Interesting Info That Affects Your Derby Pick?

[letswastemoney]

Originally Posted by mclem0822

I have been thinking about a comment i believe Mike Welsh made on ATR about Ice Box. He said he was "all out" to beat Pleasant Prince in FL Derby. I went back and watched the race again, and the horse never changed lead's, could that have made it look like he was all out to win? Was in fact his close in that race alot better than it looked, because he didn't switch lead's? I hope i am making sense here? Lord knows Mike Welsh has forgotten more about watching a horse, than I will ever know.It just made me wonder if Ice Box's FL Derby may have been a better run, than it may be getting credit for?

Wouldn't you be concerned that the horse doesn't know how to switch leads then?

[joeydb]

Originally Posted by letswastemoney

Wouldn't you be concerned that the horse doesn't know how to switch leads then?

That's what I was going to say.

[mclem0822]

Originally Posted by letswastemoney

Wouldn't you be concerned that the horse doesn't know how to switch leads then?

Of course. I didn't say he was my choice, it was just something that i wondered about.

[dean smith]

I wish there were more info on what kind of personality each horse had. For instance, would a horse who's skittish psych himself out in front of 150,000 screaming fans, or would the commotion and added adrenaline cause a frightened prey animal to run even faster and further than he ever has before? Do you think a calmer horse does better in this environment or scenario than a hyper one? Or a smart horse vs. a dumb horse? These are animals with (supposedly) less intelligence than dogs. A dog runs and hides under the bed if he hears thunder. I refuse to believe a crowd that size, with all the pomp and fervor of the Derby, doesn't play into this race a great deal. Like when jockeys talk about hitting the final turn and running into the "wall of sound." Some human beings wilt under that type of excitement (and some rise up). What could possibly be going on inside a horse's head?

I'm not trying to be smart-assed at all. These are legitimate questions I have. They can come out with all the different figures and formulas they want, but I think that animal and/or horse psychology is the great unexplored territory in handicapping.