Saratoga 5th - No DQ?

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Yes - you prefer consistency ... although if the winner does that - and the horse it fouls is beaten a head for 3rd place .. it's a DQ because it cost a horse a placing...and than you feel the pain of the bettor who played the best horse at 8/1 - or the owner who paid 2K a month in training bills and gets placed 4th with the best horse.

If the incident has no impact at all on the outcome in any way shape or form ... don't change it and fine the jockey and give him days.

$2k a month in training bills? It's more like $3.5k-$4k a month at the big tracks when you include the vet bills. Most guys charge $85-$90 a day. The top guys charge $105-$110 a day. At $90 a day, it costs you $2,700 a month not including the vet bill. The vet bill wil be at least $800 a month. So you're usually looking at a minimum of around $3,500 a month at the big tracks.

With regard to the race in question, I didn't see it and I'm too lazy to watch it right now. But in general, I agree with you. I am more of a proponent of fining the jock and giving him days rather than disqualifying the horse in most cases similar to this.