Penn National Chart Reporter

[DickHertz]

I will be monitoring the Equibase chart caller at Penn who, through racing of January 23, has been misreporting the events at Penn. There has been improvement already starting with the card on 1/27/10. It is my hope that the truth is told. If a horse breaks down, report it broke down. If a horse falls over a broken down horse that is the appropriate time to use the “Fell” description. This is not a thread directed at Michael Gill. The problem is for any horse who unfortunately has a problem in a race.

2010

January 23
Equibase Chart for Race 5, Laughing Moon

Originally read: Pressed the pace from the three path through the turn, contended late then weakened.

Changed to: Pressed the pace from the three path through the turn, contended late then weakened and fell after the finish.

Changed a second time to: Pressed the pace from the three path thought the turn, contended late then weakened and broke down after the wire and was euthanized.

[Laurierace]

Give em hell Dick!

[sk_pacer]

Have you ever charted, Dick? The charter does the race, then the judges/stewards approve it and the final comments are not up to the charter, and can be changed by judges up to 24 hours prior to running lines for the next start. harting is a thankless job, and it is NOT easy - been there, done that, hated every minute of it. By all means, giv’em hell but go after the right people

[SEPowell]

He’s going after it the only way he can. If enough attention is drawn to the charts everyone involved in their publication will be effected.

Thanks Dick for both threads.

[On_the_Farm]

Y’know Dick, instead of trashing someone on the internet, why not seek out the chartcaller and make your peace with him? I don’t think anyone here does the charts at Penn, so I’m not sure why you’re trying to address that here. Same for Gill’s trainers, why not catch them out at the gap or the path to the paddock and tell them what you think?

[DickHertz]

[QUOTE=On the Farm;4645399]
Y’know Dick, instead of trashing someone on the internet, why not seek out the chartcaller and make your peace with him? I don’t think anyone here does the charts at Penn, so I’m not sure why you’re trying to address that here. Same for Gill’s trainers, why not catch them out at the gap or the path to the paddock and tell them what you think?[/QUOTE]

Because, as will end up being the case with Gill, it takes public humiliation to right things in this world. Just ask Mountaineer about their slaughter policy. They could have cared less until they were humiliated in front of the whole world or the Meatpacking industry prior to The Jungle. If you knew or understood how things are run at Penn, you would not have made this post. Not saying I can’t take negative or constructive criticism, but I’ve already been down the route you suggest.

I’ve never seen Michael Gill at the chute. What would saying things to Delahoussaye or Adamo accomplish? In case you missed it, Gill employed the following trainers over the past 2 years.

Michael Pino
Tim Hooper
Lars Becdelamotte
Jevon Crumley
Marcial Navarro
Murray Rojas
Darrell Delahoussaye
Anthony Adamo
Christopher Grove
Michael Catalano Jr
Marcus Vitali

Also, it’s worth reporting that in 2009, Equibase misreported over 75 jockey changes at Penn. They listed the original jockey and never made the change. That could be Penn’s fault and not equibase, because of that, I didn’t make that a part of my post.

The reality is that every other chart I see from other tracks reports the whole truth about what happens. When a horse breaks down, it falls a lot of the time. So, should they report “fell” instead of “broke down”. If there is a fatal car accident that kills two people, the newspaper doesn’t report “Car Accident on Main Street”, they report “Car Accident on Main Street Kills Two People”

Did I make my point?

[Blinkers_On]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;4645119]
Give em hell Dick![/QUOTE]

Good on ya Dick… someone effing should.

[Alagirl]

@DickHertz;4645446

Also, it’s worth reporting that in 2009, Equibase misreported over 75 jockey changes at Penn. They listed the original jockey and never made the change. That could be Penn’s fault and not equibase, because of that, I didn’t make that a part of my post.

Not announcing rider changes should be of interest to the betting public. I know too many people who don’t even look at the horse when a certain rider is aboard or vice versa.

[DickHertz]

[QUOTE=Alagirl;4645523]
Not announcing rider changes should be of interest to the betting public. I know too many people who don’t even look at the horse when a certain rider is aboard or vice versa.[/QUOTE]

The changes are announced at the track, they just don’t get reported on the final charts. Not sure who is making the mistake.

[Junior123]

Try contacting equibase. I’ve e mailed them and, while I did not get a reply the first time, I did get one immediately when I followed up on it. Be sure to let them know you are contacting them about the discrepancies in the Penn charts. I did not mention any one particular incident, but part of one of the responses I received mentioned Gill horses. I found that quite interesting! I then mentioned the Zidane breakdown and the fact that it was not listed as such and was informed that that incident has been “corrected”. By this point the person replying to me was getting a bit testy and sarcastic in his replies - maybe other people are contacting them about this as well? I sure hope so.

So, I now have it acknowledged, in writing, from equibase that their data is indeed incorrect - now it’s going back to Penn so I can further question their reliance on chart numbers for Gill breakdowns…

[DickHertz]

The charts will be correct in due time, Junior. If Equbase doesn’t have some sort of review process for their tracks, then shame on them. I’m sure they’ll find this thread rather quickly anyway. Perhaps the issue is with someone at Penn forcing the hand of the chart caller - either way, it needs changed.

On an unrelated note, why can’t chart callers figure anything else to say other than DRIVING when a horse wins by 10 lengths? Really? I thought he stopped at the quarter pole for a bag of oats before finishing the race. Thanks for letting us know that did not occur.

[Alagirl]

@DickHertz;4645555

The changes are announced at the track, they just don’t get reported on the final charts. Not sure who is making the mistake.

Dunno how much you bet, but past performance is a big deal, for the jockeys, too. So if a guy gets credit for another rider’s work…that can throw your balance sheet off.

So if you are doing your betting and handicapping offline…you rely on accurate info.

[Little_Hound]

[QUOTE=DickHertz;4645835]
The charts will be correct in due time, Junior. If Equbase doesn’t have some sort of review process for their tracks, then shame on them. I’m sure they’ll find this thread rather quickly anyway. Perhaps the issue is with someone at Penn forcing the hand of the chart caller - either way, it needs changed.

On an unrelated note, why can’t chart callers figure anything else to say other than DRIVING when a horse wins by 10 lengths? Really? I thought he stopped at the quarter pole for a bag of oats before finishing the race. Thanks for letting us know that did not occur.[/QUOTE]

I love when they invoke the old standard - “No Factor.” That tells squat about a horse’s effort. Do you remember Tom Bell, who used to call the charts at Penn? He used “no factor” constantly. Shows a real laziness on the chartcaller’s part, if you ask me.

[hastyrebeljane]

We heard that Sat, nite ? the jocks at Penn refused to come out of the room for the 5th race in protest over Gill, Any truth to this ?

[DickHertz]

[QUOTE=hastyrebeljane;4646140]
We heard that Sat, nite ? the jocks at Penn refused to come out of the room for the 5th race in protest over Gill, Any truth to this ?[/QUOTE]

That would be an accurate statement, hastyrebeljane.

[caffeinated]

[QUOTE=hastyrebeljane;4646140]
We heard that Sat, nite ? the jocks at Penn refused to come out of the room for the 5th race in protest over Gill, Any truth to this ?[/QUOTE]

Jane, check the ‘business as usual at penn???’ Thread. Or the paulick report (the last three days have covered this topic)

[foundationmare]

Be gentle, Dick. Be very, very gentle!

Did something happen last Saturday at Penn???

[hastyrebeljane]

Whats with the smartass stuff? I’m not there and I genuinely wanted to know what happened.

[DickHertz]

[QUOTE=hastyrebeljane;4646163]
Whats with the smartass stuff? I’m not there and I genuinely wanted to know what happened.[/QUOTE]

Sorry. I do forget at times, that racing is rarely covered by mainstream media.

[Blinkers_On]

I think it is about due time an entire group of individuals took a stand on something… Imagine what we could accomplish if horsemen stood together as a group not just about one owner. What a world that would be.