JC / Railbird

California

Whipping the Issue

Pull the Pocket on Victor Espinoza’s heavy hand in the Kentucky Derby:

I don’t know why we make things so difficult in horse racing: 32 is excessive by any measure. That’s against a rule, thus you penalize him. Next year, if you don’t want to see the same thing on national TV, you pass, or alter the rule beforehand and let the jocks know in the room that excessive use will result in a 14 day suspension. That would not allow the jock to ride in the Preakness. The jocks — who are professionals — will fall in line and your problem will be solved.

Except the people charged with keeping the rules don’t seem to see an issue with what happened. Although there are plans to review Espinoza’s whip use on American Pharoah, “clearly this is a discretionary issue,” chief steward Barbara Borden told Marty McGee (DRF paywalled, sorry). If there’s a point to press, it’s in the rule that a horse be given time to respond after being struck. As I said elsewhere, it didn’t look as though Pharoah got that.

Trainer Bob Baffert also downplayed how Espinoza used his riding crop on American Pharaoh, saying during the NTRA teleconference on Tuesday:

“I never noticed it during the race, and then … I read something yesterday. I went back and looked at it. The horse — first of all, the whips they use now, they’re so light … and he was just keeping him busy, because … the horse was not responding when he turned for home … he just was keeping him busy, and he was flogging him and hitting him, but he hits him on the saddle towel. He doesn’t really hit that hard, so he was just keeping him busy.”

It’s “flogging,” but it’s not a problem. And for the most part, watching most races, I agree, especially about allowing riders discretion — jockeys say the crop is required for safety and control, and because they’re the people putting their mobility and lives on the line in each race, theirs is the perspective that most matters. The crop also has a place in encouraging a horse. But neither control nor encouragement get in the way of articulating and enforcing limits.

Related to whipping not being a problem (in a slightly different way), here’s a quick post Dana Byerly put together last fall when Santa Anita was considering a change to its whip use rule (the new rule, which restricts riders to three consecutive strikes before they must pause, passed statewide in November).

6:45 PM Addendum: Santa Anita stewards have fined Espinoza $300 for a whip violation. He broke the skin of Stellar Wind in the Santa Anita Oaks on April 4, as reported by the state veterinarian in the test barn post-race. Trainer John Sadler tells the Blood-Horse, though, “This is the first I’ve heard of it and I don’t remember noticing any marks on the horse then.”

Posted in Racing on May 8, 2015 / Tagged American Pharoah, California, Kentucky, Kentucky Derby, R360, Santa Anita, Stewards, Victor Espinoza, Whip Use

That’s a Wrap

Woodmans Luck runs down Depreciable in the stretch to win the last ever race at Hollywood (PDF). Farewell, beautiful track, and thanks for all the memories.

Watch the replay and the final winner’s circle presentation:

And raise a glass for one last toast:

To winning wagers on Willie Shoemaker, getting carried away in the seats where Cary Grant was granted access, and to those two flamingos left floating around on the infield lake that don’t want to leave.

More from Hollywood’s closing day: About the flamingos who evaded capture, “We have to give them a little bit of time to forget about it” … in the paddock for the penultimate race … riding Swaps … a full lot … crowd jams grandstand and Mel Brooks grouses, “There are 100,000 people that have never been here, and they’re using up the tellers” … and then they pried bits and pieces of memorabilia from every corner, reports Ed Zieralski: “In the end, fans took everything they could. One guy was hauled out by the Inglewood police for looting” … get your own piece of Hollywood when the track holds an auction on January 24-25 … saying goodbye and savoring memories … paying tribute … Vladimir Cerin, the last trainer to stand in the winner’s circle, would have shared that distinction: “I almost would have taken a four-horse dead heat there and let everyone have a piece of the last race.”

Posted in Racing on December 22, 2013 / Tagged California, Depreciable, Hollywood Park, Last Race, Last Winner, Woodmans Luck

Shocking

Ray Paulick continues digging into the sudden deaths of 36 California racehorses from July 1, 2011 to March 31, 2013, and finds that:

… one trainer with 2.5% of the horses and 1.5% of the total starts has had 19.4% of the sudden deaths over a 21-month period.

That trainer has hired a public relations and crisis management firm to handle the attention his startling numbers have aroused. They’ve been tweeting.

6/21/13 Addendum: The CHRB has issued a statement on the ongoing investigation into the sudden deaths (PDF). “The pathology and toxicology work has been completed … with no indication of foul play. This aspect of the review is believed to have been as thorough of an examination as has ever been done anywhere in the world with such cases.”

Posted in Racing on June 20, 2013 / Tagged Bob Baffert, California, CHRB, Equine Health, Stats, Sudden Death