Quote:
Originally Posted by Calzone Lord
It's hard to see -- but it always looks like the vets just examines the legs and motion of the horse after they break through the gate. And it always seems like they are in somewhat of a rush to do it ... probably because the rest of the field is stuck in the gate.
It takes an extreme amount of force to break open a starting gate. And though race horses are exceptionally strong bodied animals -- a shot to the mouth and face probably causes them pain and discomfort.
This example yesterday was much more extreme than a typical horse breaking through the starting gate ... because this one yesterday cracked the back of his head on the top of the gate as he was breaking through.
In the short time it took to hustle him around, examine him, and re-load him -- his odds only jumped from 7-to-5 to 8-to-5. I didn't even have time enough to log-in and bet against him.
He ended up finishing 10th beaten 25 lengths at 8/5 odds going just six furlongs. People have to realize that the outcomes of horse races are literally determined by fractions of a second.
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I believe a break through leads to an automatic scratch in the UK...someone was telling me that the other day.