I can argue today\'s DQ either way, but please, please, PLEASE don\'t tell me that\'s an easy, quick, automatic DQ at any track in America in a $5000 claiming race.
Absent a jockey going down you NEVER know what the stewards are going to do.
NEVER.
NEVER.
NEVER.
NEVER.
NEVER.
Sorry, but that was one of the more obvious DQs I\'ve seen this year. It shouldn\'t have taken two minutes. It was a miracle there wasn\'t a wipeout.
Are you telling me you haven\'t seen DQs obvious to you but not to two-out-of-three stewards? And vice versa?
Are you serious?
One bad call doesn’t justify another. The stewards did their job today, albeit with a nudge from Flavian Prat. If only they were always this scrupulous.
Here\'s the problem I have with the DQ. There are 144 years of history where many horses have been interfered with and lost all chance at various points of the race. It was like there was an unwritten rule that no matter what happens you don\'t take one of the top finishers and especially the winner down. I can think of a few horses over the years who got bounced around all over the place and nobody ever considered taking action against any of the horses who bothered those other horses. It\'s a much bigger field than just about every other race in the USA. It\'s a much bigger crowd with more crowd noise than most other races. In the past I thought the stewards understood how unique this race is and gave more benefit of the doubt than in a normal race with a normal sized field of 14 or fewer horses and a normal crowd (like a crowd on a weekday at Belmont that couldn\'t make enough noise to wake a sleeping man).
Now the public is on notice that the stewards will be looking at the rodeo & are willing to take the best horse down for something they didn\'t do for the past 144 years. Seriously, it makes me less inclined to bet future Derbies to the extent I usually do for fear that if my horse touches another horse at any point of the race & wins, I may end up getting DQd.
Show me another example of a Derby horse sharply moving 3 lanes wide and stopping multiple horses, and that horse not getting taken down.
This DQ wasn\'t normal bumping and jostling that happens in every race. Some are pretending that this happens in every race. It does not.
toppled Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here\'s the problem I have with the DQ. There are
> 144 years of history where many horses have been
> interfered with and lost all chance at various
> points of the race. It was like there was an
> unwritten rule that no matter what happens you
> don\'t take one of the top finishers and especially
> the winner down. I can think of a few horses over
> the years who got bounced around all over the
> place and nobody ever considered taking action
> against any of the horses who bothered those other
> horses. It\'s a much bigger field than just about
> every other race in the USA. It\'s a much bigger
> crowd with more crowd noise than most other races.
> In the past I thought the stewards understood how
> unique this race is and gave more benefit of the
> doubt than in a normal race with a normal sized
> field of 14 or fewer horses and a normal crowd
> (like a crowd on a weekday at Belmont that
> couldn\'t make enough noise to wake a sleeping
> man).
>
> Now the public is on notice that the stewards will
> be looking at the rodeo & are willing to take the
> best horse down for something they didn\'t do for
> the past 144 years. Seriously, it makes me less
> inclined to bet future Derbies to the extent I
> usually do for fear that if my horse touches
> another horse at any point of the race & wins, I
> may end up getting DQd.
Could not agree with you more.
Eloquently stated Toppled.
Agreed
I have a few issues with this entire episode. I was disappointed with the commentators contribution to the conversation during the telecast as to the process in a call like this. Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss kept referring to their observation that Prat had no business claiming foul as he was hardly bothered. I don\'t disagree that he was hardly bothered, but the 7 nearly dropped the 1. They know better and did nothing but foment opposition to the correct call. I also take issue with the fact that that the stewards didn\'t call for an inquiry on their own. Imagine today\'s press coverage if the 1 was dropped and the result of that looked like the last lap at Daytona. If not for an extremely athletic WOW and a tremendous reaction in the saddle by TG this could have been a disaster with multiple horses going down in the stretch on the most watched racing day of the year. On top of all the crap that Stronach brought down on themselves earlier this year. This is a great game, with majestic animals, and we seem intent on fâ€"â€"it up. The idea of banning race day Lasix just a further unnecessary trap laid for the sport. I also have a problem with footage that was attributed to the telecast today that clearly shows MS coming out about four paths that they didn\'t bother to show yesterday. https://twitter.com/i/status/1125028240144457730. I have no idea why this specific clip wasn\'t shown yesterday.
Also here is a still pic of WOW clipping heels (pasterns) with MS coming out. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D5xaEnrU0AAVdyX.jpg I may be completely wrong about this but WOW looked loaded prior to the contact. I can\'t prove I\'m right and nobody can prove otherwise. I know one thing for sure, if he we re it wouldn\'t have done me any good so I ain\'t got no dog in this fight. Truth.... MS came out about four paths and interfered with multiple horses, comes down any day of the week and twice on Sunday. To suggest it shouldn\'t happen on our biggest stage is blasphemous. Anyway, that is my two cents.
Omg. Amazing angle there of the incident. My opinion of Saez changed too. He allowed Max to switch leads!!
Anyone still arguing that shouldn\'t have been called is not thinking clearly.
WoW was loaded an Tyler G said as much. Strong argument that WoW may have been the best horse in this race.