And now he’s in the Hall of Fame.
There was some grumbling on Twitter about 2006 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner and Horse of the Year Invasor, with his career record of 11 wins from 12 starts, being among this year’s inductees into the Racing Hall of Fame — “No offense to Invasor, who was very good in several races,” tweeted Marcus Hersh, “but if he’s a Hall of Famer, I kind of fail to see the point of the HOF” — but this Invasor fan heartily approves that the world-traveling, world-beating Argentine-bred will be enshrined in Saratoga. Nine of his wins were in Group 1/Grade 1 races, spread across three continents. That’s exceptional.
Back in 2007, Hall of Fame voter Bill Finley wrote, “When the time comes, I will have a hard time voting for horses like Invasor …” Earlier this year, writing of his ballot, his position seemed less conflicted: “Invasor’s career was a brief one but he was the dominant horse of the middle half of the last decade.” Finley was obviously not alone in his evolution — that Invasor was a first-ballot Hall of Fame pick suggests that as careers have grown shorter, more guardians of the game’s history have begun to rethink what makes a horse plaque worthy.
Posted by JC in Racing on 04/27/2013 @ 12:18 pm / Tagged Breeders' Cup, Career Records, Favorites, Hall of Fame, Horse of the Year, Invasor / Follow @railbird on Twitter
Trainer Mahmood al Zarooni’s swift downfall may reverberate beyond Britain:
“We will certainly be using this case as an opportunity to put the consistent use of drugs internationally back on the agenda of the IFHA.”
Pull the Pocket is already contrasting the resolve of the British Horseracing Authority and Godolphin to get to the bottom of what was going on at Moulton Paddocks under Zarooni with the California Horse Racing Board’s response to unexplained sudden cardiac death in racehorses.
More on the Zarooni case collected here.
4/28/13 Addendum: Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, reacting to the Godolphin scandal, also calls for the IFHA to consider a worldwide ban on steroid use. Anabolic steroids are still legal in Australia and some other jurisdictions, a fact taking on more prominence with horses such as Black Caviar’s stakes-winning half-brother All Too Hard expected to ship to Britain for the Royal Ascot meeting in June. “After this past week’s events,” writes Sue Montgomery, “his presence may be an uncomfortable reminder that the drugs playing field for horses is not level worldwide.”
Posted by JC in Racing on 04/26/2013 @ 10:54 am / Tagged Australia, BHA, Britain, Drugs in Racing, Godolphin, IFHA, International / Follow @railbird on Twitter
First, understand the race, then understand chance:
No. 5, Toro has learned the hard way the immutable, unmerciful truth of superfecta betting:
Only good horses reliably finish first or second, and only decent ones usually run third. But any half-wit critter with a post and a pulse can finish fourth.
This is why I rarely play the super, even for a dime.
Posted by JC in Racing on 04/25/2013 @ 8:11 am / Tagged Betting, Exotics, Kentucky Derby, Strategy, Superfectas, Wagering / Follow @railbird on Twitter
