Because 2YOs are usually pretty green and often erratic and harder to control. If you watch a lot of head-ons of 2YO races you see a lot of crazy behavoir that you don't see in races for older horses.

That is true. So you are saying that the stewards allow for the "greenness" of the horses when they are 2. That does make sense.

Now that I've read the second page, this is AWSUMZ!

I perceive that you are being a troll, so therefore I am very well within my limits (according to your logic) in demanding that you lay down at the wire in the center of the track of the next quarter horse race at Portland Meadows.

Makes sense, eh? Because I perceived a deliberate action intended to harm my internet wellbeing.

And no, I won't give you the pleasure of being trampled by 4000N1Y claimers at Hawthorne. 2500N1Y claimer quarter horses at PM will have to do.

At the risk of validating ANYTHING PG1985 says, this may be the worst logic I've ever seen on this forum.

Martin's horse came in and it caused Coa to check.

Go read the post that I likened this to a couple of 3rd graders--one that was, of course, discounted completely.

Hell yes, they deserve the days, it was not acceptable. WHAT I am saying is this may not simply have been action, but, causal REaction. Either way, yes, it was shoddy and unsafe riding.

Folks rarely read an entire thread before piling it on. That's a drag.

Within reason. A Mott 2YO ducked out badly on the backstretch of a grass race last summer, and badly interfered with two horses, and was justifiably taken down. It's a judgement call.

You can clearly tell that Martin is trying to right the path of his horse. Where as Coa plainly looks directly over his left shoulder...sees Eddie there...and moves his mount in on him towards the rail.

Again it is perception vs reality. It is a philosophical debate. If a man pushes you causing you to fall back what do you do. Did the man push you because he wanted to cause you harm, or did he push you because you were about to get hit by a car. You have to find out why one acted before you decide what to do. If the man pushed you so you wouldnt get hit by a car you would say thanks. If he pushed you because he was mad at you then you may want to defend yourself.

Yes you can tell that while watching the head on re-play. But put yourself in Coa's shoes. Maybe he didnt see it that way. It is easy to play armchair QB.

Gotcha. I remember several years ago at SA in a 2 furlong race my horse got taken down because he went from the 10 path all the way to the rail. I wasnt happy but it was DQ was justified.

But...these guys are professionals. They do this for a living. They are trusted to make the right decisions out there. For their safety...for the safety of their horse...for the safety of other jocks. Being on a 1,000lb animal at 30mph is NOT the place to be taking retaliation...

Stupid, stupid decision by Coa....and again, I am an admitted fan as I have had great luck with him in the past. This incident does shed a new light on him for me though.

I agree with you 100% and this is why he got suspended.

Well, again, having not even once watched the race you have no idea what happened.

So how are you able to talk about "perception" during the race when Martin obviously forced Coa to check in a manner that was 100%/360 degrees/COMPLETELY POLAR OPPOSITE of what Coa later did to him, WHEN YOU NEVER EVEN WATCHED IT ONCE?

Wait, to the rest of us that is evidence that you are NOT able to talk about it.

But, when all logic and reality fails, feel free to keep firing away.

Coa is his own worst enemy. He is a terrific talent, and has a likely big career ahead of him, but he gets hotheaded and does dangerous things. This MO has followed him for over a decade. I believe it has definitely kept him from riding a lot of more high profile horses.

That's the point. There is NEVER ANY reason to jeopardize the life of your horse, yourself, other riders, and other horses based on how one perceives an incident.

It doesn't matter if Coa thought Martin was trying to kill him when he was forced to check earlier in the race -- it is all irrelevant and inexcusable when the lives of riders and horses were put at risk in order to cash in on some personal vendetta.

If Coa was so pissed off about being forced to check, he should have played like a big boy and lodged an objection, instead of risking several lives -- equine and human.

So basically, perception DOESN'T matter.

I agree it isnt Coa's job to decide what Martin intended to not intended to do, this is why he was suspended. I agree that he should have been suspended. I am not sure where the breakdown is occuring here.

Why do I need to see the replay. BTW did a great job of giving me a visual. Again, I agree that Coa and Martin should be suspended. I think it should have been longer. I dont know what I think this is such a big deal.