The Triple Crown Races 2019

[LaurieB]

@charismaryllis

It would be interesting, though; I don’t think they have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning it, but if they did, how would the money be handled? All the bets have been paid out.

I don’t think they have a hope of getting the stewards’ decision overturned. But if it was, the bettors would be out of luck anyway. :no:

[Countrygirl18]

@Texarkana

Going out on a limb: over the past decade, we have trended to less and less preparation going into the Kentucky Derby. I mean this in the sense of racing experience: 20 years ago, no one would have taken a horse with only four career starts seriously in the derby. People thought it was insane that Barbaro could come into the Kentucky Derby with only five lifetime starts and a long layoff… now his pathway has become the new norm. Nearly half the field had five or less starts on Saturday.

We’re putting increasingly greener horses into a situation unlike anything else they will face in their careers. There is no other time they will be in a 20 horse stampede amid one of the greatest parties on Earth.

I don’t think it’s a total coincidence that War of Will and Long Range Toddy were able to avoid disaster given that they were the two most experienced racehorses in the entire field.

I worry that we are going to see more and more “green” moments with the current trends. Yet I also don’t know what the solution is; regulations can’t fix this. Telling a trainer they need to make X number of starts before the Kentucky Derby is absurd. It will accomplish nothing and could also unintentionally lead to over-racing our young horses, which isn’t any better. My feeling is that it’s up to the horse racing community to better police themselves in this area; nothing can replace actual racing experience when it comes to combating greenness.

I didn’t realize all the horses were so lightly raced in the Derby yesterday. I did definitely have a WTFreak moment when they said bodexpress was a MAIDEN. How did that horse even get into that gate? Much less belong there.

[Coanteen]

@Event Horse

2019 Kentucky Derby: What Happens When Snowflakes Become Jockeys

I say this only half tongue in cheek because I deal with college students who will cry foul at ANYTHING (even invent things) to improve their grade.

I tend more towards thinking that the snowflakes are the ones who want to ignore a rule/regulation violation because “nothing bad happened, so just like, let it go man.”

[Rallycairn]

@Palm Beach

[B]When you are involved in racing and watch it all day long, you get a feel for whether or not a horse has forward momentum or is done.

War of Will was trying to get through a hole that was not really there. Tyler originally was trying to come up the rail, but Saez had the rail shut down, so he then tried to go around the outside, along with about 5 other horses[/B]. Had he sat still for about 3 more seconds he could have come up the rail. It’s common for horses to drift wide on the far turn - you have to expect it as a rider. So if you are trying to come around the leader into a hole, you better shoot through there like a bullet because it’s not going to stay there.

The stewards allow some drift and some contact because it’s inevitable, and they have the authority to decide when normal routine bumping rises to the level of a foul.

Did a foul occur? Yes. That was pretty obvious. Did it affect the outcome of the race? That’s what took 20 minutes to decide. The stewards decided that the foul cost Long Range Toddy any chance of placing, and put Max behind LRT.

Max was much the best horse. Bill Mott and Flavian did their jobs, and did them well.

Country House was not on my ticket at all. I watched him gallop a couple days ago and he was switching leads all over the place and gawking at the grandstand and everything else. Kind of ironic as he went straight down the middle of the track like a machine yesterday.

[emphasis mine]

So if Palm Beach is correct, and it sounds like she does indeed have a pretty good analysis of how the race was playing out, why a foul at all though? If it was War of Wills moving into a nonexistent/disappearing hole on top of the drift of Maximum Security – then that makes me question all the more why the foul and set down of Maximum Security, or as I said earlier, why deem it severe enough to set down MS? And given that the outcome of the race was unlikely to have been affected.

As to this making the Derby more memorable – People may remember this race, but will it make them remember racing in a way that makes them want to see more of it, or make them like it less? The whole thing has certainly made lots of negative associations for me, as one horse person and somewhat more than casual racing fan.

[dressagetraks]

Regarding unintentional vs intentional fouls, I don’t believe there’s a difference under the rules to the stewards. The question they consider is whether it impacted the finishing position of another horse. If they believe that, then they can DQ, intentional or not.

[dreamswept]

@Countrygirl18

I didn’t realize all the horses were so lightly raced in the Derby yesterday. I did definitely have a WTFreak moment when they said bodexpress was a MAIDEN. How did that horse even get into that gate? Much less belong there.

He managed to get the place in the Florida Derby which got him 40 points. And then Omaha Beach scratched.

[On_the_Farm]

I think the fact that Gaffalione did not claim foul is telling…he’s the one who truly got roughed up but he didn’t complain because it still wouldn’t have made a difference as to his horse earning a check or not. The fact that Court claimed foul wasn’t communicated very well on the broadcast and I think his actions are the ones that have the skunk-like odor. Claiming foul to get moved from 17th up to 16th is simply not sporting and if this was a maiden claiming race (as Mott chose to use as a comparison) it would be dealt with in the jocks’ room and not the stewards’ office. One can point to this rule or that rule, but the stewards do have some discretion (which comes with its own set of problems.)

[LaurieB]

@Rallycairn

[emphasis mine]

So if Palm Beach is correct, and it sounds like she does indeed have a pretty good analysis of how the race was playing out, why a foul at all though? If it was War of Wills moving into a nonexistent/disappearing hole on top of the drift of Maximum Security – then that makes me question all the more why the foul and set down of Maximum Security, or as I said earlier, why deem it severe enough to set down MS? And given that the outcome of the race was unlikely to have been affected.

As to this making the Derby more memorable – People may remember this race, but will it make them remember racing in a way that makes them want to see more of it, or make them like it less? The whole thing has certainly made lots of negative associations for me, as one horse person and somewhat more than casual racing fan.

I disagree with Palm Beach’s analysis of the horses’ relative positions. There was a hole there until Maximum Security moved over into where War of Will already was. After WOW got tangled up with Maximum Security he dropped back and the hole quickly closed.

There’s a slow motion video on Twitter that shows those few seconds very clearly: https://twitter.com/jeremybalan/stat…18251010019328

[Sparrowette]

@Rallycairn

[emphasis mine]

So if Palm Beach is correct, and it sounds like she does indeed have a pretty good analysis of how the race was playing out, why a foul at all though? If it was War of Wills moving into a nonexistent/disappearing hole on top of the drift of Maximum Security – then that makes me question all the more why the foul and set down of Maximum Security, or as I said earlier, why deem it severe enough to set down MS? And given that the outcome of the race was unlikely to have been affected.

As to this making the Derby more memorable – People may remember this race, but will it make them remember racing in a way that makes them want to see more of it, or make them like it less? The whole thing has certainly made lots of negative associations for me, as one horse person and somewhat more than casual racing fan.

Because it doesn’t matter who might have won! Woulda’ Coulda’ Shoulda’. There’s no way to tell and the effort is ever fruitless.

What IS true, is that the horse made a dangerous mistake, and rightly paid the price for it. If the connections can’t take the good with the bad, they don’t belong in racing. Because there will ALWAYS be both good and bad in racing, because both good and bad exists in life. C’est la vie.

What you assert, is akin to saying “We will ONLY give traffic tickets for not securing the kid in a car safety seat if the kid dies or is injured in an accident. Otherwise, then you don’t have to bother with that safety thing.”

The issue is keeping races as safe as possible, which truly, is a pretty neat trick.

“Why deem it severe enough to set down(…)” I’m not happy with these sorts of statements. It makes me think you don’t care about the lives and safety of jockeys and horses. If I can choose between a dull, forgettable race where everyone gets home safely, or a “memorable” race that had a pile-up, I’ll take the dull race any day. Why is this even a discussion???

[LaurieB]

@On the Farm

…The fact that Court claimed foul wasn’t communicated very well on the broadcast and I think his actions are the ones that have the skunk-like odor. Claiming foul to get moved from 17th up to 16th is simply not sporting and if this was a maiden claiming race (as Mott chose to use as a comparison) it would be dealt with in the jocks’ room and not the stewards’ office. One can point to this rule or that rule, but the stewards do have some discretion (which comes with its own set of problems.)

I would guess that in Jon Court’s view, if he hadn’t had to check his horse hard, he wouldn’t have ended up in 17th place.

It’s hard for me to understand how it’s “not sporting” for a jockey to call out a horse and rider who nearly took out half the Derby field–especially since Saez was breaking the rules of racing when he did so. What would be sporting–to turn the other cheek and hope that one doesn’t get walloped too? The 20 horse Derby field is already enough of a free-for-all without giving the jocks license to behave badly without fear of facing repercussions.

Mott was quite right to say that if this had been a maiden claiming race, the winner would have come down–and the stewards would have taken seconds, not twenty minutes, not make that decision.

[Texarkana]

@Countrygirl18

I didn’t realize all the horses were so lightly raced in the Derby yesterday. I did definitely have a WTFreak moment when they said bodexpress was a MAIDEN. How did that horse even get into that gate? Much less belong there.

Maiden doesn’t automatically equal lack of experience, it just means the horse hasn’t won yet. Maidens may run in the Kentucky Derby provided they earn enough points to qualify like everyone else. Do I think it’s silly? Most of the time… many maidens have run over the years and most of them had almost zero shot. But that’s part of the larger debate of, “should you run in the Kentucky Derby when you have almost zero chance of winning?” The point is, they earn their way into the race like anyone else. In 1933, a maiden won the race and I don’t doubt it could happen again if the stars align.

Regarding the lightly raced horses, I’m not pointing my fingers at anyone regarding yesterday. Maximum Security lost the race for himself when he broke the rules by scooting into the path of another horse causing massive interference. There’s no way to say if more experience would have prevented it. More than likely, it was just bad luck (and extremely good luck that it didn’t end in an accident).

But our entrants keep becoming greener and greener while the race maintains its circus-like atmosphere. That’s a scary trend to me. A good horseman knows his/her horse and knows what they do/don’t need to be successful. My concern, though, is that good horsemanship sometimes gets the tiniest bit challenged by Derby Fever. You have one shot to run in it, and for some people, a shot like that only comes around once in a lifetime. If winners of the past decade are setting a precedent that you can win it with only 3 or 4 career starts, you’re going to have some people emulating that path with the hope of reducing wear and tear on the horse… but at what cost?

[On_the_Farm]

@LaurieB

I would guess that in Jon Court’s view, if he hadn’t had to check his horse hard, he wouldn’t have ended up in 17th place.

It’s hard for me to understand how it’s “not sporting” for a jockey to call out a horse and rider who nearly took out half the Derby field–especially since Saez was breaking the rules of racing when he did so. What would be sporting–to turn the other cheek and hope that one doesn’t get walloped too? The 20 horse Derby field is already enough of a free-for-all without giving the jocks license to behave badly without fear of facing repercussions.

Mott was quite right to say that if this had been a maiden claiming race, the winner would have come down–and the stewards would have taken seconds, not twenty minutes, not make that decision.

Tell me what he had to gain? His horse got moved from 17th to 16th. Both spots pay how much in purse money? ZERO. If his horse would have stayed to task and been involved at the finish then yes, claim foul. That didn’t happen. Again, the entry who truly got mugged stayed quiet.

I’d rather see an alternative method employed where results, where the order of finish is obviously not affected, are left to stand but the jockey will face disciplinary action.

[Texarkana]

@On the Farm

I think the fact that Gaffalione did not claim foul is telling…he’s the one who truly got roughed up but he didn’t complain because it still wouldn’t have made a difference as to his horse earning a check or not. The fact that Court claimed foul wasn’t communicated very well on the broadcast and I think his actions are the ones that have the skunk-like odor. Claiming foul to get moved from 17th up to 16th is simply not sporting and if this was a maiden claiming race (as Mott chose to use as a comparison) it would be dealt with in the jocks’ room and not the stewards’ office. One can point to this rule or that rule, but the stewards do have some discretion (which comes with its own set of problems.)

Tyler Gaffalione not filing an objection tells us nothing. The real question is why didn’t Tyler file an objection-- because my guess is probably that Jon Court and Flavien Prat beat him to the phone so there was no need to file a third objection over the same incident. He probably knew the officials would be talking to him, too.

Maximum Security broke the rules. Those jocks probably saw their lives flash before their eyes as a result. Nothing skunk-like here. Yes, it’s terrible for the connections of Maximum Security. Talk about heartbreak.

[accidental_buckaroo]

This is a good perspective, I think.

https://mobile.twitter.com/DanonymousMan/status/1125023672891260928

[Rackonteur]

@Pronzini

And racing is serious about it’s rules. It’s not the Omak stampede out there.

I dipped my beak in Twitter yesterday–always a scary thing-- and a couple of points stood out–a lot of people either didn’t know or didn’t care that 1) the stewards don’t work for the track so this was not Churchill’s decision; 2) that the rules are specific to Kentucky so what ever happened at some BC race in Santa Anita or the 5th at Aqueduct is irrelevant; and 3) official racing takes bets under a paramutual system. It doesn’t matter if Country House was 65 - 1 or 3-5. The house has no incentive to put one up over the other --and it doesn’t have a say anyway.

Pari-mutuel

[Rackonteur]

@ridingagain

Random, disjointed thoughts…

First, so glad that all horses and jocks came home safe when that could have been catastrophic!

The Wests have to be the classiest horse owners on the planet, well done!

Even though the rules state that any jock can cry foul, it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth that Country Houses’s connections did it when they were not interfered with in the race and stood to gain the most.

Maximum Security was clearly the best horse that day. we will see if he can go on to win either the Preakness or the Belmont. I don’t think Country House can.

The stewards got the call right; there was interference, but I thought the rule is , if unintentional, ( looked like MS just spooked a bit), then a foul is given, not a DQ. Perhaps someone with more knowledge can enlighten me about this rule. What kind of penalty does an unintentional interference usually incur?

I get that there is 145 years of tradition involved, but how about limiting the field to a smaller number. I know that won’t prevent all accidents, but it might help.

Why were the Derby races initially limited to 3 year olds? Wouldn’t running 4 yr olds make more sense? More time to grow and get their brains a bit more mature?

I think because the Kentucky Derby is named for the Derby of England and it is for 3-year-olds. The Kentucky Derby, unlike the English Derby, allows geldings.

[CVPeg]

@Altag

Does anyone have a link to an aerial view of the race?

Probably the Russians.

[Peggy]

I was initially annoyed based on the way it was reported in the telecast, with the emphasis on Country House. After reading the posts and links here the ruling makes total sense.

[Larksmom]

I didn’t see that part, but any booing was uncalled for. If you value the win and the money more than Jockey and horse safety, IMO, that makes you a pretty bad person.

I think, in my own small mind, that the booing was from the ignoramuses that have been drawn to the Derby, by all the pageantry, the hats, all the BS BESIDES the actual race. As was mentioned upthread, all this hoorah, I have been watching since Kaui King won in 65. It USED to be, they had some pre-race excitement, ran the race, and bam it was done. I do like the addition of the stake races on Friday and Saturday, but it is better left done to TVG where they can keep the focus on the RACE and not all the other goings-on. Someone else mentioned this and it is a real sore spot with me. The 20 horse field. Is there any other race in the country with a 20 horse field? NO. They do it in Europe, but most of their tracks are not a mile oval. They are just asking for trouble. And I agree about them not being seasoned enough. Good grief, back in the 40s, didn’t two-year-olds run 10-20 times? And finish sound?

[Rackonteur]

@JanM

I was very confused with the disqualification, and since I don’t know that much about racing, except as a spectator. The entire dust up was mind boggling. However, after seeing the slow motion of the interference, and an explanation of what could have happened if the horses went down, I think it was absolutely the right call by the stewards.

Honestly, if the horses had gone down in a mass fall yesterday, with jockeys flying I think it would have led to a huge outcry against any type of horse racing. The MS crew is quoted as saying they’re appealing, and if that’s not upheld, then they’re going to court. That is classless, and the sore loser action.

So, the stewards made their decision.

So how is that going to impact future races? I can see the logic in the DQ if it will cause a new rule to be made about safety in racing. But it can’t keep another baby horse from spooking in another race on another day.

The good thing is that Maximum Security hasn’t lost anything. He is not reading Tweets or newspapers and he doesn’t give two hoots whether or not he wins the Triple Crown. He doesn’t know what the Triple Crown. Hopefully he will continue racing if he enjoys it and wants to win as much as he seemed to want to in the Derby. If not, hopefully he will be turned out to graze and service mares. Or, like Swaps, taken for rides around the farm.

His millionaire connections lost some money but they did not lose a place in the history books. Country House’s connections pocketed some money and got a place in the history books. Country House got a nice stall and maybe some more treats than usual, and he may or may not go on to win some races fairly and squarely.

Bottom line is, the horses couldn’t care less. Sun is warm, grass is blue. Happy happy all around.