Did anyone notice the 5th race at Aqu today? The jock on the 6 either had a vested interest in that race or he has no idea where the finish line is. Since he has been riding for like 100 years now I don\'t think it was the second thing. DISGRACEFUL!!!
Please somebody take a look at that race and talk me out of going out looking for him..That jock/stiff artist cost me the pick six , pick 4 and pick threes..
PS...Ryan Cutulo is the man..THe kid can ride and he\'ll hug the rail, go through holes and swing out wide if need be..Nice prospect..Hope he doesn\'t lose his bug anytime soon..
Well, the Equibase Chart description certainly makes me want to go watch the race replay. Wonder if words were being exchanged all the way around, and she caught him out?
Your horse is 6-Unbridled Danger (Julio Pezua) vs 3-Saints Alive (Maylan Studart).
3 - Saints Alive stumbled badly start
6 - Unbridled Danger duel, let out belatedly
SAINTS ALIVE stumbled badly at the start, recovered and was urged towards the front, went head with head with the runner up soon afterwards, positioned along the rail, continued to do so down the backstretch and around the turn, with neither rival willing to concede the other the lead, and was asked for a response turning for home, with UNBRIDLED DANGER still glued directly to the outside, edged clear from that pesky opponent during the ensuing furlong, then dug in with good determination and under good handling to stave a trio of closers and preserve the decision. UNBRIDLED DANGER broke alertly, sparred intensely with the winner from the two path, and with the rider applying a strong grip on the reins, continued along on the same scenario for nearly a half, lost contact with the actively-handled top one in upper stretch, contrasting her riding tactics by remaining chilly in the saddle, staged a comeback departing the furlong grounds, gained ground readily, despite being basically unasked, was let out belatedly in the final seventy yards and missed.
I saw it too.
But then again, I\'ve been seeing lots of strange things for the last 40 years.
In Jolly Old England or Hong Kong, the stews would be demanding a VERY plausible explanation.
That jock is a strange bird at best, but this was a sight to behold.
PS I posted this before reading sighthounds post. The NY chart caller is excellent and called it like it was.
If you get the chance, watch the head on. Coming down the stretch, you see seven of the eight jockeys urging their horses energetically, while one sits chilly until the wire was in spitting distance. It was a well timed ride for second. Perhaps Julio had a senior moment and thought he was riding back in a bull ring, and needed to go full circuit. My sympathy to Lost Cause.
I forgot to look - who were the trainers and owners?
This was almost as bad as the one I seen at Calder a few weeks ago when they did the half in 53 and every jock had headlocks on their mount while the hopeless 50-1, 8-10 points slower than everyone else in the field worked his way to the front
Very interesting replay.
The stewards need to look at this race. I think the rider should be punished for not giving best effort.
They didn\'t run at Aqueduct today.
Horse may have a habit of pulling himself up when he makes the lead (ala Ferdinand). Maybe you should be asking yourself \"How does a horse who stumbled badly make the lead and keep fighting?\" EVERY winner on the main track that day was either wiring the field or stalking in 2nd. Speed was good. You were unlucky.
MO Wrote:
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\"> They didn\'t run at Aqueduct today.
>
You were unlucky.\"
Sorry, it was Belmont...
The only thing I was unucky about was that I was not privy to the info that the jock was not allowed to pass that horse in front no matter what happened..Did you look at the race? Please do so , not just read the charts. It was a horror..
I need to do something about this..Can anyone let me know who I can contact about this. Pezua can\'t get away with that.
Lost Cause Wrote:
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> Pezua can\'t get away with that.
Of course he can -- he\'s been a substandard rider for years. If you complain, the response you might get back is, \"Yep -- that\'s a Pezua ride, alright.\"
Don\'t waste your time with a distracting issue that simply won\'t go your way...you might be putting yourself on the precipice of a horrible wagering slump.
This is meant only as friendly advice, and it\'s based in experience. Incidents like these are where you want your short-term memory to fail, pronto.
Try a letter to the editor of the DRF, quoting the chart notes.
Yes, I looked at the race several times. I would have been annoyed too had I placed a wager. But wagering can cloud one\'s judgement, especially after a bad beat.
Do you know any jock\'s personally? If so, ask them to watch the race with you. See what they say. I used to date a jock. Straigtened me out a few times......
And try looking at Unbridled Danger\'s past races if you can get them. Does this horse have a habit of pulling himself up or hanging?
It looked \'criminal\' but let me try and play devils advocate for a second. Sometimes horses hate the whip and they quit when either hit with the whip, or urged hard. Maybe this guy was \'tricking\' the horse to keep running at his normal pace. Also, this is a weak jock with a poor record, this guy isnt exactly Ramon Dominguez.
The question you need to ask is if he did this on purpose and this was a criminal act, or he knew that if he asked the horse hard, the horse would quit.?
He does start urging very late in the race, does the horse quit when urged?
I would at least call the trainer and jock in and get an explanation, but i can\'t imagine the rider was going to \'stiff\' a horse like this, its not like Pezua is overflowing with winners, he\'s gotta win if he can, his career depends on it.
At a bare minimum, bettors are entitled to a full hearing and explanation of such a peculiar ride.
If we don\'t demand it when it\'s \'blatant\', then when?
Watching 60 minutes now, where Cycling is getting yet another black eye. Racing seems to hold its secrets better.
Rick B. Wrote:
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> Lost Cause Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Pezua can\'t get away with that.
>
> Of course he can -- he\'s been a substandard rider
> for years. If you complain, the response you might
> get back is, \"Yep -- that\'s a Pezua ride,
> alright.\"
>
> Don\'t waste your time with a distracting issue
> that simply won\'t go your way.
\"Forget it, Jake. It\'s Chinatown.\"
moosepalm Wrote:
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> Rick B. Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Lost Cause Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Pezua can\'t get away with that.
> >
> > Of course he can -- he\'s been a substandard
> rider
> > for years. If you complain, the response you
> might
> > get back is, \"Yep -- that\'s a Pezua ride,
> > alright.\"
> >
> > Don\'t waste your time with a distracting issue
> > that simply won\'t go your way.
>
>
> \"Forget it, Jake. It\'s Chinatown.\"
That may be true , but isn\'t that the mechanism by which things go from bad, to worse, to omg how did we let this happen?
Boscar Obarra Wrote:
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> moosepalm Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Rick B. Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Lost Cause Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > > Pezua can\'t get away with that.
> > >
> > > Of course he can -- he\'s been a substandard
> > rider
> > > for years. If you complain, the response you
> > might
> > > get back is, \"Yep -- that\'s a Pezua ride,
> > > alright.\"
> > >
> > > Don\'t waste your time with a distracting
> issue
> > > that simply won\'t go your way.
> >
> >
> > \"Forget it, Jake. It\'s Chinatown.\"
>
>
> That may be true , but isn\'t that the mechanism
> by which things go from bad, to worse, to omg how
> did we let this happen?
Of course...only, what is the third stage after \"...omg how did we let this happen?\" Because that\'s where we are today.
I\'m completely exonerating TGAB from any involvement in this conspiracy.
He did select Saints Alive on the analysis but used good judgement in not selecting a Julio Pezua horse underneath. How could anyone possibly bet this guy ?
He\'s the quintessential shower rider !
For the younger viewers who never heard the term ?
It\'s a hapless bottom of the rung journeyman rider who goes to the track, maybe gets a long shot or 2 to ride and takes his shower and goes home.
I didn\'t play the race, so here are some unbiased thoughts. I saw the race replay, but not the head-on. I also looked at the horse\'s lifetime PPs on DRF.
Here\'s a little more devil\'s advocate stuff I thought of, in addition to the possibility the horse doesn\'t like the whip.
Scenario 1
The 1st thing I notice in the PPs is that the horse was coming off a long layoff. My thoughts are that maybe Pezua was instructed to try to win, but not abuse the horse, because the trainer has seen a spot in the future. My guess is the trainer is looking at future starter handicaps & starter allowances and needed this $10k race to renew eligibility for them. There are a lot of those starter alws & hcps in his PPs. He may also look at this horse as a better router and the 6.5f return race was just a tuneup. So, if Pezua wants to get future mounts from this trainer, he better not go against instructions.
Scenario 2
Pezua has such little regard for Studart that he thought he could pass the horse any time he pleased in the stretch.
Scenario 3
Pezua is just an incompetent rider and there was no stiff job involved. Also, the trainer doesn\'t look like anything special either. He\'s 0 for 10 for the year and unfortunately since the race day is in the past, I can\'t get detailed trainer info from formulator on him until he runs another horse.
Okay, I\'ll address the devil\'s advocate position:
1) Try to win but not abuse the horse...then why duel for the lead? Why not take back if the plan is just run for exercise? Were the instructions to duel for most of the race, never asking the horse for effort, then slowly fall back during the stretch, then suddenly start feverishly urging the horse so you gain fast at the end and just miss by a neck? Obviously not, but that was the ride the horse received.
2) Pezua shouldn\'t feel obviously superior to any rider.
3) This seems most likely. I\'m not sure if the blatant lack of effort on Pezua\'s part is clear evidence of a stiff job or was SO obvious that it has to just be pure incompetence, because he could have stiffed the horse in any number of less obvious ways.
4) He thought it was a two turn race until the last 2 yds.
5) Ladies first
so has this been completely forgotten? anyone mention this officially?
Unbridled Danger is entered Saturday in a $15K claimer at 6f with Pezua back in the saddle. However, before you plan on betting him I\'d look at his and the connections dismal record. Young is 4/93 the last 5 years with 3 of those 4 wins by UD. But, UD is currently on a 14 race losing streak & prior to his win 15 races ago, he was on a 31 race losing streak, making him 1 for his last 46 starts, or if you\'re an optimist 2 for his last 47. The good news is the horse has a history of running back between 1-7 days between races so if he looks like he was stiffed again, you\'ll have another shot at him next week.
It doesn\'t matter if he wins by 10 or runs dead last next out.. The issue is, the ride was inexplicable, and as a paying customer, you\'re entitled to an explanation. Even a bad one.
Hey Boscar,
I sent an email to HANA reps. They were quick to respond and said they were going to look into it. I figured they were the best first contact. JB suggested DRF Editor, Is there an email address or link on drf or does it have to go through snail mail?
I still can\'t get over that ride. I know Pezua is would give some BS excuse but I still want to hear it. Some posters here are talking about the connections being bad and other stuff but none of it matters. That horse was the best horse that day and was purposely held not to win that race. Period. It doesn\'t matter how bad the jock is or how bad the trainer is, the horse would have won that race if the jockey let the reins go but he chose not to. Pezua has been around for a hundred years he knows how to whip a horse when they are in the stretch or at least move his arms forward and back.
I\'ll let u guys know if anything happens. I won\'t hold my breath as horseplayers don\'t seem to matter when it comes to track management. We just keep taking it.
editor@drf.com
Thanks RC!!
I will contact them too.
Here was my point:
Back in the old days when the DRF used to print all the stewards rulings, good money could be made by betting back horses that were stiffed to the point that the stewards fined or suspended the jockey. If I knew a horse was stiffed, I\'d give it a lot of consideration the next time it ran.
Many years ago, when I was living in Buffalo, I heard a story from the Raceway regulars of some harness riders conspiring to eliminate a non-cheating horse at Buffalo Raceway and the honest rider got so mad after the race he started beating up one of the other riders. When the defeated horse came back the next time, I was all over it. Paid $18 to win with nice prices on the exacta & trifecta.
So, ordinarily, I\'d be looking to bet this horse back, but the horse & connections are so weak I just can\'t do it with Unbridled Danger. My point was usually the next race out for a stiffed horse is a great money making opportunity, but it might not be with this horse.