I get eliminated.
Even though it wasn't my fault.
Let's say my horse stumbles during a test and bites his tongue, resulting in blood in the mouth.
Guess what, I get eliminated.
If you break the rules, you get penalized. Sometimes eliminated.
This seems to be a concept that many people refuse to accept with the weekend's Kentucky (or is it spelled Kentuky now?) Derby.
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It's like a bunch of helicopter parents in a rage because the refs called a foul on their kid.
It's not fair! Its the wrong call! It's rigged! The horse got robbed!
....
Except, that the rule book is clear.
“A leading horse if clear is entitled to any part of the track. If a leading horse or any other horse in a race swerves or is ridden to either side so as to interfere with, intimidate, or impede any other horse or jockey, or to cause the same result, this action shall be deemed a foul.”
-- Kentucky Racing Commission
It doesn't address or even mention INTENT. This is the unfortunate result of some of these rules. They can't address intent because then all sorts of people would lie and point fingers. It has to be a hard and fast rule.
I agree that it's not fair. Maximum Security crossed the finish line first.
We could play "What ifs" all day long, but horses are unpredictable. And now you have 20 horses, 3 year olds who may or may not even steer, in an extremely high pressure race going at Mach 10. Just because it's the Derby doesn't mean they should bend the rules. It is, after all, just another horse race.
The thing is, if you are going to own, train, ride or otherwise be involved with horses, you had better be ok with accepting that sometimes you are going to throw $500 out onto your lawn and burn it. Or, in this case, a million dollars. ha. Sometimes shit happens, and horses will break your heart and your bank account. They don't know or care how much money was on the line. They were simply doing what was asked of them, and trying to protect themselves.
It is incredibly heartbreaking for MS and his connections. But the stewards had to make that call, and it was the right call in accordance to the rules.
Maybe the rules need looked at. I don't know.
I am no racing expert, but I do know what it's like to be in the horse business.
Like a Washington Post article said, "Elation, confusion, dread and despair."
Yeah, welcome to horses.
Thank you! All of the helicopter parents are driving me crazy. We were millimeters from the two of them clipping heels and causing a devastating accident on live TV that the sport of racing might not have been able to recover from. You HAVE TO follow through with the penalty even with all the fallout.
ReplyDeleteI was a lot less frustrated when I saw a VASTLY different angle of the incident yesterday, I wish they'd shown it Saturday and maybe there'd be a lot less armchair quarterbacking? Idk. Horse people always have opinions 🤣
ReplyDeleteVery well put. It's unfortunate. At first I was upset because it seemed unfair, then I saw some really terrifying videos of how bad the crash COULD'VE been.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he was too immature and the whole situation left him overfaced. I'm glad it didn't result in a worse accident!!
(also.. kentuky??)
Before the race people kept saying how the horse had only 5 races under his belt. Like that's a badge of honor. Idk. I think I'd rather a more well-prepared horse on the track. (Not that more races = more prepared, but this horse did not seem well prepared for this atmosphere from the moment his jockey was up.)
ReplyDeletePeople who haven't a clue about horse racing getting outraged on social media is ridiculous and not helpful. There is a good analysis in the Sports Illustrated article from yesterday. Bob Baffert is quoted -
ReplyDelete"Baffert suggested that the Derby is just a different race from all others, and that everyday rules should not always apply. “No one ever calls an objection in the Derby,” Baffert told me Sunday afternoon, by text. “It’s always a roughly run race. Twenty-horse field. I have been wiped out numerous times, but that is the Derby. I can see by the book why they did it. But sometimes you’ve got to take your ass-kickings with dignity.”"
That best describes how I came away from the Derby. I've watched forty odd Kentucky Derbies, and when the field is full there's usually a lot of scrambling. A jockey who wasn't really interfered with, but was on position to take the win, lodged the initial complaint. (IMHO) War of Will's connections had every right claim a foul, and they didn't. That's the part that doesn't sit well with me. Disappointing, but at least everyone finished the race in one piece. Horse racing certainly didn't need the drama though...