Steve Coburn's comments after losing the Belmont

[RockinHorse]

[QUOTE=snaffle1987;7615747]
No one made them run in those races? Lord knows everyone would be calling them cowards for not giving the Triple Crown a chance. Anyone saying they wouldn’t have done it is a liar. Chrome went in that race looking very game, very composed, and training great. Yes, anything can happen on that track and unfortunately Chrome had a chunk of his foot ripped off. Tonalist won but if Tonalist hadn’t had 2 or 3 months off; I don’t think he would’ve been anything special on Belmont Day. Fate played in his favor on Saturday but I don’t expect much from him in the months to come[/QUOTE]

Tonalist did not have 2 or 3 months off. He ran in the Peter Pan which I believe was in May.

[AffirmedHope]

[QUOTE=findeight;7615714]
Hey, I’m still bummed Orb didn’t fire as expected after his Derby win.

Thats horse racing.[/QUOTE]

I still get a little bit teary-eyed thinking about the Smarty Jones Belmont. So much emotion and support wrapped up over those 5 weeks of the Triple Crown and all gone within the last few stride of the Belmont. I was in Philly when that was going on and the support and cheering for that one little horse was amazing.

The Belmont is like a bad boyfriend. Loves to tease us by bringing our emotions high and then squashing them like a pancake. Yet we all still keep coming back for more

[Kim]

<<No, Tonalist may be a good horse, but he didnt run with a quarter grab injury, coming off of 2 hard races like CC.>

Well, War Admiral did. He took off a huge chunk of his hoof coming out of the gate and won the Belmont (and therefore the Triple Crown). The truly great ones overcome all obstacles.

[vineyridge]

[QUOTE=RockinHorse;7615755]
Tonalist did not have 2 or 3 months off. He ran in the Peter Pan which I believe was in May.[/QUOTE]

Peter Pan was the week after the Derby, so he had 4 weeks off, instead of CC’s 3 between the Preakness and the Belmont. Of course Tonalist didn’t run in the Preakness, but three weeks off for CC is really a good rest.

Just try and remember when you are agonizing over three races in five weeks that TB racing used to be heats of 4 miles, so a horse could run three 4 mile heats in one day. In cheap claiming, two week intervals are common.

All the other TC horses after 1931 won on the same schedule.

[Kim]

<<No, Tonalist may be a good horse, but he didnt run with a quarter grab injury, coming off of 2 hard races like CC.>

Well, if you want that comparison – War Admiral did. He took off a huge chunk of hoof coming out of the gate and won the Belmont (and therefore the Triple Crown). The truly great ones overcome all obstacles. It is a shame that much of the public now only remembers him for losing to Seabiscuit in a match race,

Am I the only one who thinks Tonalist is one magnificent specimen? Gosh, some of those photos of him after the race are breathtaking.

[vineyridge]

The Peter Pan is the week after the Derby, so Tonalist got 4 weeks between races. CC had three weeks rest, not four, and Tonalist didn’t run the Preakness. But 3 weeks between races is fairly common, and many cheap claimers run every two weeks. For the big stakes, modern trainers like more time than three weeks, but remember that in the past TBs ran 4 mile heats, which meant running more than four miles more than once a day.

All the other TC winners since 1931 had the same schedule and were able to do it.

[spotted_draft_x_fill]

Talk about some of the nutters, I came across a girl that said she would slash people’s throats if they said anything negative about CC and his connections! Really?

[harvestmoon]

[QUOTE=snaffle1987;7615747]
No one made them run in those races? Lord knows everyone would be calling them cowards for not giving the Triple Crown a chance. Anyone saying they wouldn’t have done it is a liar. Chrome went in that race looking very game, very composed, and training great. Yes, anything can happen on that track and unfortunately Chrome had a chunk of his foot ripped off. Tonalist won but if Tonalist hadn’t had 2 or 3 months off; I don’t think he would’ve been anything special on Belmont Day. Fate played in his favor on Saturday but I don’t expect much from him in the months to come[/QUOTE]

He did not have 2-3 months off. He won the Peter Pan (the traditional Belmont prep) on May 10th. Tonalist was also very game, very composed (again he looked amazing in the post parade), and training great.

So, when Chrome gets a nice turnout before running in the Breeders’ Cup, is it going to be fair to the other horses who ran hard all summer and fall? At that point, California Chrome will be the fresh horse with one prep under his belt. Doubt there will be anyone up in arms about it, though.

[Kim]

<<Tonalist may be a good horse, but he didnt run with a quarter grab injury, coming off of 2 hard races like CC.>>

If you want to use that argument, War Admiral ran with a worse injury (chopped off part of his hoof coming out of the Belmont gate) and still won the Triple Crown.

CC and Tonalist are both good horses.

Let’s move on and look forward to the races to come!

[ZiggyStardust]

Regarding the point on War Admiral, I think a horse that ignores or works past pain could be truly great, or could be on it’s way to a breakdown. It’s a fine line, and the difference on one side or the other could just be luck. Or willingness to please beyond all else. In the end, it’s just a race.

[grayarabs]

I’m having a case of the “what ifs”.

If there had been eight horses in the race.

Take out three horses. Three with the longest odds - from my quick research.

Matterhorn
Matuszak
Commissioner

Leave General A Rod in because he ran in the D and the P - even though he was at long odds for the B.

Some say Matterhorn should not have been in the race.

Oh well - it’s just interesting to see that the Belmont field has been at most eight horses for a TC win.

[DownYonder]

[QUOTE=Lori B;7615538]
Besides the …somewhat drunken and unfortunate rant…[/QUOTE]

That’s sort of what I thought. It reminded me of someone that should not EVER have alcohol - and for good reason.

I don’t know if he has kids and grandkids, but I can’t imagine being his grandchild and seeing that appalling behavior on nationwide TV. I would think a child would find it rather frightening, and embarrassing.

Good for him to apologize after he came to his senses, but the racing world - and the general public - will always keep him a bit at arm’s length now.

[CVPeg]

[QUOTE=AffirmedHope;7615766]

The Belmont is like a bad boyfriend. Loves to tease us by bringing our emotions high and then squashing them like a pancake. Yet we all still keep coming back for more :([/QUOTE]

Great analogy.

And speaking of “what if’s”…
Someone is getting lost in all this talk…what about Commissioner? Hmmm? (And odd to see him in a non-white bridle!) AP Indy’s son almost followed in his Daddy’s footsteps…

http://www.nyra.com/assets/4/27/BEL_20140607_11_1.jpg

[Lori_B]

DownYonder, I think that’s a bit overdramatized. According to one report from Deadspin, (see the comments: http://deadspin.com/california-chrome-owner-tonalists-win-was-the-cowards-1587647347) someone claiming to be in a nearby box reported that Mr. Coburn had more than a dozen beers, with people clamoring to buy him more drinks through the day. The race was the alcohol-fueled culmination of weeks of hyperactive attention to him, his co-owner, the trainer, the horse. Overwhelming to someone sober and even tempered, but clearly more than he was ready for. And for all we know he is a perfectly sensible 2 beers-on-Saturday kind of guy in normal circumstances. Watching the first horse you bred run the Belmont, attempting the TC, is not normal circumstances.

Do you think you would have 100% behaved perfectly, at a moment of maximum stress and disappointment, fueled by alcohol and adrenaline, with a microphone shoved in your face, on live television? At the very least, I would have poked Bob Costas, who is an insufferable tool, in the eye.

I don’t think this little dustup is the tragedy everyone on this board wants to portray it as. Dumb, unfortunate, but far from the downfall of all that is good and holy that you would think from reading the comments on this thread.

And I have to call ba-lo-ney on the idea that, if it weren’t for Coburn’s few moments of ill-advised angry loudmouthing, the rest of the racing world is like a drawing room at Versailles. The few times I’ve been to a track, the vibe was kinda sketchy, more like the back of a traveling carnival than the enclosure at Royal Ascot. So this sanctimonious blather about how Coburn has tragically and permanently damaged the brand of racing strikes me as what I find at the end of a pitchfork.

[Laurierace]

Was he still drunk the next morning when he reiterated his comments on the Today show?

[spotted_draft_x_fill]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;7616146]
Was he still drunk the next morning when he reiterated his comments on the Today show?[/QUOTE]

Hair of the dog?

[amastrike]

Besides his behavior on Saturday, why does everyone dislike Bob Costas? I’m not at all familiar with him.

[Kim]

Sorry for the multiple posts…my computer was being wacky!

[Lori_B]

I’m sure that failing to apologize for his bad form was a bad case of stubborn old guy disease. Not admirable, but not unusual.

I sincerely don’t understand why everyone is so invested in this guy having to perform public penance for angry dumb words spoken in the heat of the moment. The media’s need to put people in a spot where they screw up, and then making them apologize on television, is bizarre and kind of creepy, to me.

[snaffle1987]

Bob Costas ruined the trophy presentation for Tonalist’s connections by reiterating what was said in the grandstands to get a reaction.

As I posted before; it’s time to move on from the Coburn comments. He made a very heartfelt apology and came to the realization he was out of line. We can all point fingers real quick but I’m sure some of us would’ve handled it equally as he if so much hype and stress was carried on our shoulders only to have a microphone shoved in your face and the horses hadn’t even finished galloping out yet. They were finally at their breaking point. They are very humble people and I value their entire team for the level of care and consideration they have given to their horse.

Some of the posters here flaming Coburn for his actions have lost in other equestrian competitions with equally poor tact.

We will see if Tonalist is really that good in the Travers