paulickreport.com/news/people/kent-desormeaux-hit-bottom-post-preakness-blackout/

[IronwoodFarm]

I agree that riders don’t get down time. However alcoholics don’t get to choose when they hit bottom and try to deal with their disease. Sometimes it happens. Sometimes they drink until they die. I think the big winner in all of this is KD for seeking sobriety. I hope he can work his program and stay sober.

[saratoga]

I know that jockeys don’t take much time off, except for injuries, but the alcoholics that I’ve known who quit cold turkey ended up in the hospital and it took a lot longer than a few weeks for them to get back to normal functioning. Hope it goes well for him. I remember all the flack he took for his ride on Real Quiet in the Belmon, I’m sure that still haunts him.

[vineyridge]

Let’s not beat a dead horse, but this came from The American College of Veterinary Surgeons site:

Cryptorchidism means, “hidden testes” (crypt = hidden, orchid = testes).

This term describes the condition in which one (unilateral) or both (bilateral) testicles do not descend normally into the scrotum. Generally, unilateral cryptorchids are usually fertile, while bilateral cryptorchids are generally sterile. The retained testicle may be located anywhere from within the abdomen to within the inguinal canal, which is the normal passage route into the scrotum (Figure 1). A single cause of equine cryptorchidism has not been established and contributing causes remain obscure. The condition is likely the result of a complex combination of genetic, hormonal, and mechanical factors.

Prevalence of left and right testicular retention is nearly equal, though retained left testes are more often in the abdomen while the right retained testicle is more often in the inguinal canal. All breeds of horses may be exhibit cryptorchidism, but there is a higher frequency in Quarter Horses, Saddlebreds, Percherons, and ponies. The condition is considered heritable, so affected pets should be gelded to help prevent continuation of this congenital defect and for safety/behavioral reasons (although a testicle is undescended, it still produces male hormones leading to characteristic stallion behavior). Also, many breed associations do not allow registration of cryptorchids.

https://www.acvs.org/large-animal/cryptorchidism
Also from that article:

Monorchidism (complete absence of one testicle) is rare in the horse . . .

[Rackonteur]

[QUOTE=IronwoodFarm;8701127]
I agree that riders don’t get down time. However alcoholics don’t get to choose when they hit bottom and try to deal with their disease. Sometimes it happens. Sometimes they drink until they die. I think the big winner in all of this is KD for seeking sobriety. I hope he can work his program and stay sober.[/QUOTE]

Me too. Good post, IronwoodFarm.