Post one of this thread.
Thank you, @thumper1 ! And that’s not nearly the first time I’ve seen it since yesterday.
@garland @doschicos It was stated several times by the commentators after the race that this was the first DQ on the field immediately following the race for something that happened on the field. The other DQ 50 years ago was a medication issue or something, not a DQ for on the field behavior.
So, while not the first DQ, was the first of its kind.
Right. But that’s not what the post said, which is what I was referring to. And equally, hasn’t been presented that way in a lot of references I’ve seen.
I’ve read some criticism online from horsey people about the number of horses allowed to compete with the implication being that there used to be less. Yesterday there were 19 (one scratched) but I guess there used to be less. Does anyone know when that rule was changed and how many it used to be?
I think 3 scratched from yesterday’s derby (one was shortly before the race. The other two were earlier, including another one favored to win). Omaha Beach, Haikal and… someone help— I think there was one more.
Excellent and correct call. Maximum Security drifted to the outside forcing 3 other horses outward, thus affecting their ability to make a move. The Stewards should be commended for having the nerve to make the call to disqualify. 110% correct call IMO
The DQ previous to this happened a couple of days after the race (Tuesday) when test results were available. This is the first day of DQ.
First day of. First for an in-race infraction.
Second DQ.
Even on Twitter the Kentucky derby thread just called it the first, with no qualifications. 10 year old me begs to differ.
The announcers on TV clarified it at some point on Saturday, can’t remember exactly when in the wait/award process.
Just spoke to my equestrian daughter and she and her fellow horse friends all support the DQ. They are eventers but have an association with a lot of race horse people as they buy a lot of horses right off the track.
Thanks all. Has been an interesting read and I just heard on the news that there’s likely to be a court challenge, so that could make things interesting.
However for me, I’m finished with horse racing. I think it was a phase in life. I’ve seen some of you mention being huge fans as kids and that was me. I’d watch every race I could, etc, then go out and ride my ponies/horses pretending to be racing. My own competitive riding was hunters and gamers, but I had my own imaginary racing TB named, subscribed to The Blood Horse, etc.
I’ve watched every Derby since Secretariat - Secretariat’s Triple Crown is probably what fueled my love. I brought my kids up hoping for a Triple Crown and finally saw that accomplished (twice) this decade(!). However, over the years my interest has waned. I’ve been raising ponies the past 20+ years and I know what working them so young does to their bodies. I’ve worked with OTTB for years in my youth too, so I know not all get severely ruined, but way too many do. I also dislike the current trend to be all about money - retiring top 3 year olds rather than having them race longer to enjoy the sport (never liked that Man O War’s owner did it either).
It had already gotten down to just watching the Triple Crown and Breeder’s Cup and doing that more for tradition than anything else. This race has totally killed the love, but it’s really just the final straw I think. My streak went from Secretariat’s win to Maximum Security’s win and included many fond memories of great races.
Now to other phases in life for me. To those of you who still have the passion for racing, enjoy! In the future, may the best horse win! (Maximum Security will always be the 2019 winner for me. I still disagree with the call, esp having seen many other races where horses have swung wide, etc.)
I will admit one racing thing I still enjoy is watching The Grand National from England. I guess there’s something about watching the equivalent of the “X games” of horse sports. Of course there they aren’t running three year olds though admittedly the sport also takes a toll on some. (Youngest runner this year was 7 I believe. Most were older. Tiger Roll was 9 this year when he won it - 8 last year when he won it the first time.)
It’s like any big game with a controversial call. Some never accept/agree with it, and take their toys from the sandbox and go home. The injustice is too big to get over. That is usually the minority as evidenced by all the fans to the many sports out there. Others that are dedicated fans to the sport, the team, the player, the horse, whatever - get over it and move on, continuing to enjoy the sport they love. I don’t think this call will effect horse racing in the least. I do think it changed the results of a lot of bets.
Well, I’m definitely going to watch the Preakness. I’m sure Country House will be going barring some unforeseen injury or illness.
I’m not a big horse racing fan but I always watch the Triple Crown races. I was disappointed in the result because apart from the foul I thought Maximum Security ran by far the strongest race, leading wire to wire, and I don’t think any of the other horses were going to catch him—he was stretching his lead at the end, after all the other horses had a chance to recover their stride. But it was a foul, and under the rules that merits a DQ.
I have somewhat mixed feelings about the rule, however. I understand it’s for the protection of horses and jockeys. Here Maximum Security suddenly changed lanes, bumping and cutting off War of Will who had to pull up and move further outside which in turn pushed several other horses further outside and took them at least somewhat off their stride. It could have been catastrophic in that crowded field on a sloppy track with so many horse bunched up behind Maximum Security. One or more horses could have gone down; thank God that didn’t happen. But it didn’t appear to be intentional or careless on the jockey’s part. The horse just suddenly spooked and lurched to the right on his own. The jockey reacted quickly to get him under control and guide him back to the rail, but by then the damage was done. To my mind, though, the error was the horse’s, not the jockey’s—I just don’t see how the jockey could have anticipated or prevented that sudden response by the horse, a heavily muscled 1000 pound athlete with a mind of his own, and a three-year-old with not a lot of experience at that. If that’s the case, disqualifying the horse would seem to have no deterrent effect whatsoever. The horses surely don’t understand. The jockeys understand, but if I’m right that this type of horse error is something they can’t prevent, there’s no deterrent effect to prevent the same kind of foul from occurring again. I suppose a high-profile DQ like this might help deter intentional or careless fouls, and that’s to the good. And there are advantages to a blackletter rule that can be enforced without needing to inquire into the jockey’s state of mind. But in this case the rule seems overinclusive, and it punishes the jockey, the trainer, and the owners for something that would seem to be beyond their control.
In my book Country House will go down in the annals of Kentucky Derby winners with a giant asterisk as the only horse that placed in the Derby, only to win by default when the horse that ran the strongest race was DQed. A stellar performance in its own right, I suppose, but much less impressive than winning straight up as all the other winners have done.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/stunned-owner-maximum-security-vows-appeal-says-horse-won-t-n1002266. The owners of Maximum Security has already filed an appeal and will pull the horse from the preakness.
I am glad there was not some horrible collision on the track that caused horses to go down and possibly suffer untreatable injuries. I hate seeing the horses collide and fall and cause injury to the horses and jockeys. As sloppy as the track was and as hard as it had been raining, perhaps they should have delayed the race.
Someone told me today that after a day of races (not sure how many races are run in any one day) that up to 10 horses at a track are put down due to injuries. Is this true?
Per week, not per day, at least that’s what the New York Times said @jym626
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/29/sports/horse-deaths-kentucky-derby.html
Here is a quote from a recent article which indicates that 10 horses died per week on average at American racetracks in 2018.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/29/sports/horse-deaths-kentucky-derby.html
Maybe THIS was the info that she was told/passing along http://time.com/5582343/horse-deaths-kentucky-derby/
Because she was taking about the # of horses that were euthanized after a race every week.