Gulfstream Sat. Race 1

[the_fat_man]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

I also admit that I'm hypercritical of riders.

I don't think this is true. Anyone who watches races closely over a period of time, be it someone who has ridden, trained or otherwise, realizes what works and what doesn't work. Not only in terms of winning races and strategy but also in terms of abuse to the horse, and, flat out common sense. And, as the subtleties of the race riding part of the game reveal themselves, the small margin between winning and losing becomes apparent.

And it gets annoying, to say the least, when jockeys not only screw up repeatedly on the 'little' things but continually make glaring errors.

The game itself is incredibly behind the times. Other sports have coaches and support staffs that spend countless hours watching tape and planning strategy. Racing has a (more often than not clueless ---I write this confidently as these guys continue riding back jocks that blow races, costing them money) trainer giving instructions to an even more clueless jockey, while the jockey agent does everything BUT watch tape and offer advice as to how to improve. How can this model ever be successful or anything but frustrating?

I'm at the point these days where I just pass races in which I like a horse being ridden by a screwup jock, and, sure enough, the jock screws up. It's that obvious.

[blackthroatedwind]

I agree with a lot of that.

I am amazed at how little trainers seem to get it and often ride back riders who have screwed them over and over again. There's nothing like watching a trainer and rider walking back after a race and laughing....just moments after the rider has screwed him and his entire staff out of a much better performance from the horse. I see it all the time.

Many of these riders seem to have no game plan or awareness of the racetrack. They simply go where the horse takes them. This is why Dominguez can dominate the winter meet. Sure he gets choice mounts much of the time but he also rides intelligently for the most part....while his competition has their head up their collective ass.

As far as jockey agents helping riders....well, assuming they even understood, which is debateable, the riders for the most part would never listen to them. That's just another reason they continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. They have the " have you ever ridden a horse " attitude to the extreme and for the most part are loathe to listen to anything anyone tells them.

The riding colonies are often so poor these days that competence is confused for excellence.