A Sad Day For Racing

[DaTruth]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Your incredibly thin skin has led to, I don't know, three bannings in like six years?

I believe that RHT accounted for two of those three bannings.

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

It's probably your prodigious banning of posters that has gotten everybody this upset. Your incredibly thin skin has led to, I don't know, three bannings in like six years? You really need to take your finger off the trigger.

I'm DT's version of Texas.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by DaTruth

I believe that RHT accounted for two of those three bannings.

OK....we'll count that as a quarter.

[GPK]

Originally Posted by merasmag

r u still wearin
de baggy pants?

I think he sent Scuds all his old "outfits"

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by GPK

I think he sent Scuds all his old "outfits"

I had to. They made me look like you wearing stuff that wasn't bought in the kids section.

[Left Bank]

Originally Posted by nebrady

Congrats Zenyatta you deserve it! She might have loss to blame by a nose, but you socalled experts don't see what she did for horse racing in general. She was the one everyone came to see that breeders cup not blame! Sure he won but he only had 5 races all year! As much as you want to poo hoo her accomplishments, she had a great winning streak and was great for the industry! Good for you girl! Now stupid you banning someone for what they post are you kidding me! You ever look at what you call people. Trolls for example, you shouldn't be a moderator. A moderator is not suppose to be extreme. Look at some of your posts sometime. Your suppose to value everyones judgement and not be biased against the people who don't agree with you! Fair and impartial! I ask does that sound like ateamstupid? Comeon man!

Just when one goes away,a new contender emerges...

[notyep59]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

this is not the cause you want to take up.

Every post of his is exactly the same:

A.) I won this bet the other day.
B.) I'm an awesome gambler and have paid for my kids' college through gambling.
C.) If you don't believe me, you must be some pathetic sissy liberal elite.
D.) LISTEN TO ME, I'M GREAT AT GAMBLING YOU LEFT-WING CLOWNS!!
E.) What's a redboard?

Sorry, you have to bring something more than redboarding and starting political flame wars in The Paddock.

i promise, i was not taking up a cause here. i think people should be left on their own to either ignore or argue with the "fools" here. if i make a statement like, "i'm an awesome gambler, sexy and very handsome", you can choose to ignore or.....well, you can't really argue with that! bad choice for comparison. i also think about 83.6% of those on here just like arguing for arguings sake. let the guy boast and beat his chest. ignore him if you want, i find it amusing.

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by notyep59

i promise, i was not taking up a cause here. i think people should be left on their own to either ignore or argue with the "fools" here. if i make a statement like, "i'm an awesome gambler, sexy and very handsome", you can choose to ignore or.....well, you can't really argue with that! bad choice for comparison. i also think about 83.6% of those on here just like arguing for arguings sake. let the guy boast and beat his chest. ignore him if you want, i find it amusing.

And his constant unprovoked PoFlaWa nonsense? This ain't gonna become PA. He's a pot-stirrer and nothing more and I'm tired of it.

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

Seriously, who cares how many tracks someone has been to? What does it have to do with the discussion or the obvious error in the post? but he's right, Blame's year wasn't all that special. Neither was Zenyatta's if you look at the races, who she faced and what they ended up doing. There is no way someone can be honest and say Zenyatta faced better competition than Blame did in 2010. There is no way someone can say Zenyatta beat better competition than Blame did. It's just not possible. The only arguement we hear is she did more for the game. That's a chickenshit cop out. I have yet to see someone put forth an arguement that what Zenyatta did on track was better than Blame...because you can't.

I think awarding Zenyatta HOY sets a bad precedent. Her connections knew that by running in the campaign they chose, they needed to win the Classic in order to be deserving of HOY. She didn't. She ran well, but in a game where inches separates millions of dollars, she fell inches short, to a horse that had a better year on track than she did. i don't like seeing the sport turn into a popularity contest. It isn't American Idol. it's better than that and we should expect better than that. It's not about who has more fans on Facebook. It's about what you do on the track.

She didn't have to travel or beat males every race. But there were races in her backyard that she was eligible for, that would have tested her and they avoided them. The funny thing is I'm almost positive she would have won them. But they didn't try. They avoided top competition to protect a streak and were rewarded for it. Had she just ran in one of those races against males during the year, I would think she is deserving. but she didn't.

If people think that she had was deserving of HOY based on what she did on track this year, fine. But I urge you to go through the history of the award and tell me how her year stacks up with other winners. I'll save you the time....it doesn't stack up well. She was a fantastic horse. She was an amazingly consistent horse. Her run in the BC this year was exciting and made for a great race. But she didn't deserve HOY. The horse that beat her...that beat better, that faced better deserved the award.

I agree with a lot of what you said here, and yet I'm still glad Zenyatta got HOY. I don't feel it's either sad or terrible to take "body of work" into consideration. There's plenty to NOT like about Zenyatta's 2010 campaign. But, Zenyatta's connections DID bring her back and they DID run in the Apple Blossom, announcing it early enough for any mare in the country to challenge her. They DID run in the BC Classic, finishing a close enough second to take nearly everyone's breath away who watched the race.

If Blame had run more than 5 races, I might feel differently. But his campaign did not not blow me away.

All this lamenting the future meaning of the awards is an over-reaction, IMO. The award was given to a charismatic 19-1 mare with a 1st and a (close) 2nd in successive BC Classics, I don't think we will have to face a similar situation again in our lifetime.

--Dunbar

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

I agree with a lot of what you said here, and yet I'm still glad Zenyatta got HOY. I don't feel it's either sad or terrible to take "body of work" into consideration. There's plenty to NOT like about Zenyatta's 2010 campaign. But, Zenyatta's connections DID bring her back and they DID run in the Apple Blossom, announcing it early enough for any mare in the country to challenge her. They DID run in the BC Classic, finishing a close enough second to take nearly everyone's breath away who watched the race.

If Blame had run more than 5 races, I might feel differently. But his campaign did not not blow me away.

All this lamenting the future meaning of the awards is an over-reaction, IMO. The award was given to a charismatic 19-1 mare with a 1st and a (close) 2nd in successive BC Classics, I don't think we will have to face a similar situation again in our lifetime.

--Dunbar

I feel the same way, especially the highlighted part.

[AeWingnut]

https://www.bloodhorse.com/special-p...ampaign=ZenSet

[Left Bank]

Originally Posted by AeWingnut

https://www.bloodhorse.com/special-p...ampaign=ZenSet

May as well cash in now while all the 'New Fans" still remember her name.

[Handicappy]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

I agree with a lot of what you said here, and yet I'm still glad Zenyatta got HOY. I don't feel it's either sad or terrible to take "body of work" into consideration. There's plenty to NOT like about Zenyatta's 2010 campaign. But, Zenyatta's connections DID bring her back and they DID run in the Apple Blossom, announcing it early enough for any mare in the country to challenge her. They DID run in the BC Classic, finishing a close enough second to take nearly everyone's breath away who watched the race.

If Blame had run more than 5 races, I might feel differently. But his campaign did not not blow me away.

All this lamenting the future meaning of the awards is an over-reaction, IMO. The award was given to a charismatic 19-1 mare with a 1st and a (close) 2nd in successive BC Classics, I don't think we will have to face a similar situation again in our lifetime.

--Dunbar

Excellent balanced view. I hope that those that discredit Zenyatta have the opportunity to discuss their views with the Allan Jerkins', Bafferts etc. So many of the horseman who train and work with these athletes have been very open with their opinion on Zenyatta's greatness. We all have our opinions but ask those that are far more credible than most of the posters here. Some of the best minds in the sport are in the camp that she was deserving and was the best horse running last year.

[letswastemoney]

Originally Posted by Handicappy

Excellent balanced view. I hope that those that discredit Zenyatta have the opportunity to discuss their views with the Allan Jerkins', Bafferts etc. So many of the horseman who train and work with these athletes have been very open with their opinion on Zenyatta's greatness. We all have our opinions but ask those that are far more credible than most of the posters here. Some of the best minds in the sport are in the camp that she was deserving and was the best horse running last year.

Just because they're the best minds in the sport doesn't mean they are immune to mistakes.

Anyways, what is Baffert going to say? He probably walks by Shirreffs on a daily basis, he's not going to say anything that would make working around him uncomfortable. You wouldn't go into an office and start criticizing all your co workers.

[Dahoss]

Originally Posted by Handicappy

Excellent balanced view. I hope that those that discredit Zenyatta have the opportunity to discuss their views with the Allan Jerkins', Bafferts etc. So many of the horseman who train and work with these athletes have been very open with their opinion on Zenyatta's greatness. We all have our opinions but ask those that are far more credible than most of the posters here. Some of the best minds in the sport are in the camp that she was deserving and was the best horse running last year.

You might have a little bit of credibility if you spelled Allen Jerkens name right. Or if you weren't a babbling idiot.

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by Handicappy

We all have our opinions but ask those that are far more credible than most of the posters here.

Great post, Dunbar.


That last line especially... dead on.

Handicappy...

I'm sorry but what exactly makes their opinions more credible?

There are people here who have followed the sport, who have played for decades.

I would respectfully remind you to look at the spreadsheet thread and suggest that the opinions of many here are, at the very least, just as credible.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Handicappy

Excellent balanced view. I hope that those that discredit Zenyatta have the opportunity to discuss their views with the Allan Jerkins', Bafferts etc. So many of the horseman who train and work with these athletes have been very open with their opinion on Zenyatta's greatness. We all have our opinions but ask those that are far more credible than most of the posters here. Some of the best minds in the sport are in the camp that she was deserving and was the best horse running last year.

i'm not sure why you and others feel zenyatta is being 'discredited' by anyone. the fact is, that zenyatta has ZERO wins in 2010 in open company. blame's wins all occurred in open stakes company. that fact alone suggests that he had a tougher campaign. it's not a discredit, it's not opinion or conjecture. again, had she been any mare other than zenyatta, she'd have never garnered a vote, let alone win the thing. everyone knows why she won-and many disagree with giving horse of the YEAR to a horse who had to campaign three years to receive that award.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by my miss storm cat

Great post, Dunbar.


That last line especially... dead on.

Handicappy...

I'm sorry but what exactly makes their opinions more credible?

There are people here who have followed the sport, who have played for decades.

I would respectfully remind you to look at the spreadsheet thread and suggest that the opinions of many here are, at the very least, just as credible.

he agrees with them, they support his view, thus they are credible.

[Princess Doreen]

Originally Posted by letswastemoney

Just because they're the best minds in the sport doesn't mean they are immune to mistakes.

Anyways, what is Baffert going to say? He probably walks by Shirreffs on a daily basis, he's not going to say anything that would make working around him uncomfortable. You wouldn't go into an office and start criticizing all your co workers.

Really?!~

[King Glorious]

I'm not even sure that if anyone were to look at the pp's of the candidates, without having her name attatched to them, Zenyatta would have even been named champion older mare in 2010. Her "campaign" was that weak. Of course, you can't blame her for her competition when she runs in the races that are supposed to be the best ones but you can blame her connections for not even trying the toughest races available to them. Shirreffs himself said that he never really considered running her against the males this year in races in California because those races are tough. He seriously said that. Yet, his horse gets rewarded as HOY because he avoided tough races? We've previously had Cigar, Skip Away, and Curlin be named HOY after losing the Classic so this is not the first time. But in each of those cases, they had built up enough "credits" to get a pass for losing. Zenyatta didn't. They made a calculated decision to put all of their eggs in one basket for the title and they lost.

Seabiscuit should have been HOY because he brought millions in at the box office. On track results don't seem to matter anymore.