Concerned About Preakness Gate/Start 'Incident'

[Rackonteur]

@betonbill

I’m sort of surprised. Aren’t Baffert horses generally pretty good in the gate? Would never think that his horses would be much of a problem. Also, so glad that Bode stayed mostly to the outside and didn’t cause too much trouble.

Two TC races, two “almost” incidents.

So will the Belmont be the Number Three that tops off the triple? Or, being the Belmont, and in New York, will it be a world unto itself?

[Palm_Beach]

@Rackonteur

I don’t remember where I read this old expression about a horse who “runs his race in the starting gate” – he gets so wrought up that he uses up all his energy before the break.

I’ve never read it about horses starting from behind a barrier.

I guess Bodexpress’s people aren’t talking about complaining or filing suit because their horse was interfered with?

Man o’ War’s people didn’t lodge a complaint or file a suit when Johnny Loftus had the sometimes-fractious colt turned sideways behind the barrier at the start of the Hopeful and was left napping when the barrier went up. Man o’ War’s only loss but I’ve never heard of anyone complaining about it. And this year is the centennial of that loss.

Who interfered with him? He wasn’t standing up when the gates opened. The stewards had the option of declaing him a nonstarter and refunding all tickets to those who bet on him, and they did not. Good grief, you think that if any race does not go your way you sue. That is not the way the racing world goes.

[crosscreeksh]

@Palm Beach

Wondering if MD will have a new starter shortly. You can’t mess up like that.

Unless you have extensive race track/starting gate experience…this is an unnecessary slam against the starter!

[dressagetraks]

I got the impression that Rackonteur’s paragraphs about potentially filing suit or suits not having been filed in the past were said sarcastically, as a sideway nod at the Wests and their reaction and pointing out how other folks have faced disappointment and even unfairness without suing the track over it. Could be wrong on that, but tone is often hard to interpret online.

No, I doubt Bodexpress’s people are going to be pulling a West here. Tough break, but that’s life in the sports world.

[Palm_Beach]

@crosscreeksh

Unless you have extensive race track/starting gate experience…this is an unnecessary slam against the starter!

A loose horse running on the track during a nationally televised G1 race after months of intense press scrutiny over horse deaths is no big deal? A rider on the ground in the stretch is not a big deal? What if the rider had been injured- they would have had to stop the race. This was even a more dangerous situation than what happened in the Derby. My heart was not beating and I was praying to the racing gods the entire time. I guarantee the stewards will be talking to the starter. These things can’t happen at this level.

[Where_sMyWhite]

@betonbill

I’m sort of surprised. Aren’t Baffert horses generally pretty good in the gate? Would never think that his horses would be much of a problem.

Baffert’s roots is QH racing. Those horses really, really need a good clean start. Baffert tends (as I’ve heard mentioned forget where) to do more gate training that some trainers. Having said that, I’ve seen some QHs that aren’t the worlds best starters as well as some TBs.

All the gate works in the world may not be a guarantee that you’ll have a horse that starts “perfectly” every time they load and the the gate opens.

[FatDinah]

For both the Derby and the Preakness, remember these are 3 year olds. As the jockey explained about Maximum Security ducking in, “He’s just a baby.”
Add in more noise and commotion than any of them have ever seen, I think we ought to admire the trainers, gate workers and the pony riders - not disparage them.
Maybe the Bodexpress and Improbable connections will back off from the spring campaigns and let their colts mature and aim for Saratoga or the summer classics, even Breeders Cup.

[GoodTimes]

S*** happens. That’s life, that’s racing, that’s horses. It’s a decent sized field of babies to try and time the start for when everyone is still.
I honestly don’t think it made a difference that he was still “holding on”. Bodexpress may well have decided to go up or sideways anyway. He wasn’t paying attention in the gate at all.
JV didn’t look hurt to me. More like he needed a second to mumble some select words…

[Brigid]

@dressagetraks

The horse was acting up, and the gate man had hold of him trying to straighten him out. Improbable, closer inside, was also throwing what’s becoming his habitual gate fit, and I think the starter was paying more attention to his antics and hit the button when Improbable got still for a microsecond and didn’t realize that BE wasn’t ready. When the door opened right then, BE reared up and then buck/hopped because the gate man still had a hold of him and he’s trained to light out of there when the gate opened. Poor Johnny V never got close to 8 seconds. Don’t think any of us could have sat that one out.

Just a failure of communication. Starter didn’t realize they weren’t ready. Gate man was doing his job trying to straighten the horse. The gate just opened at the wrong moment, IMHO because Improbable had even more ants under his saddle and was still for a split second, and the starter was trying to catch a good moment with him before he did something else.

Thank you. Again, I rely on you Race-CoTH to help me with my poor eyesight.

[snaffle1987]

I was happy to see Bodexpress run wide down the track and around the turns. He stayed clear of the rest of the field. He was having a grand old time running around the track and giving the outriders a run for their money. Neat horse; wish he had a win under his belt as I thought he had a serious chance on Saturday

Improbable needs to go to a farm and spend some time in turnout. The horse has all the talent in the world but his mind is fried and he is getting progressively worse as time goes on. He should’ve been loaded last, not in the middle so he had minutes to stand waiting on the rest of the field to go in the gate. By the time everyone was loaded, Improbable started throwing a fit, reared in the gate, caused a lot of screaming and hoopla. He’s obnoxious

Front view of the gates opening you can see bodeexpress leaning on the side of the gate.

[snaffle1987]

on a lighter note the outrider horse is a Ghostzapper gelding who was/is owned by Stronach group. Bred by Adena. HIs dam is by Alphabet Soup.

[betonbill]

I think that Velasquez was lucky that he got dumped right at the start, although the fall looks painful. He could have hung on until Bode got into his racing stride and then fell off, which might have resulted in far worse injuries. Since Bode stayed well to the outside and really didn’t endanger anyone it did add a slight bit of humor to the race, and he really was far enough back that I don’t think the sound or sight of him affected the race any.

WOW really has a kind eye, doesn’t he? He also seems to have an equally nice disposition ala American Pharoah.

[Where_sMyWhite]

@betonbill

Since Bode stayed well to the outside and really didn’t endanger anyone it did add a slight bit of humor to the race, and he really was far enough back that I don’t think the sound or sight of him affected the race any.

Bodexpress was near the rear early on and near the end moved up a bit. Yes, wide which was good but just the fact he was out there loose had to have factored in to the awareness of the jocks who knew he was loose and hadn’t been caught up. Maybe didn’t change how they rode their race but having to keep a nibble in your mind that there is a loose horse that may or may not decide they want to become best buds with the horses still in the race could be potentially a mild distractor.

Do I think Bodexpress had any impact on the race outcome? Absolutely not. But he was probably on more than one rider’s radar screen…

[Palm_Beach]

@Where'sMyWhite

Maybe didn’t change how they rode their race but having to keep a nibble in your mind that there is a loose horse that may or may not decide they want to become best buds with the horses still in the race could be potentially a mild distractor.

A loose horse during a race is incredibly dangerous, and you bet any rider who was aware there was a loose horse had him in their sights at all times. Thank God he didn’t zig or zag, or worse, decide to turn around and run the opposite direction. Once again catastrophe was averted.

[dressagetraks]

About Improbable, I had a theory, but it may be worth nothing. I know he was quite successful, undefeated, as a 2-year-old. Did he ever have bad gate behavior back then? Or in the Rebel? I never heard of anything, but I wasn’t really paying much attention to that detail, either.

I saw him close up in Arkansas for several minutes, as I was right on the rail in the paddock while they circled and were saddled. My impression of him was that he was very high strung, antsy, didn’t have positive energy. Almost like he was not looking forward to the race. Others there had “looking forward to getting it on” energy, but he didn’t seem to. Not to me. Then he threw a huge gate fit before the Arkansas Derby. I wondered, and a few people around me wondered aloud, if he might even be scratched.

Prior to the Rebel, he was undefeated. It was easy for him. In the Rebel, he was “winning,” and then he got nailed on the wire. Maybe he was a little short that day due to the layoff and change of plans due to Santa Anita closing. Whatever reason, he was out front, and he got caught by a horse running faster at the end.

My theory is, could that experience, being caught by Long Range Toddy, have upset him to the point that he is “worried” about racing now? Because it isn’t as easy as it was for him at first? Maybe he’s one of those fast maturers who are head and shoulders above the field at 2, but now the peers are catching up to him, and high strung anyway, he’s getting more anxious about racing because it isn’t as easy, fun, or simple as it used to be. So he’s getting even more worked up in the gates, three times now, as he knows he’s about to race.

Does that make any kind of sense? I’m trying not to anthropomorphize, but there are horses who come out of their first real fight with the lights on even stronger and more determination, and there are horses who meet their first real fight and simply cannot recover from it.

[crosscreeksh]

@snaffle1987

I was happy to see Bodexpress run wide down the track and around the turns. He stayed clear of the rest of the field. He was having a grand old time running around the track and giving the outriders a run for their money. Neat horse; wish he had a win under his belt as I thought he had a serious chance on Saturday

Improbable needs to go to a farm and spend some time in turnout. The horse has all the talent in the world but his mind is fried and he is getting progressively worse as time goes on. He should’ve been loaded last, not in the middle so he had minutes to stand waiting on the rest of the field to go in the gate. By the time everyone was loaded, Improbable started throwing a fit, reared in the gate, caused a lot of screaming and hoopla. He’s obnoxious

Front view of the gates opening you can see bodeexpress leaning on the side of the gate.

Totally agree with your assessment…but “most” races (the bigger, classic fields load two at a time…1st horse and middle of the field horse) load in the gate in numerical order so as not to favor one horse over another. A bad loader/breaker in the #1 slot is toasted!!

[findeight]

@dressagetraks

About Improbable, I had a theory, but it may be worth nothing. I know he was quite successful, undefeated, as a 2-year-old. Did he ever have bad gate behavior back then? Or in the Rebel? I never heard of anything, but I wasn’t really paying much attention to that detail, either.

I saw him close up in Arkansas for several minutes, as I was right on the rail in the paddock while they circled and were saddled. My impression of him was that he was very high strung, antsy, didn’t have positive energy. Almost like he was not looking forward to the race. Others there had “looking forward to getting it on” energy, but he didn’t seem to. Not to me. Then he threw a huge gate fit before the Arkansas Derby. I wondered, and a few people around me wondered aloud, if he might even be scratched.

Prior to the Rebel, he was undefeated. It was easy for him. In the Rebel, he was “winning,” and then he got nailed on the wire. Maybe he was a little short that day due to the layoff and change of plans due to Santa Anita closing. Whatever reason, he was out front, and he got caught by a horse running faster at the end.

My theory is, could that experience, being caught by Long Range Toddy, have upset him to the point that he is “worried” about racing now? Because it isn’t as easy as it was for him at first? Maybe he’s one of those fast maturers who are head and shoulders above the field at 2, but now the peers are catching up to him, and high strung anyway, he’s getting more anxious about racing because it isn’t as easy, fun, or simple as it used to be. So he’s getting even more worked up in the gates, three times now, as he knows he’s about to race.

Does that make any kind of sense? I’m trying not to anthropomorphize, but there are horses who come out of their first real fight with the lights on even stronger and more determination, and there are horses who meet their first real fight and simply cannot recover from it.

Kind of a reach but even if that’s true, it might take heart out of them but it would not cause a horse to stand on it’s hind legs and risk going over in the gate, He was way up there, most of his white face was hidden by the number plate after loading with minimal fuss and standing for a bit. Horses that really don’t want to race just don’t want to go in the gate or are just dull and disinterested. He went in the gate pretty easily. Then tried to kill himself and MS.

Have to think when MS was quoted “ He was fine until he got mad then he was done” he meant just as he said. Horse has a temperament problem. I have no idea if he was bad in the gate before but assumed he had a known problem. And there was a reason BB said Improbable was NOT his best 2 year old last year and early this year.

Guessing he schools fine in non race situations or he wouldn’t keep his gate card. They know when it’s race day and when it’s not. Maybe they feed off the increased noise and tension but, whatever, you can’t recreate it in non race situations to school it out. Maybe he’s a nutter in other, non public ways too. But it’s not lack of training on the part of his team.

Maybe the new trend of only racing them lightly isn’t such a good idea and they are just more inexperienced…but kind of doubt it with this particular horse and his temper.

[Lord_Helpus]

@dressagetraks

The horse was acting up, and the gate man had hold of him trying to straighten him out. Improbable, closer inside, was also throwing what’s becoming his habitual gate fit, and I think the starter was paying more attention to his antics and hit the button when Improbable got still for a microsecond and didn’t realize that BE wasn’t ready. When the door opened right then, BE reared up and then buck/hopped because the gate man still had a hold of him and he’s trained to light out of there when the gate opened. Poor Johnny V never got close to 8 seconds. Don’t think any of us could have sat that one out.

Just a failure of communication. Starter didn’t realize they weren’t ready. Gate man was doing his job trying to straighten the horse. The gate just opened at the wrong moment, IMHO because Improbable had even more ants under his saddle and was still for a split second, and the starter was trying to catch a good moment with him before he did something else.

This may have been said ---- but if you go to the races or listen to the loading of the horses, you will hear quite the chorus of “ahahahahaha or ohohohohooh”.

Any gate man keeps up this chant until the horse he is holding is still and facing forward. Being human, the asst starter may take a second to realize the horse he is holding is not standing square and facing forward. But when he realizes it, he starts his chant., But it just may be that in the second that this happens, the starter pushes the button.

Of course, in a 14 - 20 horse race, there is less leeway to be perfect. I do not believe that anyone was in error at any time.

Velasques (SP?) said, in a prerace interview that he knew his horse was known to act badly in the starting gate. I was surprised to see that there was no neck collar, and it does not appear that he was holding on to the mane. But what do I know. The horse never bothered anyone and it was not likely to place, anyway — so no harm, no foul.
While I am sure that the starter looks at all the horses, especially in a race with 20 horses and 2 gates, he cannot possibly look at all the horses at once. So he relies on the sound of each assistant starter and will only allow the gate to open when everything is silent, even for a millisecond. (as an aside, the gate doesn’t “open”. More correctly, it stops from being closed. IOW: the gates are held in position by a magnetic circuit. When the starter presses the button, he is stopping the electricity which is holding the gates closed. The speed of electricity is so fast that all the gates spring open simultaneously, in a millisecond

[Palm_Beach]

Peter Schmuck just posted a good article on the Preakness start and the stewards decision to not call Bodexpress a non-starter. For whatever reason it shows up on my phone but I can’t find it on my computer. He is a Baltimore Sun columnist.

[Sparrowette]

https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/horse-racing/preakness/bs-sp-bodexpress-gate-incident-in-hindsight-20190521-story.html

Thanks PB.

So it’s all “Because Horses”.