Belmont Fractions

[Riot]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

I have a problem with it. I don't care what the situation is. In almost all cases a move like this just doesn't work. There's always at least one horse that catches a break and gets a breather, not running when the others are, and is able to come on and last move those than ran before it. Happens daily in races all over the country, on all the different surfaces. You run too soon, you run out of gas sooner. Try this sometime. Get out there on a bike or in running shoes. One you experience it first hand, you'll finally understand.

It's not a failure to understand anything. It's an instantaneous choice the jock has to make, strangle or fight the horse to restrain him (and use up energy) or try and finesse the eagerness a bit and let the horse roll on. I don't see Borel asking the horse, I see him sitting quiet as a mouse. I don't see where the horse could have been helped by cover, either. The problem started when the horse came out of the first turn.