Mine made it to 38! JC name U.S. Steel; barn name Gatsby. Feisty and opinionated (but also lovable) until the very end. I think that type of personality makes them last longer. Hope you have the same luck I did. 
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Steering matters, that’s certain. Masterful on both rider and horse’s part.
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Maybe he was acting that way immediately after the race because his blood was up. He really had to fight through a lot of traffic to get out front. That requires a lot of aggression. Maybe he couldn’t turn it off right away?
ETA: Not saying it was acceptable behavior, but it might explain it a little.
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As a long-time Maine resident with a soft spot for Texas and NM TBs, I could hardly believe Rich Strike’s pedigree. Breeder Ms. Emory A Hamilton has an amazing track record, perhaps because she “sells the colts and keeps the fillies,” just like Secretariat’s breeder. Her family seems to come in part from the King Ranch. (I didn’t even know they bred TBs.)
Hamilton also named a bunch of her horses for Maine towns and regions near where I grew up: Medomak, Wiscasset, Waldoboro, etc., and she appears to appreciate her broodmare by Blushing Groom, one of my Mr. Prospector gelding’s more unusual antecedents.
Looking forward to the profiles of Ms. Hamilton.
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Found this tidbit of info… not that is excuses the aggressive behavior, but might be part of the cause.
https://www.facebook.com/655769485/posts/10159928631619486/?d=n&mibextid=7FbTGu
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FB is bad for everyone. All the time.
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Fun to be back here seeing what the rest of you have to say.
Just watched the replay a few times.
That was a truly gutsy race by Rich Strike.
Great job by the jockey keeping a cool head and going right over, then fitting him in the back to bide his time, then moving up as the horse sought to improve. But as he had plenty left, he had a tight squeeze in between Classic Causeway and Simplification on the far turn, only finding the rail once in the beginning of the stretch. Then had to move out around a stopping Messier and back to the rail.
That horse listened to everything asked of him, and had the fortitude to slice into narrow spots.
Lucky I caught an interview of Eric Reed who when asked if they were ready, was very enthusiastic about how he’d been training this week, and did so well at Churchill.
Of course most trainers truly believe in their charges, but it seemed silly not to spend $2 on this long shot, on top of all the complicated combinations with mostly favorites worked out before the race. lol
Agree with those who say this was a great way for The Kentucky Derby to return!
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But is he “used to doing” that? How many actual races have they run in by this early in their third year?
I believe Rich Strike has raced 8 times.
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Yep. Except I’m thinking that outrider was also thinking “We’re on National TV and the Derby doesn’t need any more bad press.” The general public wouldn’t get it…all they would do is cry “did you see that terrible abuse?”
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YES!
He never picked those reins up…
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there are a few worlds between a looping outside rein and turning his head around so the hind end faces the outrider.
Like, oh, simple contact on that rein?
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Dumb question from a non-racer - don’t they normally use a lead rope when ponying? Or is that only during post parade? Seems like it would be easier to get some distance since they ended up unbuckling his reins to lead.
One would think so, but I don’t know the horse. Do you?
I’ve never been in that situation, sitting on that particular horse, which was savaging that particular outrider, and his horse, at that moment in time. Have you?
I also have no idea what my reflexes would be if I’d just ridden a 80-1 long shot to win the Derby. People have emotions just as do horses.
If you have ever been in a situation when all hell breaks loose horse-wise, you have to know that it’s easy to second guess other people’s decisions. You are on the horse you are on at the moment. It is not easy to feel from afar.
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I think this may be apropos. You do the best you can at the time but, https://c.tenor.com/9H6EkFYCga0AAAAC/inquisition-monty.gif 
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Here is an overhead view. You need to click on the part that says “watch on youtube.”
It is worth a look.
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Well, that is what makes horse racing so interesting-- whether you watch it for the horses, or the betting, or both.It is unpredictable.
I really liked the look of White Abarrio, coming into the Kentucky Derby. No special insight or knowledge about him-- just liked his look. During an interview with his trainer by his stall, he keeps leaning over the barrier, nibbling (not biting ala Rich Strike) at his trainer for attention-- it was kind of amusing. He seems like he just ran out of gas in this race, perhaps not surprising as many pundits questioned if he could go the distance. I am trying to find any comments about his trip, or how he came out of the race, but not finding anything yet. Since he was not a top favorite, perhaps it just will not get a lot of attention.
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If a horse is being bad when ponied you typically don’t want to give them more room to be bad. If they act up the safest thing is to put their head up and slightly in front of your lap and their body at an angle then move forward briskly, that way no kicking between horses (which the pony horse is likely to win being older and smarter) and no rearing and striking from the horse being led that can lead to the outrider or pony horse being badly injured or a front leg over the neck or entangled in the reins, which is worst case. In my opinion this colt deserved the small slap on the nose that he got for biting the way he did, especially as the pony horse was not happy at all. I think the outrider did a very good job with what he had on live TV, considering that his choices were be pulled off the horse, have the potential for kicking/ fighting between horses or let the KD winner go loose. I suspect most non horse people did not even notice the drama much at all.
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America’s day at the races is on Fox Sports 2 but is also streamed on Youtube for free, every single broadcast. They are on the air most weeks Thursday-Sunday and cover many different tracks. They cover Churchill downs but stop broadcasting once NBC picks up for the day. Highly recommend checking it out.
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