The Day Horse Racing Died
 

That's what my wife said to me when the numbers ceased flashing and 7 was no longer on the board. And I found it impossible to formulate an argument.

This week is Derby week. The eyes of the world are upon our sport. A sport that is hurting like it has never hurt before. Just months removed from the Santa Anita travesties, we have Derby 2019. It will forever be remembered for the only Derby to have a disqualification of the winner. After this chaos it will NEVER happen again, at least as long as I am alive.

Each and every interviewer this week found a way to inquire about what had occured over the winter months at Santa Anita. And each interviewee, responded "racing has been through tough times, and it will get through this". And I believed them. What occurred out west is tragic. Racing has taken measures to assure the public it was doing all it could to rectify the situation. And I did believe the public could get past it.

May 4, 2019. A horse with zero pedigree, (sure, his sire won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but has anyone ever seen a horse by New Year's Day in the PP's before Maximum Security? The Stallion Register page doesn't even have any of the tabs that most stallions do. Not even a photo) is favored in the Derby. He's a horse that debuted for a $16,000 tag, and he is favored in the Derby! He is undefeated heading into the Derby! He's not a Baffert or a Pletcher. He's an underdog and has the profile of a contender the public just loves to support.

Maximum Security WINS! He was the fastest horse. He set the fractions and was moving best at the end of the 10 furlongs. And we all know what happened after that.

Or do we? Tirico, Moss and Bailey seemed content with the DQ. Even our beloved Andy Serling is defending the ruling. But here is the problem. On the day where more people bet on horse racing than any other day of the year. And because Maximum Security likely had more money bet on him than any other horse. And because so many people bet on the Derby that do not normally bet on horse racing. You have the perfect storm whereas there are more people turned off to the sport today than ever before. Because instead of having a story of an underdog striving for greatness, we have a story of how the best horse in the race, won the race, yet finished 17th, And there was really no explanation given because as is normally the case, the network had to move on.

We continue to shoot ourselves in the foot in this sport. This was a joke. And it will not be forgotten any time soon. Next time you see Angel Cordero, ask him if people have forgotten this yet? Almost 40 years later.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/searc...27&action=view

So dramatic...

It was a foul. When everyone sobers up tomorrow it’ll be more clear.

Hey I’m drunk now and it was bad call 😀

Wow. I’ve never seen that before. So much has changed in this
game. I’m sober now and it’s still a bad call. They chased a lot of people away
from the game. This is the second time I’ve seen a winner booed
in the past year. Mike Smith and connections on Travers Day and now the Derby.
This will be talked about for a long time.

Should I sell my stocks and open up the bunker today?

Best part is the claim was filed by the horse that was NOT even touched. Its like 4 cars got in a crash and some car that was there(but not involved) sues for pain and suffering

Jon Court on Long Range Toddy also claimed foul.

Correct call was made
 

The correct call was made. Plenty of video support for it. The racing world is lucky a catastrophe did not happen as Mark Casse and Kent Desormeaux have said. If you want to challenge the transparency of the stewards in KY and what they didn't do that's a different kettle of fish.

:tro::tro:

The stewards did the right thing, and I'm proud of Mr. West that he's taking reasonable means to do right by himself and his horse without losing sight of sportsmanship. It's a real privilege to have owners like him in horse racing. I feel terrible for Bill Mott getting his Derby like this. I think he's relieved that the right thing was done and would've felt his horse should come down if the shoe'd been on the other foot. Not that he wouldn't have been upset, but he'd have understood as I suspect Mr. West will when he's seen everything. He said as much earlier.

But the stewards can't claim they are following "RULES" when this happens in almost every race and in the TC/BC races horses clip legs/bump as soon as they leave the gate OR imped lanes of other horses when they come from the 12 to the rail

This doesn’t happen in almost every race.

I thought about the DQ for a whole hour which is about 55 minutes longer than usual. disclosure: the DQ benefitted me a 5 dollar Oaks Double WHOOPIE

Racing isn't dying because of the DQ it is dying because Zenyatta never saved it, It's Zenyatta's fault.

This mellow dramatic drivel over a DQ that IMO could or could not have been called and still be OK is typical over the top Racing nonsense. The KD is just one race, turn the page.

Really? Then why do people hate the #1 Post in the Derby every year? Nothing to do with 2/3/4 interfering with #1 Lane and him getting pinched back?

Why do front runners hate getting 19/20? Because they have to cut across 10 horses to get the rail

You got DQ’d. Sorry.

But making up stuff isn’t going to put that money in your pocket.

Post links to three races in the last two month where this happened on a turn.
Try apples to apples, not fruit salad.

(Jeopardy theme playing........)

Saturday would've been the day racing died if War of Will went down starting a chain reaction. It would have been a tragic doomsday situation. I can't even imagine what the fallout would have been nationally. Thankfully, War of Will stayed up and everyone came home safe. If anything, I think this strengthened racing, people are talking about the sport today and not using the words, drugs and death. Non racing people also got to see the possible payouts if you put the puzzle together correctly. So in my opinion, racing didn't die this past Saturday, it got stronger.

Couldn't agree more. Well said.

Agreed on all, but the attention the game is getting will be very short-lived once Country House runs 3rd or 4th in the Preakness.

At least they are talking, even if its only for two more weeks.

:tro:

Absolutely. Sure wouldn't hurt the sport if CH somehow won the Preakness, but I will definitely try to make $$ beating him.

:tro:

We need way less whining about the DQ, way more gratitude that the incident didn't turn tragic, because that could have been the final death knell for racing.

Isn’t it virtually a lock that he won’t be the favorite?

Good stuff Matt. Agree there is still chatter going on two days after the race and its not for a tragic reason.

Great post.

I keep reading a really narrow minded narrative from people that the DQ is going to deter new racing fans. Meanwhile we are lucky WoW was so agile or we would’ve had a PR nightmare that makes what happened at Santa Anita this winter look tame.

Excellent post and your wife is a very smart a lady.:tro:

Regardless of what happened in the turn (and I still contend that it was the state of the track that caused the interference), all of the horses a few strides after the contact were back in stride and had every chance, if good enough, to go by Maximum Security. The simple fact is that they couldn't. They weren't fast enough. Races are run to determine who is the fastest. That's why the DQ was such an injustice. The fastest horse was not declared the winner.

Additionally, whatever new interest in ownership and/or fan base (if any at all) was completely lost as a result of the DQ in the Derby.

It's doubtful that the sport lost any of the "hardcore" fans/gamblers (which of course are a dying generation). It probably lost quite a few casual fans and absolutely discouraged any new blood from coming into the game.

Classic case of maybe taking one step forward, then definately taking five steps backward.

I don't think Country House is running in the Preakness. Unless something changed in the last few hours, it looks like neither Country House nor Maximum Security are running in the Preakness. I think Mott's plan is to skip the Preakness and run in the Belmont, from what he said yesterday.

Edit. Now it looks like Mott is leaning toward running Country House in the Preakness.

What are you basing your “whatever new interest in ownership and/or fan base was completely lost” opinion on?

I also think you greatly underestimate how hard it is for horses who have already run 9 furlongs, to regain momentum after checking. It just doesn’t happen often if ever. That is unless they are trained by trainers whose horses routinely have multiple gears.

"New Video" thoughts
 

How are we all feeling now in light of the video posted on Horse Racing Nation with the descriptors? I'm not sure I am allowed to post links to other sites here, so I didn't. It's on the front page of the site.

CH and Improbable are going. Improbable will be ridden by...

Who else?

Mike Smith

Seriously?

It's from youtube. Who knows how real it is. I saw that sometime around midnight with a bunch of other doctored garbage.

LOL.... New Angle? ****ing cherry picked pan shot. Horse Racing Nation is like a ****ing tabloid for even suggesting that this is a "New Angle". Anyone still arguing this after looking at Scott Carson's video from Twitter is simply defending their ticket and will never change..

:tro:

That's a pretty broad stroke. You have no idea who I bet, or anyone else that is commenting for that matter. I can 100% guarantee I did not bet Maximum Security.

Fair question. For my part, after having full and part ownership a few years ago in four horses (one was a stakes winner), I have no intertest in owning considering the current state of racing. For the most part, current ownership at the medium to top level is by "old" racing money. I haven't done a statistical review of the ownership of the past 5 years of graded race winners, (nor do I have a lot time to do so) but if you do, I think you will find my statement will bare that out.

Here is a link from the Jockey Club showing the foal crop stats for the past 18 years: http://www.jockeyclub.com/default.asp?section=FB&area=2 . In the US it's down 51%, down 57% in Canada and down 67% in Puerto Rico. I'm sure if you were to check other countries, you would find similar numbers. I think that is an indication that new ownership is sparse and there is less and less interest in breeding and subsequently racing ownership, except by "old" money. I think you would also find that it is the 50+ yrs olds and older who are responsible for the majority each track's handle.

Additionally, I talk to a lot of people in and out of racing (though have some interest) here in the US, Australia, and New Zealand and the sentiment from my conversations support what I stated about new fans coming into the game (Ownership or punting).

Concerning fan base, I'm sure you could go to any track in the US and see that attendence figures are way down. Perhaps the exception here is the small fair meets that run for a couple of weekends a year. People have a day out to enjoy the excitment, so perhaps there is hope there.

Of course overseas attendence is still good as many countries still see horse racing as a sport with entertainment value verses a mechanism for gambling.

Every year we get this great platform in the Derby/TC and the BC where we get the spotlight and cannot build on it. Then we have the outcome in the Derby that many of the casual observers will see as unjust, will walk away thinking, what kind of a "clown show" is racing when the winner (fastest horse) in not declared the winner. Subsequently, they don't return or go to their local track (if there is one) to allow whatever interest they may have had in racing grow.

As far as horses regaining their momentum, maybe/maybe not. I've seen 2 and 3 mile hurdle/steeplecase races (horses who have expended way more effort) and see horses regain/re-rally to win. Concerning the Derby, they still had 2 furlongs left to race and from my perspective, once they all straighten up at the top of the stretch, none of them had an excuse for not going by MS. Also, keep in mind that MS also lost momentum by not getting a hold of the track/the bump with the #1, but once all straighten up, it was "game on" and MS was easily the best.

End of story....lets start talking about how rundown and crappy Pimlico is and how the Preakness needs to move to Laurel Park :rolleyes:

It is a better visual but the 1 horse is not blameless in this equation.

At 2:05 #7 is in the 2 Path and #1 horse has his front legs inside of #7 horse back legs. This contributed to #7 veering out before returning back inside. In other words, #7 veers out AFTER #1 sticks his nose up his ass. So I'm giving #7 a only 50% blame. Thats my final decision.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=j68rqh8UuQo

I hope they don't move.

I would miss not seeing the entire run down the backstretch because of tents, drunks and carnival rides on the infield which are way more important to see than the actual race.:D

Yes he is blameless. Again, I’m not sure how people can look at a video and see things that just aren’t there.