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Originally Posted by brianwspencer
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.
First, I didn't defend anyone in this thread. I didn't "attack" you one bit. I didn't call you names. I didn't do anything but point out that you indulged in a bit of hyperbole in one post. It wasn't a criticism of anything you've said in regards to the entire ride, except that I found it mathematically unlikely that it was one of the worst rides in history.
...for starters, I'd say the stakes on closing day at Turf Paradise two or three years back when the rider misjudged the length of the race by an entire 7 furlongs...
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I remember that race. I also remember Desormeaux blowing the finish line on Kotashaan in a race about 10-12 years ago in Japan. And of course, the worst instance was Shoemaker misjudging the finish line in the KY Derby while riding Gallant Man, probably costing him the win.
But the thing is, if you take all the bad decisions jockeys have made in a race over, say, the last 10 years and you make a "Top X" list, yesterday's ride probably has to be included in that list no matter how small you make X. As someone pointed out, those situations often lead to a horse incurring injury.
Frankly watching the race, I was surprised nobody clipped in there and no horses went down.
Jockeys make mistakes all the time. But not like this. For a guy who won 200+ races and $10+ million in purses last year to make that kind of move yesterday, it's utterly indefensible. It was as bad as it gets.