Jay Hovdey rains on the Rapid Redux win parade
 

How nice of Jay to come along and put a win streak in perspective.

http://www.drf.com/news/hovdey-there...re-are-records

His typical worthless column when he's not doing a human interest story.

Hovdey is very good at writing. He should stick to his human interest stories and fluff garbage.

Any other writer at DRF would have done a much better job at knocking the win streak.

* This gem from his last column:

How do six-furlong races at Charles Town "look a lot alike" when they don't even run 6f races at CT? The one-turn races are 4.5 furlongs and the two-turn races are 6.5f and 7f.

* This from his current column:

Mountaineer, not Charles Town. At least you got the state correct anyway.

What an embarrassment. Did this guy bother to check anything before he turned that in to his equally clueless editor?

Mishugina Award for 2011

:zz:
:tro:

Hovdey is a brilliant writer. Have you considered he may have deliberately misidentified the track in order to make a broader point?

WTF?

What broader point could be made my saying CT instead of Mountaineer?

Hovdey is a good writer, his prose is enjoyable to read but he is prone to factual errors and to making points that need not be bothered with. In this case, I don't see anyone standing up and comparing RR to Zenyatta or Citation or any of the greats of the game that never put together a notable "streak." Pretty much any informed racing fan understands that yes, RR is a horse taking advantange of a condition and that he's not the second coming of Dr. Fager. Anyone who doesn't know that isn't reading the DRF anyhow.

That most people east of Pittsburgh and west of Akron wouldn't know the difference between Mountaineer and Charles Town?

He isn't that clever.

You're a good guy if you honestly believe this and give him the benefit of the doubt.

I don't think I've ever agreed with cmorioles about anything but he's right... this is an embarrassment.

I don't believe for a second this was intentional...

"...the sound of fans and media bending over backwards in an attempt to place the 20-race win streak of Rapid Redux into sensible context."

Really? I have no trouble putting it into context, sensible, reasonable or otherwise. But, I'm not "media."

You do realize he's just afraid somehow this cheapens Zenyatta?

As if she doesn't have the edge over any horse in history at choosing the path of least resistance.

Well, he surely deserves a passing grade for having the right state.

On the contrary,a better article by Richard Eng:
http://www.lvrj.com/sports/record-se...134483698.html

it would have been a better effort on his part had he written something along these lines to put zenyatta's win streak in perspective. she no more belongs in the rarified air that contains citation than rapid redux.
but i'm glad he said that breeding isn't everything. i'd have never figured that out on my own.:rolleyes:

The whole breeding paragraph is one of the most inane things I've read in a while.

Nice to see that he also thinks Citation has the record. Does anyone do any homework before writing these days?

i think they all call it a 'modern day' record.

OK, but when does "modern day" start?

now, that's a good question! maybe 1900?

Bottom Line for me.....

Rapid Redux winning 20 in a row was a major marketing opportunity for our sport and we/they blew it big time. Instead, we/they turned it into "hey but he did not run in grade 1 races like Zenyatta so let's not bring this up" type of thing.:rolleyes:

Many, many kudos to those that did write positively about Rapid Redux and did bring it up and out into the media. :tro:

Yes I know the story of Rapid Redux getting out to the masses might cheapen the Queen in some minds. But listen Zen fans, the Queen is happy. Trust me on this. She's out in a big pasture being a horse. She's grazing on grass with her girlfriends. She's wondering what's going on in her "belly". That's what really matters most. She made it to the top by being where she is now. That's what is important to Zen. (I know you real fans will understand what I'm getting at here)

Rapid Redux's #20 race was not shown on HRTV or TVG. Plain stupid. :zz:

This story could have been spun in many positive ways. "Rapid Redux, America's Blue Collar Horse, Claimed for $6,500 Runs Monday Night for Win Number 20 In A Row" followed by an article or segment on how to go about getting involved in Thoroughbred ownership through partnerships for a reasonable amount of money.

We/they could not get out of our/their own way on this one. :wf

exactly! we don't push ownership in this sport enough. football, basketball, baseball, hockey, etc are the true sports of kings these days. people love sports-and this is one that people can actually get into on a more personal level. so many opportunities wasted. problem with the industry is that these tracks continue to look at each other as the competition, rather than banding together and looking at other venues as the real competition! there needs to be a better alternative to the ntra, a group that really pushes the sport, in every segment.

Well, Doug already showed a horse won 22 races in 1913, so it can't be that. That is my problem with everyone referring to this as a record. It isn't a big deal, but don't just make stuff up.

:)

You make some good points, but unfortunately the way Rapid Redux got to 20 his last few races is what kind of stinks in a lot of peoples minds. To be perfectly honest, my opinion of the situation has nothing at all to do with Zenyatta, because I thought her streak was manufactured as well. I never thought this was a Rapid Redux vs Zenyatta thing.

You can't help but look at the fact that in Rapid Redux's last few, his main contenders in the race have entered and then scratched. Then, when you realize his main contender for the 20th (who scratched) is trained by someone who was recently given (like within the last few weeks) horses by Rapid Redux's owner it certainly seems like there were some behind the scenes deals going on in an effort to get this horse to his 20th win. He was winning in virtual walkovers.

The horse is a cool story and his win streak is admirable for his consistency if nothing else. I think the win streak didn't get the press others feel it should because his connections decided much like Peppers Pride' connections (and certainly Zenyatta's to a lesser extent) that the streak was more important than seeing what the horse could really do. No one is saying run Rapid Redux in the Cigar Mile today, but consistently being 1/9 in races against horses that you tower over isn't what really gets people excited and interested IMO. Competitive, honest racing is what gets our pulse going.

Just like in other sports, people want to see exciting competitions. No one would turn into to see Duke basketball consistently beat up on Patriot League teams all season long. We understand they need to schedule a few of those games along the way, but people get excited about watching Duke play North Carolina, because you are watching competitive teams face off. Win or lose, both teams leave it all on the court and you don't leave with a feeling like something was missing.

A horse like Commentator probably could have reeled off double digit wins in a row had Zito kept him strictly in NYB races. But Commentator gained respect and admiration from fans when he ventured out of the comfort zone and took on better foes. He lost his fair share but he also won his fair share and he was more revered for losing to better horses than he ever would have gotten if he was beating up on the same thing over and over.

I agree that this story had a chance to be so much more, but that isn't the sports fault IMO. It's hard to promote virtual walkovers where half the original fields scratch out for no reason. Losing (or winning) with a bump or two in class would do more for Rapid Redux and maybe the sport than protecting him as they have, because people can see what the streak really was, manufactured.

i thought that was what the media did??

and didn't the horse who won 22 start 36 times that year? that's what it looks like to me.


edit~found this, while looking for what delineates modern from pre-modern:


It’s not with frequency that a $14,900 starter allowance event has historic implications. But that will be the case when Rapid Redux goes to the post in Monday’s eighth race at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort.

The five-year-old gelding will be shooting for his 20th consecutive victory. No other North American Thoroughbred has managed to do that since the nineteenth century.

If that is the definition of "modern", then Citation does not hold the record for wins in a year as has been cited many times lately. There are two different records. I'm not questioning the 20 in a row.

well, take it up with those who call it a record. i certainly don't get published anywhere.

:tro:

;) lol

seriously tho, i'm just as curious as everyone else. i don't know when they started 'modern record' keeping;nor do i know why. i'm just conjecturing based on things i've read, trying to solve the puzzle. because it certainly is a puzzle.

http://www.drf.com/news/rapid-redux-...claiming-crown

“It’s $13,000 to ship with plane transfer, and that made no sense at all,” said Cole. “If you run second, you lose $7,000.”

What a joke. Suddenly money is an issue with Cole?

This decision tells you all you need to know about the validity of the " record winning streak."

At least now he can't be no longer be compared to Zenyatta....as her connections never shied away from shipping.

Funny he entered in the 50k race, not the 150k race. Wouldn't that have helped with plane fare?

Wouldn't it be so much more refreshing if these guys were just honest with what they are doing?