RE: The AP website page for Jockeys
The discussion boards are already full of anti-racing PETA type folks… sigh
[QUOTE=texang73;3855854]
RE: The AP website page for Jockeys
The discussion boards are already full of anti-racing PETA type folks… sigh[/QUOTE]
I wouldn’t even call them PETA folks - just flat out idiots
sample …
Great job on the show about rich white people taking control of animals to become even more rich, not to mention with kanye west playing in the comericials.
Me thinks the poster has this vision of every race horse owned by a Charles Howard-esq millionaire 
Just maybe the show will illustrate who owns, trains, and cares for the bulk of the horses running each day and correct some misconceptions.
I hate PETA.
I’ve worked at a track. (not any more thankfully)
I don’t harbor any love for the racing industry.
I have a major problem with the way the industry operates.
But hey, people who can be okay with making tons of money off of animals with no thought to their true well-being… this is the show for you!
What I saw of the first two episodes did not spend any real time on the horses themselves, or the grooms, trainers, exercise riders, or owners. Just the jockeys.
But I agree with you that it would be nice if the show will give a realistic depiction of the backside – the care for the horses, the dedication of the staff, etc – rather than just high melodrama.
[QUOTE=VCT;3856348]
But hey, people who can be okay with making tons of money off of animals with no thought to their true well-being… this is the show for you![/QUOTE]
Really - this series, which you’ve watched already, never gives any inkling of regard by the riders to any of their mounts? Mike Smith just would run Zenyatta into the ground of he wanted to? I suppose M/M Jerry Moss likewise just see her for an A&M. Err I mean ATM not A&M which is where he made his fortune. (The Police it seems only made him a little bit of money and racing makes him much more, right?)
Well, well I guess I’ll just skip watching this with an open mind and know what these depicted jocks are really like.
Making tons of money, yep, I bet in this economy we’ll see Smith and Moss conspire to enter Zenyatta into match races against anyone who will put up the money. She’s gotta pay the bills and keep the tons of money rolling in - or else!
Glimmerglass,
I don’t really care what the series is like. I think it’s in poor taste for AP to glamorize the industry that over breeds these horses and allows thousands of the animals they are creating and using for their personal gains to end up in various bad situations every year.
You can slice it however you like - the racing industry is not an ethical one in any way, shape, or form and I’m not okay with that. Some people are, which is why the industry exists. There are all sorts of people in the world. I don’t have to like all of them and neither do you, but that doesn’t make everyone who disagrees with you a flat out idiot.
[QUOTE=VelvetNoses;3856395]
But I agree with you that it would be nice if the show will give a realistic depiction of the backside – the care for the horses, the dedication of the staff, etc – rather than just high melodrama.[/QUOTE]
Well…the show IS called Jockey, not “The Backside” or “Racehorse”
As far as a realistic depiction of the backside - have you ever been around pinheads? melodrama is reality
I just wish they woudn’t showcase the falls so much - as a PR person, let’s not turn any more folks away from racing. It’s okay to talk about and discuss the dangers but let’s not show it time after time after time.
Although I have major issues with the way some horses (and people) are treated in the racing industry the answer isn’t to censor access to it. Maybe improvements will come from exposure.
[QUOTE=VCT;3856807]
Glimmerglass,
I don’t really care what the series is like. I think it’s in poor taste for AP to glamorize the industry that over breeds these horses and allows thousands of the animals they are creating and using for their personal gains to end up in various bad situations every year.
You can slice it however you like - the racing industry is not an ethical one in any way, shape, or form and I’m not okay with that. Some people are, which is why the industry exists. There are all sorts of people in the world. I don’t have to like all of them and neither do you, but that doesn’t make everyone who disagrees with you a flat out idiot.[/QUOTE]
So what part of the horse industry is?
The people who keep breeding HYPP? Eventing?..?? What??
This is exactly the response I think the series is going to generate.
They are very motivated athletes. Go up Mt Wilson on any day and you will run into Solis very well clothed, sweating profusely, 2 hours up one hour down. It’s a grind. 2 Hours up is more than impressive! Solis is one of the more focused on the fitness end of things that I’ve interacted with. Dedication above all else other than his family. He competes with pins in his neck. The next hit could be the end. That’s fact.
Gryder is one of my favorites. Hard working, personable, dedicated.
These guys love what they do. They have a great lifestyle afforded to them because of it. But it’s flesh and bone at high speed. When things go bad they can go very bad very fast. As Laffit. Who was retired as a result of his mount clipping heels with another. Not every incident that involves a fall is catastrophic, nor is it career ending for horse and rider always or even often.
Horse racing is a TON of fun! We care for these horses better than people on the outside realize. We function at greater rates of speed and there in lies the risk to horse and rider.
I gotta say after looking at the website, my hopes for this show are kind lowered. I’m not a fan of the subtitle “win or die trying”?? Oh, come on! And the graphic with the helmet falling to the track under the feet of galloping horses - I guess drama sells, but that seems over the top to me.
[QUOTE=VCT;3856348]
But hey, people who can be okay with making tons of money off of animals with no thought to their true well-being… this is the show for you! [/QUOTE]
I want to know how to make tons of money off racehorses…
[QUOTE=Blinkers On;3856912]
So what part of the horse industry is?
The people who keep breeding HYPP? Eventing?..?? What??
This is exactly the response I think the series is going to generate.
They are very motivated athletes. Go up Mt Wilson on any day and you will run into Solis very well clothed, sweating profusely, 2 hours up one hour down. It’s a grind. 2 Hours up is more than impressive! Solis is one of the more focused on the fitness end of things that I’ve interacted with. Dedication above all else other than his family. He competes with pins in his neck. The next hit could be the end. That’s fact.
Gryder is one of my favorites. Hard working, personable, dedicated.
These guys love what they do. They have a great lifestyle afforded to them because of it. But it’s flesh and bone at high speed. When things go bad they can go very bad very fast. As Laffit. Who was retired as a result of his mount clipping heels with another. Not every incident that involves a fall is catastrophic, nor is it career ending for horse and rider always or even often.
Horse racing is a TON of fun! We care for these horses better than people on the outside realize. We function at greater rates of speed and there in lies the risk to horse and rider.[/QUOTE]
Other disciplines of the horse industry do have parts, areas, members that are unethical. Never said they didn’t. But the ENTIRE racing industry is unethical. There is no other area in the equine industry that pumps out THOUSANDS of horses every year that are unwanted and many in need of rehab. I, for one, am sick of seeing free tb’s in desperate need, etc etc ALL THE TIME.
I’ve worked at a track. It wasn’t horrid (unlike the conditions/body scores I’ve seen of some TB’s on tracks elsewhere) but I’m not impressed by the management.
Let see, lets keep horses in stalls 23 hours of the day, work them hard enough we need to pump them full of grain and meds and wrap their legs at all times just so we can keep them working that hard. Then after they’ve worked their hearts out for us (and many at least partially destroyed their bodies by working too hard too YOUNG), we’ll either dump them on other members of the horse industry (for a small price) who now have to fix what all was f-ed up with them at the track… or if not that, then they’ll go to a rescue or auction and plenty of them to slaughter.
Yes, I’m aware there are the OCCASIONAL RARE owner who cares about their TB after its done racing.
You guys can go ahead and keep on thinking that everyone who doesn’t like the racing industry is just ignorant about it … if that works for you.
There is no other area in the equine industry that pumps out THOUSANDS of horses every year that are unwanted
Except the QH business. Their foal crop sizes are far larger than the TB crops.
VCT, I don’t think you’re ignorant, but I do think you’re wrong about a few things.
There are more quarter horses bred in this country than thoroughbreds.
The thoroughbred industry has done more to address the issue of unwanted horses than any other facet of the equine industry. Times are changing. The difference in attitude that I see on the backside now compared to when I exercised & hot walked some 20 years ago is HUGE. The number of trainers and owners who care about where the horses end up once their useful days on the track are over is not rare, hence the growth of programs like CANTER, FLTAP, the TRF, New Vocations, ReRun, and so on. I’m sorry you’re sick of seeing TBs in need --I worry about them too-- but the very fact that we are seeing them tells us that there are people who care enough to give the horses a chance at a good home instead of quietly sending them off to New Holland.
No one is saying that living at the track isn’t stressful; some horses adapt to it better than others. But is living in a muddy little paddock 24/7, getting hay thrown out twice a day without so much as a second thought about maybe taking a brush to the horse’s coat let alone actually going for a ride, day after day month after month for the rest of the horse’s days really that much better of a life? Because there’s a heck of a lot of that going on across the country every day too; it just doesn’t hit the news the way tracks get criticised.
Thanks for caring. Healthy scrutiny is not a bad thing.
I agree with your sentiments…on both counts!
Great post Barnfairy… and after being on the racetrack for 25 yrs I can honeslty say that I’ve seen the most horrendous abuse of horses in peoples backyards!
Well said BF! 
Agreed, that no one seems to know about/ remember the very large number of QHs bred every year, that they were the majority of horses that went to slaughter… Not wanting to turn this into a slaughter debacle… I’m just sayin’…
Does the racing industry have problems? Yes. Are these problems being addressed? Yes and no, some more than others. Are there crappy owners/trainers/ people in racing? Yes, but that is true of ANY other horse sport, and not all racing folks treat their horses like crap.
Now, back to the topic… I for one, will watch the show Jockeys. Not sure how I will like it, early reports seeming that it is a bit sensationalized, but well, I’ll just have to watch it to find out!
[QUOTE=VCT;3856807]
There are all sorts of people in the world. I don’t have to like all of them and neither do you, but that doesn’t make everyone who disagrees with you a flat out idiot.[/QUOTE]
Nobody on this earth is expected to like everything or everyone.
I called out that positing and others like it on the Jockey site (in particular the one I extracted verbatim) as an idiot. I stand behind it. The remarks were far too racist in tone and stereotypical in one big brush stroke.
Debate is healthy but no argument is won making general statements about anything and saying it applies top to bottom.
What makes it on tv is edited - even if it is proclaimed to be ‘unscripted’ - no matter what. Feuds are overplayed, dramas hyped up, and yes selectively small things overlooked and others scrutinized. No matter how much editing these producers do the true stripes of the riders, their agents, their owners will come through eventually.
I haven’t seen but just a few minutes of this show so I’m not going to rip it down.
I’ve said this before but for anyone who hates racing I’d recommend reading ‘Not By a Longshot’ as it tells perhaps the best of how racing [not just the actual running] is a little bit of everything. Good, bad, tender, violent, crooked, depressing, uplifting … An industry controlled by no single group and never to be defined strictly by the heroics or despicable acts of any one horse or man.
I second that. TD knows his stuff and there’s no sugar-coating going on there.
Barnfairy and SleepyFox, I’m right there with ya! As one of you knows, coming from an exercise rider aspiring jockey, there’s so much more to it than just the spills. And it’s very disheartening to see that that’s what they’re using to try and draw a crowd. I’m still very interested to see the way the rest of the show plays out. I also think that some of the “sex sells” type parts will be irritating ie: Kayla Stra, “winning a race is better than sex” and the Mike/Chantal drama, especially seeing as I am a girl too. Not to mention…for those of you who are on the track, we know what REALLY goes on behind the scenes as far as dating goes.
QHjockee is right, the show is titled “JOCKEY’S” nothing else. It would be great if the show turns out pretty good that they might be able to venture further into all the other everyday aspects of the racing industry, and even to different racetracks.
I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to even read comments from people who think they are so knowledgeable about the racetrack and tell everyone they can about how much they KNOW and how awful the racetrack is. I could probably talk for hours against someone, but it’s not even worth it. It’s pathetic really.
[QUOTE=Acertainsmile;3857781]
Great post Barnfairy… and after being on the racetrack for 25 yrs I can honeslty say that I’ve seen the most horrendous abuse of horses in peoples backyards![/QUOTE]
Ditto that! BUT ignorrance is bliss maybe?
Good post by everyone. It’s nice to see.
