https://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/mejia-taken-off-monmouth-park-mounts-has-hearing-scheduled-after-suspicious-photo-surfaces/
I looked at the 1080P video of the race and unsaddling , and its actually impossible to see the \'alleged\' object that way ,even zoomed. As far as how it might be disposed of, it gets a little interesting
This is not something I\'m really tuned into , and even in the running of the race, you\'d have to be looking for it to see anything the least bit odd.
Anyone with a better eye for this care to opine ?
PS Its tempting to think that since the color seems to be the same , it could be the top of the reins (not sure how they are constructed) . But if that easy explanation was the case , then why the suspension?
Heres the youtube link of the race
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8hOoJ863i0
All I know is: Two prongs sticking out the bottom of a jockey\'s hand is never a good look.
Heartwarming confirmation that the integrity of the sport is being closely monitored.
Shouldn\'t it conclude:
\"on somebody else\'s horse\"? ;)
https://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/possession-of-electrical-device-after-monmouth-race-lands-tomas-mojia-10-year-ban/
Well, seems official.
Most interesting to me is how hard it is to spot and how good they are at hiding the thing.
https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328868536l/1456830.jpg
The final decision shouldn\'t be \"officially\" official until the horse is disqualified and the trainer\'s and owner\'s intents are investigated. Very hard to imagine the jockey did it on his own. Possible I guess, but such a gamble for him if all he was hoping to get was the $3,300 jockey share if the horse won the race.
The strange thing is the horse went off above his morning line although the favorite was 4/5 which could account for the overlay.
Tough way to start your comeback from an injury. Life in the trenches must be tough.
I couldn\'t really tell if he even used the thing in the race.
Thats why I asked if anyone here knew anything about that
I\'ve only watched 27 million races in my day, but that may be less than some here.
Oddly, over at the other racing board, I dont even see this mentioned. They are usually all over this kind of event .
I agree that cheaters need to be removed from the game, but if this is the first offense, 10 years with a request for a lifetime ban seems a bit harsh. It would seem a year would send the appropriate message.
Fixing a horse race (using a battery is fixing) is a Felony.
If the penalty was only a year.... I\'m going into the battery making biz
Fair. It just seems harsh to take away someone’s livelihood for 10+ years, but I guess that would be the case with any felony, at least to some extent. I guess the mental disconnect for me is an action occurring during a sport doesn’t typically carry those types of ramifications. See Brady/Belichick.
Bet Twice Wrote:
----------------------------------------------------
See Brady/Belichick.
I see your Brady/Belichick and raise you Michael Vick. In addition to cheating bettors, owners, other jocks and trainers, it\'s also animal abuse. He\'s lucky he didn\'t get banned for life.
Arguing the penalty against Mejia is too harsh is one of the worst takes I\'ve seen on this board maybe ever.
Just an observation, down the lane, the jockey only throws a cross on the left side, and using the machine on the neck with his right hand.
When returning to the winner’s circle he throws his riding crop to the valet with his right hand indicating that the machine was in his left hand. And after he dis-mounts the horse and unbuckles the saddle it looks like he was shoving something into it.
Sorry to offend your sensibilities, but trainers have literally gotten away with murder and gotten nothing. A presumably poor person gets his career taken away for a first offense. Im sure the owner/trainer knew nothing! As far as animal abuse, it’s funny what we consider abuse and what we don’t. I agree he should be punished but will stand by 10+ years being harsh. Apologies for having some empathy for someone who made a poor choice.
So, for some reason the horse WAS NOT disqualified!!! The owner (Colts Neck Stables) benefits .The trainer (Jorge Duarte Jr) benefits. The only losers are the bettors (as always) and the horses that ran behind the \"winner\" and of course jockey Mejia. I still find it very unlikely that the jock did this on his own. Possibly, owner and trainer are innocent but the jock would have to be ridiculously stupid to pull this off for a jock\'s share of the winnings.
Maybe someone paid him handsomely to do it? I would have bargained with Mejia with a shorter suspension if he would spill the beans on the whole story because I am pretty sure we only know the half of it.
The horses are usually trained with it, so the connections most likely were involved. While I am completely against any forms of animal abuse, canines / dogs are sometimes trained with a electronic shock collar to correct certain behaviors or for an electronic fence.
10 years is harsh, Roman Chapa got 5 years for same offense. 5 years seems more of the punishment fitting the crime