Bay Meadows race 1

[DerbyCat]

FYI... Russell Baze was suspended for 15 days and fined $2,500 for this incident.

p.s. Russell said he was sorry

[my miss storm cat]

From BH.....


'Contrite' Baze Accepts 15-Day Whip Penalty, Fine
by Jack Shinar


An apologetic Russell Baze was suspended for 15 days by Bay Meadows stewards and fined $2,500 Aug. 26 for misusing his whip as the result of a complaint arising from an incident at the Bay Area track last week.

"I’m not going to try to defend what I did," said the Hall of Fame rider. "There is no way to defend it. I made a bad decision in the heat of the moment, and I am truly sorry. I made a bad decision, and I’ll take the punishment that was handed to me.

"Hopefully this will not be the defining moment of my career," added the 49-year-old Baze, North America's all-time leading rider who is closing in on 10,000 lifetime victories. "Hopefully, I’ll be judged on the right decisions I’ve made in the past and on the right decisions I’ll make in the future. In this day and age of athletes and public figures making public apologies, it can begin to ring hollow. I want people to know that I am truly sorry. Nobody knows how contrite I am in my heart."

The suspension runs Sept. 2-16, accounting for 11 racing days on the Bay Meadows racing calendar.

Baze whipped the 4-year-old gelding Imperial Eyes, who was breaking down in the shadow of the finish line during the first race at Bay Meadows Aug. 23. Imperial Eyes, a 4-5 favorite in the $8,000 maiden claiming event at one mile, was leading by seven lengths mid-stretch before taking a bad step near the sixteenth pole. The horse changed leads and resumed running for the wire, and Baze admitted trying to get Imperial Eyes to finish by using his whip. Imperial Eyes was later euthanized after suffering a condylar fracture of the cannon bone in his left front leg. He finished second in the race.

The action came after stewards reviewed films of the incident during a 2 1/2-hour meeting Aug. 25 with Baze and his attorney, Brian Pitnick, also a Northern California trainer. They also heard from investigators for the California Horse Racing Board, assistant trainer Steve Sherman, who saddled Imperial Eyes, and Dr. William Grantham, the veterinarian who treated the injured horse.

Stewards withdrew two other CHRB-initiated complaints against Baze arising from the incident -- for cruelty to an animal and actions detrimental to horse racing.

Pitnick said he felt the misuse of whip allegation "was overblown, especially after Dr. Grantham, the vet in the case, made it clear (the whip use) was not a causal factor" in Imperial Eyes' demise. He said he felt stewards were under "strong public pressure" to assign responsibility for the incident, which drew national attention.

However, he said there was little likelihood of making an appeal to the courts.

"Russell is a stand-up guy in every sense of the word," Pitnick said. "I think he just wants to take his medicine and put this behind him."

[my miss storm cat]

The DRF version.....

Baze suspended and fined for whip violation
By CHUCK DYBDAL

SAN MATEO, Calif. – The Bay Meadows stewards suspended jockey Russell Baze 15 calendar days (Sept. 2-16) and fined him $2,500 on Sunday for misuse of the whip while aboard Imperial Eyes in the first race on Thursday. Baze whipped the horse twice after he broke down near the wire.

The stewards – Darrel McHargue, Dennis Nevin and Randy Winick – dismissed charges of conduct detrimental to racing and animal cruelty, which they brought against Baze at a Saturday hearing.

Baze will miss 11 days of racing at Bay Meadows.

Baze has 72 hours to appeal the ruling, but said he probably would not.

“I think it’s a fair decision,” said Baze, 49, a Hall of Famer and the all-time leader in wins by a jockey.

“I’m not going to try to make any excuses. I don’t think there’s any excuse. It was the heat of the moment in the shadow of the finish line when I made what turned out to be a bad decision. Suffice it to say, I made a bad decision, and I’ll take responsibility.

“He was off, but I never felt in danger of going down. I think it looked a lot worse on replay than it seemed during the race.”

McHargue said the stewards would have no immediate comment on the ruling.

Baze was aboard Imperial Eyes, the 3-5 favorite, who was leading by seven lengths in the stretch in an $8,000 maiden claimer Thursday. The 4-year-old gelding took a bad step inside the sixteenth pole, but seemed to re-gather himself and then switched leads. He broke down in his left front leg, just as Baze hit him with his whip and then hit him a second time.

Imperial Eyes was found to have a condylar fracture of the cannon bone. He was vanned to the receiving barn and then was returned to his stall, but he had to be euthanized later in the day.

Dr. William Grantham, the attending veterinarian for Art Sherman, trainer of Imperial Eyes, said that he could not say whether Baze’s whipping of the horse caused the injury or made it worse.

Sherman’s assistant and son, Steve, who saddled Imperial Eyes, said neither he nor his father faulted Baze’s ride.

Said Baze: “Hopefully, this will not be the defining moment of my career. There are no do-overs. Hopefully, I’ll be judged by the right decisions I’ve made in the past, and the right decisions I’ll make in the future.

“I am sorry if I caused the horse to suffer or, in any way, I caused a bad light to be cast on horse racing. I truly regret that. In this day and age of athletes and public figures making public apologies, it can begin to ring hollow. I want people to know that I am truly sorry. Nobody knows how contrite I feel in my heart.”

[ArlJim78]

this is what i wanted to hear, no excuses and full responsibility, when i watched the race its the only thing i could come up with was that it was just a split second bad decision and that if he is fair he will own up to it. i'm glad he is not appealing. I think its the right result.

“I’m not going to try to make any excuses. I don’t think there’s any excuse. It was the heat of the moment in the shadow of the finish line when I made what turned out to be a bad decision. Suffice it to say, I made a bad decision, and I’ll take responsibility.

“He was off, but I never felt in danger of going down. I think it looked a lot worse on replay than it seemed during the race.”

[NoChanceToDance]

I'm glad something was done.

[FGFan]

Seems to be a fair decision all the way around.
I believe Russel Baze in his apology and it's sincerity, things happen at that speed.
I never believed he intentionally did this just to win. A split second decision that went very wrong.

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

“I am sorry if I caused the horse to suffer or, in any way

No reason to go into if i think this is an appropriate punishment or not but to be fair, but this is the line i had hoped to see.

Poor horse.