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Racing Archive

The 99 Percent

Johnny Weir hadn’t even been born when the modern Kentucky Derby telecast was conceived. The challenges of 1982 look a lot like 2015:

Many were dubious at the time about the value of an extended telecast, but ABC stood fast. “There are very few sports that the American public follows so little, but becomes so interested in for one race,” host Jim McKay told the Dallas Morning News. “There’s a tremendous amount of familiarization to do on the day of the race. There’s the horse, the owner, the jockey, and the trainer, and it’s important to do as much as possible on who they are and where they came from.”

Sportscaster Howard Cosell summarized ABC’s production strategy a bit more bluntly to the Washington Post: “You have to be willing to alienate — or at least talk at a sophisticated level they’re not at all pleased with — the serious horseplayer,” he explained. “You can’t be concerned with them. You have to worry about the 99 percent who are watching just because it’s the Derby.”

It’s interesting how much the televised approach to the Derby has spilled over into year-round racing marketing (for example: America’s Best Racing).

Posted in Racing on May 28, 2015 / Tagged Kentucky Derby, Marketing, Telecasts, TV

Easy Work for Pharoah

Credit: Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography

American Pharoah breezed four furlongs in :48 flat at Churchill Downs on Tuesday morning, galloping out five furlongs in 1:00.40 and six furlongs in 1:13.20. Martin Garcia, who flew into Louisville along with trainer Bob Baffert for the work, could be heard shouting “Whoa” as he tried to pull up the Pioneerof the Nile colt on the backstretch. “I told Martin to just let him keep going,” said Baffert. “I really liked the way he went.” Here’s video of the work.

The trainer is happy with the dual-classic winner’s apparent energy level:

Baffert has brought three colts to this stage before, and he has said this is the point where one would usually start noticing any fatigue from the five-week Triple Crown grind.

Both Baffert’s body language and that of his Kentucky Derby and Preakness-winning charge Tuesday signaled that was not the case as American Pharoah cruised along under Garcia. The colt’s ears pricked the entire way around.

DRF clocker Mike Welsch gave the work a positive review (subscription only):

Even on the live feed provided by the track, it was clear to see American Pharoah looked every bit as good on Tuesday breezing over the Churchill Downs surface as he did in the final week leading up to his victory in the Kentucky Derby. With jockey Martin Garcia aboard, American Pharoah appeared a picture of health and was about as relaxed as could be as he made his way around to the half-mile pole alongside the pony …

American Pharoah just cruised through a steady series of 12-second eighth-mile splits before galloping out with a ton of energy around the turn. The gallop-out was perhaps the most impressive part …

American Pharoah is expected to work again on Sunday or Monday*, and then ship to New York on Tuesday for the Belmont Stakes. “We won’t do much with him up there,” said Baffert. “We’re just going to stay focused, keep the weight on him and keep him happy like the way he looks today.”

Dealing with the media at Belmont will be the trainer’s challenge next week: “I can’t go into Marshawn Lynch mode, but it’d be nice.”

It’s likely, if he wins the Triple Crown, that we’ll have seen the last of American Pharoah on track. His stud plans are set. Ed DeRosa breaks down the deal:

The deal started out at $8-million with another $7-million available if American Pharoah hit certain benchmarks like become champion two-year-old male and win certain races such as the Kentucky Derby. Presumably there are other incentives still in play such as win the Triple Crown, become champion three-year-old male, and earn Horse of the Year.

So, don’t fall in love.

And don’t get too excited if he’s on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Experts estimate Pharoah would be at the high end of the market with a Triple Crown win: “[H]e’s likely to command approximately $100,000 per live foal.”

*2:30 PM Addendum: I had to look this up — it turns out, American Pharoah will be the first Triple Crown contender to go into the Belmont Stakes gate with two works between the Preakness and the Belmont since Funny Cide in 2003. Both California Chrome in 2014 and Big Brown in 2008 had one work.

Posted in Racing on May 27, 2015 / Tagged American Pharoah

How Much Is too Much?

Pia Catton rounds up the current discussion regarding riding crop use in a piece for the Wall Street Journal that includes this tidbit from jockey Gary Stevens on how his use of the whip changed while riding abroad:

Scaling back takes attention, but it is doable, said Stevens, who raced in Europe during previous rules tweaks and found a more conservative style. “It didn’t change the outcome of the race,” he said. “I started getting better results.”

Her well-balanced story gets picked up by The Awl with the headline “What is the Appropriate Level of Violence Against Animals?” and tagged “Beatings – Horses.” Tweets one observer in response, “in horse racing, the answer is anything goes.” Ouch! That’s not the nuanced view of most in racing. Yet, while we can talk about padded crops making more noise than causing pain, when the limits for use — in the wake of a display such as the 30-odd strikes rider Victor Espinoza gave American Pharoah in winning the Kentucky Derby — seems to be welts or it’s no big deal, anything goes will be a common perception among the broader public, which is a problem, because social norms re: animal welfare and use for sport aren’t shifting in the game’s favor.

The Thoroughbred Daily News addressed the issue last week with essays from eight contributors — trainers and jockeys, fans and turf writers — covering just about every angle on the debate (the headline is polarizing; the respondents are thoughtful). Pull the Pocket distilled the essential points, including this one, relevant to Stevens’ quote:

We know best — I’ve heard “let the participants decide what to do, the jocks know best.” I think that opinion matters, but it should be taken with a huge grain of salt. If football players made up the rules, clotheslines and leading with a helmet would be legal and more and more players would be eating through a straw. Participants hate change because it means they have to change the way they have always done things. The culture, as Chris Mac notes in his piece, is very strong and these folks need to be listened to for their experience, but they need to be led, not appeased.

California’s revised whip rules, restricting a jockey to three strikes of the crop before pausing for response, go into effect on July 1. Officially, anything won’t go. What follows will be a test of setting and enforcing limits, for stewards as much as for jockeys. There’s potential for California to be a model.

Posted in Racing on May 26, 2015 / Tagged R360, Whip Use