Horse Racing: BELMONT dates move to AQUEDUCT; SARATOGA opens July 11

[bluesfan94]

As it turns out Max didnt get completely DQd. He got bumped to 17th which is apparently where Toddy finished. So the penalty to Max was based on the horse he impeded most by virtue of the ultimate finish. That leaves CH as the winner, because you cant bump him down or place someone else who was uninvolved ahead of him.

Trust me, I get why. I’m saying it’s dumb. To continue my analogy, it would be like San Jose beating Colorado, then Colorado objecting that San Jose only made the second round because of a bad penalty call, and then the nhl deciding that Colorado gets to go on. It just doesn’t make sense

 

[Vasilevskiy]

In overseas racing, 2000 UK Guineas was won by Magna Grecia on a farce of a race.

 

[GKJ]

I figured they showed this angle during the broadcast, maybe they didn't. I had people keep asking me questions while it was going on so I had trouble paying enough attention to the broadcast. I don't recall seeing the drifting out of the 7 being so pronounced. Not as sure you can blame that on the horse being spooked by the crowd, the jockeys know who is coming.

 

[YEM]

frankly I see a bit of a combo there; MaxS is moving out but also looks like he's losing traction/slipping
you also see War of Will cutting out 3 lanes before the impeding that decided the race, if that doesn't happen, the rest of the dominos don't fall...

 

[PredsV82]

Reading today says Court on Toddy also asked for inquiry and his horse was definitely interfered with. So all this "Country House had no business requesting an inquiry" is moot.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

#1 and #18 lost all chance to win because of the (roughly) 4 path drift out of #7. Given the speed favoring nature of the track on Saturday, the interruption to their progress unfairly eliminated them from the race. Had their momentum not been stopped, a legitimate case can be made that either of the two most impacted horses would have won the race. At the very least, the incident cost each horse final position in the race. The winner (#20) was not impacted enough to have supported a DQ, imo.

It was such a monumentally hard call to make for the stewards. I can only imagine the difficulty with which each made his decision. The 2014 Breeders Cup Classic Champion Bayern wasn't disqualified despite having committed an infraction which would have been DQ worthy in a lesser race and, as best as I can recall, on par with what happened yesterday. There's not a doubt in my mind that Maximum Security gets DQ'd if it would have been the third race on the card yesterday at Churchill Downs. Should there be a higher threshold for a DQ in a major race? I think so. Not only does a DQ cast a shadow over the winner, but it does upon this struggling sport as well. The Derby and Breeders Cup are the only days with much public attention anymore. Disqualifications risk reducing the present level of support.

Another factor is that the Derby has a 20 horse field. Incidents are almost always going to occur that would warrant DQs in lesser races with smaller fields. A 20 horse field is a cluster blank and if the exact same standards are held to these races as those with fields much smaller, DQs would become a fairly usual situation which would not do the sport and the public much good. Clearly a higher standard for DQ must be in place for these races. Was that standard met yesterday? I don't know. Had I been a decision maker (steward) on this infraction, it would have been a brutally difficulty call for me. I honestly don't know what I would have done. The fact that the interference was not imo a result of negligence on the part of Jockey Luis Saez would have me leaning against the DQ, but as I've posted, I still don't know what I would have done.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

KENTUCKY DERBY LEFTOVERS:

• The day after the storm: Opinions varied on the matter of the DQ and both sides were vocal. A former jockey told me succinctly he believes it was a bad call. That could very well be prior to all video evidence was offered. But others whom I spoke had various feelings and some without the dog in the fight.
  
• TV ratings: The 10.9 rating matched 1992 as the highest for the Kentucky Derby since Unbridled's win in 1990.
• Master Fencer, the Japanese bred, finished the race exceptionally. I did not know what to expect from him but he wad willing.

TOP METERED MARKETS FOR 2019 KENTUCKY DERBY (Race Portion)

1.	Louisville	39.5/69
2.	Cincinnati	20.3/38
3.	Ft. Myers	19.4/37
4.	Indianapolis	18.6/34
5.	Knoxville	17.9/30
T6.	Dayton	17.6/33
T6.	Buffalo	17.6/32
8.	West Palm Beach	17.1/31
9.	Tampa	16.5/32
10.	Columbus	16.2/31
11.	Providence	15.7/29
12.	Boston	15.4/33
13.	Cleveland	14.9/30
14.	Orlando	14.8/31
15.	Baltimore	14.3/30
16.	Hartford	13.4/26
17.	New Orleans	13.1/23
18.	Pittsburgh	13.0/27
T19.	Greenville	12.7/21
T19.	Milwaukee	12.7/27

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

May 5, 2019

Belmont (New York):

• Race 8: Come Dancing (Manny Franco/Carlos Martin) won the $250,000 Grade 2 Ruffian Stakes named in honor of Ruffian who, I believe with Timely Writer, is one of two horses buried at Belmont. The $.10 superfecta returned a woeful $.91 but the field had just five runners and a 1-to-5 shot topped the ticket.
• Card and weather: More ugly weather. Eight horses were scratched from both the fifth and sixth due to races being removed from turf.

Laurel (Maryland):

• Race 5: A horse that pays $22.40 over the runner up who pays $27.60 should result in an exacta much larger than $86.60 especially when the 1-to-9 favorite misses the board; however, the field was reduced to four after six scratches. The winner went off at 10-to-1 and the runner up at 6-to-1. There was no show wagering. Just an odd-looking set of results but the reasons are justified.
• Closing day: That is the end of the meet. Pimlico's brief meet opens this week which of course includes the Preakness Stakes on May 18. Laurel reopens on May 31 and ends on August 18. Timonium's brief meet runs August 23 until September 2. Back to Laurel for the rest of the calendar year and into 2020.
• Weather: A sloppy day which necessitated the five scheduled turf races to be removed. Laurel has, on an otherwise normal day, what appears to be a plush turf course. That may be handy if they try to woo the Breeders' Cup people down the line.
• Leading rider: Trevor McCarthy easily won the meet with 22 wins. Michael Trombetta won the trainer's title with 12 wins.

Belterra (Ohio):

• Favorites won all eight races.
• John McKee, who recently won for the 2,000th time, won three times and finished 5 3-1-1. He has hit the board with 13 of his past 15 starters.

Tampa Bay (Florida):

• Cancellation: The card was canceled due to torrential rains following the first race.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Race 7: A long photo review eventually determined a winner. CCR fans rejoice as Sweet Hitch Hiker (Jairo Rendon/Lilli Kurtinecz) was the victor.

Emerald Downs (Washington):

• Franklin Ceballos was a perfect 3 3-0-0.
• Rocco Bowen, who has won the last three meets, has been sidelined since September with a shoulder injury.

Santa Anita (California):

• Handle: The track brought in about $8.5 million.
• Race 6: Madman (Rafael Bejarano/Richard Baltas), another Violence baby who was out for the first time, walloped a shortened field by 7 lengths. LNJ Foxwoods (the Roth Family who made a fortune in eyewear) own the gelding. Arcaro (Drayden Van Dyke/Bob Baffert), who was sired by the remarkable Tapit and is owned by Godolphin, was sent off at 4-to-5 and finished third. I suppose both will be heard from again. Presumably, that horse is named after Hall of Famer Eddie Arcaro. This is the only clip I found on YouTube:

​

-------------
Winningest jockey and trainer in 2019 through May 5:

Irad Ortiz, Jr. leads with 136. Five jockeys have 100+ wins.
Karl Broberg (156) and Steve Asmussen (148) are the two trainers with 100+ wins.​

 

[DaaaaB's]

Trust me, I get why. I’m saying it’s dumb. To continue my analogy, it would be like San Jose beating Colorado, then Colorado objecting that San Jose only made the second round because of a bad penalty call, and then the nhl deciding that Colorado gets to go on. It just doesn’t make sense

Whether the illegal move affected CH or not is irrelevant as Max Sec deserved to be disqualified and like any other racing event in the world, the winner getting disqualified means 2nd place becomes the winner.

 

[bluesfan94]

Whether the illegal move affected CH or not is irrelevant as Max Sec deserved to be disqualified and like any other racing event in the world, the winner getting disqualified means 2nd place becomes the winner.

Trust me, I understand it. I just think it feels wrong.

 

[John Price]

I need to rewatch the film but I was shocked they disqualified him. Again I need to watch the Youtube, but I was in a bar in Baltimore at the time watching the Derby and after it ended I went straight across the street to the Orioles game so I did not see the dq. When I opened my app at the game a few hours later I was stunned!

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

I need to rewatch the film but I was shocked they disqualified him. Again I need to watch the Youtube, but I was in a bar in Baltimore at the time watching the Derby and after it ended I went straight across the street to the Orioles game so I did not see the dq. When I opened my app at the game a few hours later I was stunned!

Opinions are varying but that is not unexpected. Even insiders I know have different interpretations but again, what angle they saw and didn't see could affect their output. Strict interpretations of the rule with the human element could ascertain an opinion. Does a field size of 19 on a national stage alter one's view compared to if it was the fifth race at a secondary track midweek in a field of five? If I read correctly, vet riders Richard Migliore and Gary Stevens -- to name two -- had different opinions; again, that could have been based on lesser info than what has been provided. Todd Pletcher and others opined.

I have mentioned for more than a year that I think Luis Saez -- even at his young age -- is one of the top ten riders in the country and recently I advanced him. He has talent unlimited but even a skilled rider can get in trouble though this seems more about the horse than the jockey. Tyler Gaffalione should be commended too. Two riders who may be inducted to the Hall of Fame some day. Mike Smith has screwed up his share of rides and he may be the best big money rider of all-time. Goes without say but I know people who gained financially because of the outcome but more so who lost due to the expectations of Maximum Security as a front-runner who could not be caught if he ran his race. More importantly, and it may be part of the human element, no one or horse was injured and that concern of injury could have been part of the decision making process.

 

[John Price]

So without prior knowledge of the controversy I just rewatched it and you could see as they came down the stretch he starts impeding that other horse

Have no problem with the decision to disqualify

 

[YEM]

So without prior knowledge of the controversy I just rewatched it and you could see as they came down the stretch he starts impeding that other horse

Have no problem with the decision to disqualify

I’ve reviewed the race several times-and have concluded that (technically) three horses could have been called for fouls; #1 War of Will (leaves his lane moving at least two spots over around the final turn, impeding others before he was “impeded”), #20 Country House (clearly leaves his lane and certainly impedes Bodexpress as they reach the final turn), and what occurred with #7 Maximum Security.

I have always understood-especially following the baffling coverage of Bayern not being DQ'ed in the Classic in '14, that there's a higher threshold for a DQ in such a huge spot.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Here's a replay of the 2014 BC Classic with Bayern. Ironically Bayern wore the #7 that day! The head on view of the race can be seen at the 6 minute mark.

It was interesting for me to watch the race. I didn't listen to any of the commentary before making my decision on what I would have done. Which I'm not saying for the moment

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Another view to consider is that of Jose Ortiz who was caught in the potential maelstrom and finished fourth for Bill Mott the eventual winning trainer. Prize money is awarded to the top five finishers based on order so he did possibly have that of interest. But he convinced Mott that there was a violation by Luis Saez's mount.

Tyler Gaffalione did not lodge an objection because his ultimate finish prevented any financial increase to his owner and trainer though he felt he would have finished top three had he not been bumped (he could not be elevated more than one spot, per rules). He said he never spoke to stewards but thought he would be contacted. In similar instances, in different jurisdictions, he had been asked for assistance. Gaffalione is a hero today in my eyes and others for righting his horse from possible devastation.

Bob Baffert is quoted on Paulick Report (Spo. Ill. link) as saying "Take your ass kickings with dignity" when asked about the DQ. He is vehemently opposed to the DQ mainly because it is the Derby. However, Todd Pletcher agreed with the call. Those are two of the best trainers of all-time.

 

[YEM]

I didn't listen to any of the commentary before making my decision on what I would have done. Which I'm not saying for the moment

the rules: he should have been DQ'ed
personally: let it stand [UK/rest of world rules]

would have decided the same as above for the Derby

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

AFLEET ALEX 2005
We'll be taking looks at some past Preakness Stakes over the next two weeks. One of my favorite racing memories of all-time ended with Tom Durkin's classic line "He's not anxious now, he is eu-phor-ic!" Ramon Dominguez always had the rep of being a classy gentleman and his mid-race reaction to the clipped heels as he looked over his shoulder with concern. But Jeremy Rose stifled his world of critics in this race and made some very happy handicappers that day.

Afleet Alex may have been the spunkiest big-race horse I have seen since Affirmed.

​

SUNDAY SILENCE 1989
Another great moment in Preakness Stakes history. 1989. One of the sport's best rivalries of all-time. Sunday Silence vs. Easy Goer. East coast vs. West coast. Affirmed vs. Alydar for the 80s.

"Photo finish. Noses apart. I can't tell," Dave Johnson.

 

[Taro Tsujimoto]

Country House out of the Preakness due to a suspected illness:



Now that's karma if you ask me, after everything that happened on Saturday. And that's not just about Country House. It's about those associated with him, as well as horse racing as a whole.

Also, R.I.P. the Preakness' ratings. No one's going to watch with no Triple Crown bid in play.

 

[Preds Partisan]

NBC will take a beating the next two legs...and then make an absolute killing next May.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

PREAKNESS STAKES
The May 18, 2019 Preakness at Pimlico (Maryland) is the second leg of the Triple Crown. The field is in the midst of being determined but as of now a list of 10 who could be entered is below.

• Country House will not run due to an illness.
• Code of Honor, third in the Kentucky Derby, could run next on July 6 in the Dwyer at Belmont (NY).
• Maximum Security will head to New Jersey and could run next on July 20 in the Haskell at Monmouth.
• Pimlico vs. Laurel: This could be the second-to-last Preakness Stakes held at Pimlico. The goal by the Stronach Group is to switch venues to Laurel starting in 2021. They own both facilities but the city officials in Baltimore want to keep it at home rather than have it moved to the suburban venue. Pimlico holds about 50,000 more people with the infield party presence, something that won't happen at Laurel. My guess is the added revenue would be made by increasing admission prices and whatever else if a switch to Laurel was agreed. This will in all likelihood be a major topic on the NBC broadcast.

Confirmed jockeys are in blue. Rider assignments and commitments at other tracks that day could alter the list below.

[TABLE="class: brtb_item_table"][TBODY][TR][TD]HORSE[/TD][TD]JOCKEY[/TD][TD]TRAINER[/TD][TD]PEDIGREE[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]IMPROBABLE[/TD][TD]Mike Smith [/TD][TD]Bob Baffert[/TD][TD] City Zip-Rare Event, by A.P. Indy[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]BODEXPRESS[/TD][TD]Unknown[/TD][TD]Gustavo Delgado[/TD][TD]Bodemeister-Pied a Terre, by City Zip[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]WAR OF WILL[/TD][TD]Tyler Gaffalione[/TD][TD]Mark Casse[/TD][TD]War Front-Visions of Clarity, by Sadler’s Wells[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]ANOTHERTWISTAFATE[/TD][TD]Jose Ortiz[/TD][TD]Blaine Wright[/TD][TD]Scat Daddy-Imprecation, by First Defence[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]ALWAYSMINING[/TD][TD]Daniel Centeno[/TD][TD]Kelly Rubley[/TD][TD]Stay Thirsty-What Will Be, by Anees[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]LAUGHING FOX[/TD][TD]Ricardo Santana, Jr.[/TD][TD]Steve Asmussen[/TD][TD]Union Rags-Saskawea, by Stormy Atlantic[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]SIGNALMAN[/TD][TD]Brian Hernandez, Jr.[/TD][TD]Ken McPeek[/TD][TD]General Quarters-Trip South, by Trippi[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]BOURBON WAR[/TD][TD]Irad Ortiz, Jr.[/TD][TD]Mark Hennig[/TD][TD]Tapit-My Conquestadory, by Artie Schiller[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]OWENDALE[/TD][TD]Florent Geroux[/TD][TD]Brad Cox[/TD][TD]Into Mischief-Aspen Light, by Bernardini[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]WIN WIN WIN[/TD][TD]Julian Pimentel[/TD][TD]Michael Trombetta[/TD][TD]Hat Trick-Miss Smarty Pants by Smarty Jones[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]WARRIOR'S CHARGE[/TD][TD]Javier Castellano[/TD][TD]Brad Cox[/TD][TD]Medaglia d'Oro-For All You Do by Seeking the Gold[/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]
Source: Brisnet and DRF

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Lol they're booing the trophy ceremony


It's stupid that you can object if you weren't impacted.

Reviewing some comments, I reflected to the 1980 Woodward at Belmont in which Spectacular Bid won in a walkover in a race that unknowingly at the time was his finale. Boos were in evidence because no one wanted to challenge Bid.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

MAN o' WAR STAKES

What: Grade I. A solid collection of international turf talent.
Where: Belmont Park, Elmont, New York
When: Saturday, May 11, 2019, Race 10
Post time: 6:24 pm Eastern Time
Who: 4-year-olds and up
Distance: 1 3/8 miles
Surface: Inner Turf
Purse: $700,000
Television: MSG+ - 4:00-7:30 pm ET; additional coverage on TVG
History: Inaugurated in 1959 for the horse some believe to be the greatest of all-time. His lifetime record was 21 20-1-0. His only loss was in his seventh start to an opponent named Upset. The race has been won by non-US breds the most recent three years.​

[TR][TH]PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Hunting Horn (IRE)	Michael Hussey	119	Aidan P. O'Brien	-
2	Zulu Alpha (KY)	Javier Castellano	121	Michael J. Maker	-
3	Village King (ARG)	John R. Velazquez	116	Todd A. Pletcher	-
4	Arklow (KY)	Florent Geroux	119	Brad H. Cox	-
5	Magic Wand (IRE)	Wayne Lordan	116	Aidan P. O'Brien	-
6	Focus Group (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	121	Chad C. Brown	-
7	Epical (KY)	Tyler Baze	121	James M. Cassidy	-
8	Channel Maker (ON)	Joel Rosario	124	William I. Mott	-
9	Kulin Rock (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	116	Michael J. Maker	-

[TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY][/TH][/TR][/TBODY]

 

[GKJ]

Reviewing some comments, I reflected to the 1980 Woodward at Belmont in which Spectacular Bid won in a walkover in a race that unknowingly at the time was his finale. Boos were in evidence because no one wanted to challenge Bid.

Every time this comes up I still find it such a bizarre scene to see one horse essentially still run a race, especially at the start. Too bad that was the last time he ran.

What was the further story behind this? Did Winter's Tale get hurt just ahead of the race and was the only one who was set to challenge him? Was the Bid supposed to run the JCGC regardless of whether or not this was a walkover?

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Every time this comes up I still find it such a bizarre scene to see one horse essentially still run a race, especially at the start. Too bad that was the last time he ran.

What was the further story behind this? Did Winter's Tale get hurt just ahead of the race and was the only one who was set to challenge him? Was the Bid supposed to run the JCGC regardless of whether or not this was a walkover?

The Woodward was supposed to be a field of four. Winter's Tale was scratched a day or two prior due to injury. The day of the race, the other two opponents, Temperence Hill and Dr. Patches, were both scratched in essence due to the total of entries.

In order to collect purse money, Bid had to go through the formalities of a walkover and cross the wire. But the connections only got half the initial prize which was something like $75k (what they received). Again, hazy memory, but I believe the rules for a stakes race at the time (maybe universal or just New York) was that a minimum of four had to be entered.

He was supposed to run in the JCGC but was retired the day of the race due to an ankle injury which had plagued him supposedly earlier in his career. IIRC, the plan was that if he exited that race in good health, he could finish his career at the Meadowlands Cup (at last check called the Monmouth Cup) later that year at the Meadowlands though some also believe the race at Belmont would have been the finale.

The crowd booed because betting was removed from the walkover and they saw what was basically an exhibition.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

May 9, 2019

Belmont (New York):

• Race 1: Luis Saez snapped a 16-race losing streak. That includes the Kentucky Derby DQ.
• Race 7: There was a rare 3X entered. In a field of nine, numbers included 1, 1A, 2, 2B, 3 and 3X.
• Race 9: In the finale, the longest shot won at 59-to-1 and paid $121.50. The $.50 Pick 5 paid $37,000+.
• Jose Lezcano won three times with four mounts. He leads the meet with 13 wins (42%/74%).
• Joe Bravo is 15 5-2-1 (33%/53%) at the meet. That is one outstanding recovery after a poor start to 2019.
• Brad Cox has trained five winners with six starters at the meet. His worst finish was a second place.

Pimlico (Maryland):

• Opening day: The meet opened.
• Trevor McCarthy, the leading rider at the recently concluded Laurel meet, won three times.
• Angel Cruz won with both his mounts.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Carryover: The Rainbow Six will begin around $900,000.
• Race 1: The roulette pool had a total of $17. Yikes. That is the lowest I have seen.
• Edgard Zayas and Miguel Vasquez each won three times.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• David Cohen, who was suspended 60 days during the recently concluded Oaklawn meet in which he was the leading rider, rode tonight. He must have appealed but I do not know if any result has been issued. The suspension was supposed to begin April 27 but that didn't occur.
• Corey Lanerie and James Graham won consecutive races and each had seven victories at the meet. Ricardo Santana, Jr's total of nine is best.