Bay Meadows race 1
 

Did anyone see this race? I dont think I have ever seen a horse with a lead like the 3 had take a bad step and lose right at the wire. I sure he is ok, but it sure didnt look good.

What didnt look good was the horse broke down in the last 1/16th of a mile and R. Baze whipped the horse instead of pulling him up. He held 2nd, whopee, the place and show bettors got their $2.10.

Oh Jesus. Shame on him.

Here's the chart..... very sad. Hope they're both okay.

http://www.equibase.com/static/chart...082307USA1.pdf

I wonder how Mr Baze would react if someone tried to make him run faster when he was in pain...........

Something like that really gets to me.

I noticed that and commented about it.
How could he have not known the horse was going wrong, maybe so, but I expect better from Russel Baze. :mad:

Sure hope Imperial Eyes is good, but looked like he was going down.

I don't follow Bay Meadows, was waiting for SAR, then My Typhoon almost goes down, and faded, sure hope she's OK too.
At least Eddie Castro didn't whip her on.
Gotta love that Wait A While.

Fly with the angels, Imperial Eyes.

At first when I read this I was livid but then I watched the race and saw the action with the whip. Baze popped him twice then gave up on it....

I get abit confused about what constitutes excessive use of the whip but after the stumble he still had a stride ......maybe we let him by on this one this time.

The way it read the first time I thought he trumped our recent event at Philly park but IMO it wasn't excessive....maybe unnecessary but not horrible.

I read the chart early this morning. It didn't look good, I don't think I'm up to looking at the replay.

Various on line forums as well as PedigreeQuery.com report Imperial Eyes as haveing been euthanized.

Without pointing fingers, Art Sherman seems to have a high number of breakdowns.

Bay Meadows claims to have improved the surface.
http://www.drf.com/news/article/87769.html

From BH.....


Baze Faces Disciplinary Inquiry in Bay Meadows Incident
by Jack Shinar

Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze, North America's all-time leading rider, faces a stewards' disciplinary hearing at Bay Meadows after his horse broke down Aug. 23 in the first race nearing the wire as the jockey whipped him. The trainers of the horse, who was euthanized afterward, said they support Baze.

The California Horse Racing Board initiated the hearing, set for the morning of Aug. 25, steward Darrell McHargue said. Baze appeared briefly before stewards Aug. 24 and requested an expedited meeting.

McHargue did not specify the complaint against the 49-year-old jockey, but Baze is believed to be charged under CHRB rules pertaining to cruelty to animals, misuse of a whip, and actions detrimental to horse racing.

The 4-year-old gelding Imperial Eyes, running in an $8,000 claiming race as the 3-5 favorite, held a seven-length lead at the furlong pole of the one-mile event when he took a bad step, according to the Equibase racing chart of the race. After a brief hesitation, Imperial Eyes switched leads and resumed running. However, a few strides from the wire, the horse broke down. Witnesses said Baze urged the horse with his whip after the initial bad step.

Imperial Eyes was pulled up past the wire after finishing second. He suffered a fracture to his left front cannon bone, according to assistant trainer Steve Sherman, who saddled the gelding for his father, Art Sherman. After being transported by van back to the stable, Imperial Eyes was euthanized on the advice of a veterinarian, Steve Sherman said.

Baze, contacted the evening following the incident, said he thought Imperial Eyes went lame initially, but when the gelding started running again, he thought he had misjudged what happened.

"I was trying to hold him together to the finish," he said.

Baze acknowledged using his whip. "We were in the shadow of the wire, and I did keep riding him to get him across the finish line," he said.

The Shermans were outraged that Baze was facing possible disciplinary action.

Asked if he thought Baze should be penalized for his ride, Steve Sherman responded, "Absolutely, 100 percent, no way. This should never even be considered.

"The horse took a bad step, and Russell folded up on him for a few lengths. But when he started running again, they were only a few lengths before the wire," he added. "The thing that people are reacting to is that he broke down right there at the finish just as Russell hit him, and that looked bad. But he didn't do anything wrong.

"You can't just go by perception. Look at his actions from the 16th pole to the wire. The horse took a few bad steps, but then he started running again. Can you imagine how people would have reacted if he had pulled up a 3-5 favorite leading by that far so close to the wire if there was nothing wrong with the horse?"

Art Sherman, who watched the race on television, added, "They're trying to hang Russell for this thing, and I don't get it. I rode for 23 years. Things happen on a racetrack that horses react to -- a tire mark, a piece of paper; it could be anything. If a jockey pulled up a horse every time they took a bad step, we'd really have a mess. You have to ride to protect the public. I support him."

Baze had 9,819 lifetime wins through Aug. 23, and his mounts have earned nearly $150 million.

* * *

For anyone wishing to voice their opinions, outrage, disgust, etc.....

http://www.baymeadows.com/vucontacti...26active_sub=3

move on, Baze did nothing wrong!

No, I won't move on.

The horse is gone.

This isn't right.

I don't want to agree with Irish because his point of view is usually assinine but I agree with the Shermans. Break downs are never pleasant but they are part of the game. I just watched the replay and the horse starts to run again after the bad step. Baze had no alternative, he had to continue to ride the horse. It is unfortunate but not Baze's fault.

"You can't just go by perception. Look at his actions from the 16th pole to the wire. The horse took a few bad steps, but then he started running again. Can you imagine how people would have reacted if he had pulled up a 3-5 favorite leading by that far so close to the wire if there was nothing wrong with the horse?"

Art Sherman, who watched the race on television, added, "They're trying to hang Russell for this thing, and I don't get it. I rode for 23 years. Things happen on a racetrack that horses react to -- a tire mark, a piece of paper; it could be anything. If a jockey pulled up a horse every time they took a bad step, we'd really have a mess. You have to ride to protect the public. I support him."

You people who suggest we move on..... if this were a stakes race and not an $8k claiming race, I wonder if you'd be outraged.....

RIP to the dear horse. always sad to see.
 

I didn't think the horse would be dead , simply from watching the replay. Yet I am not surprised. He took a stumble. Always sad to see.
Quickly clear this jockey's name under qualified review.

that has nothing to do with it. jockey did what he was supposed to do. obviously if baze KNEW what was going to happen, he'd have done differently. he didn't know. you don't have time to THINK in that situation, just time to react. he did the right thing. he shouldn't be put thru the wringer because the poor horse broke down. the horse took a bad step, and that happens. he stopped riding. horse changed leads, and took off again. everything seems fine, so he rides him out. use of the whip did not cause the breakdown --the two occurred simultaneously.

The horse took several bad steps and switched leads to save his injured leg, at which point the Buck-toothed ******* hit him with the whip, MAKING him run on. I would think if a jockey has won close to 10,000 races that would mean he's ridden close to 100,000, you trying to tell me he couldn't tell the horse injured himself, it was obvious that was no bobble, the horses head went straight up. I have never before yesterday seen a jockey whip a horse to continue after it has injured itself, most jockeys with a brain and a heart would automatically take hold of the horse to prevent further injury to itself.:mad:

i watched the replay of the race, and it does look bad. After the horse takes the bad step and goes into some distress he never actually starts running again like they're implying, like someone else said he switches leads obviously but he was not running with anywhere near the same interest. its hard to believe that a guy with his experience would not have picked up on the fact that something was wrong. when you see the whip come out on a horse that is laboring it's really sickening. maybe Baze was acting on instinct, lets hear his side of it. if the story remains that he thought the horse started running again that will be hard to swallow for me.

i think MMSC might have a point about the class of the race, or maybe even the venue. imagine the outrage if that horse were a national well known star, say in a GR1 race televised live on tv. would everyone still be happy with the "oh well I thought he was still running" explanation? I wonder.

"I was trying to hold him together to the finish," Baze

Doesn't that mean he knew something was wrong?

Exactly.