Surprised no one posted yet on this.
Winner clearly interfered with Al Khali who was in full stride and closingly quickly.
Stewards did not post the inquiry sign but Garcia (who always gets this horse in trouble I might add) lodged an objection. Stewards took a long time but let the number stand. They\'re explanation is that they did not feel the foul cost AK a placing.
First of all, they admitted it was a foul.........second, how do they determine that AK would not have run second........are they experts in calculating ground lost in that situation.......are sliderules at hand??
Anyone have any thoughts, opinions on what I feel is just another extension of NYRA incompetence?
Good Luck,
Joe B.
Joe B.,
It just goes on and on and continues to fall on deaf ears !!!
5 maiden races in row today,half the card ? I\'m betting less and less each day and losing more and more interest by the minute. I\'m 30 minutes away and didn\'t even bother to go up today and probably won\'t until Saturday again.
Aside from the stake program and a few high profile maidens making their debuts the rest of this meet is a step above Finger Lakes or Aqueduct\'s inner track. A complete and total disgrace.
Does anyone really think its going to change or get any better ? With slot money on the horizon the sale price on NY breds increased dramatically at last weeks sale. Meaning more slow rats on the horizon, ain\'t that a wonderful thing ?
One pick 3 play today:
7th - 9th
3,6,7, / 1A / 4,5,6
Good luck,
Frank D.
Joe B,
On the NY stewards, one is from NYRA the other two from the state.Anyhow, your point valid, a clear foul and very possibly Al Kahli could have been second, if not mugged.Probably a call that could go either way but I believe they try NOT to DQ unless very clear and don\'t know if I can argue with that theme.
The three blind mice do NOT have to answer/defend their decisions, a HUGE problem, they give a little written statement which cannot be questioned or challenged. Several years ago, a group of us asked that for the sake of transparency and education of players, a live feed be provided into the stewards room when fouls are being reviewed.
Smug NYRA passed on that suggestion along with many other suggestions re transparency issues. The Clueless Clowns at NYRA are out of touch with the level of racing sophistication of it\'s largest customers, a very serious problem.
Mike
I had a big exacta punch the way it was, and thought he should have come down.
This has nothing to do with the end result but maybe it was karma that AK didn\'t get put up as AK kicked Teaks North early in the race and Teaks came out of the race with AK\'s shoe print on his front shoulder. Teaks will be fine but maybe this is a case of what goes around comes around.
To be clear, I am not saying this had anything to do with the Stewards decision. I am just trying to be humerous here (likely unsuccessfully).
I got DQ\'d out of a $15 p4 in the last race. It was the right call, but I\'d have liked to have cashed the $9,555.
Shame. The kid looked like he would be out for the week when he was thrown earlier, and I was surprised he stayed on the mount.
PS. He can ride.
Joe B.
I needed Rahy\'s Attorney on top but thought it was a 50/50 call at best.
What bothers me most about it was that the stewards didn\'t even post an inquiry. What race were they watching that they missed the incident?
I could have lived with them posting an inquiry, then making a marginal call.
But when I see an incident like that and they don\'t even look at it, until Garcia asked them to, the \"three blind mice\" comment seems valid.
jimbo66 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Joe B.
>
> I needed Rahy\'s Attorney on top but thought it was
> a 50/50 call at best.
>
> What bothers me most about it was that the
> stewards didn\'t even post an inquiry. What race
> were they watching that they missed the incident?
>
>
> I could have lived with them posting an inquiry,
> then making a marginal call.
>
> But when I see an incident like that and they
> don\'t even look at it, until Garcia asked them to,
> the \"three blind mice\" comment seems valid.
... and to make things more baffling, I read this morning that Cornelio
got days for his ride in the Sword Dancer...
Richie:
I just found that out myself. Decision cost me around $6K. This really gets my day off to a good start.
I was livid because I heard Clement tell the jock \"we got lucky\" to which Cornelio just rolled his eyes. My day got even better right after that when Leparoux put Dean\'s Kitten in a hole that cost him second at 19-1.
If it wasn\'t for bad luck I wouldn\'t have any luck.
Good Luck,
Joe B.
Too funny, clueless NYRA so out of touch it has become laughable. As noted here before, at the first sign of a dark cloud,NYRA track maintenance starts to f--k with the surface. They are unaware of the implications at the gambling, owning and training levels(fig makers love it too!!)The clueless clowns NEVER announce a back-rake and only occasionally announce sealing. If you are not aware of what happens to certain types of runners on that surface, you are at a disadvantage but even knowing still makes it tough to figure(just what players needed, another variable). Ahem, in our suggestions to NYRA several years ago we raised the issue of of more comprehensive announcements re track maintenance,clueless smug NYRA ignored the suggestion.
From Baffy:
\"Baffert has had issues with Saratoga's main track for a couple of weeks. He was surprised with how the track was maintained on Whitney Day when the threat of rain prompted track officials not to water the surface between races. The track was sealed and back-raked for both the Whitney and Test. The final time of the Whitney was the slowest since 1959. The final time for the Test was the slowest since 1963\"
... billions being annually wagered, owners with millions invested, trainers pointing to races for months etc etc, and the clueless clowns at NYRA, oblivious.
Mike
Yep, starting to think Ortiz might be the better of the two, though Curatolo is still ok. Not too happy to see Curatolo riding at minimum 114 though.
It\'s amazing to see two pretty good apprentices riding at the same time..I still think Curatolo is the better of the two and will get better once he recovers fully from the accident he had, but both kids are very good..
Actually, I think Ortiz LOOKS better on the horse. Curatolo, while they are running for him, is a bit \'sloppy\'.
He could easily work out of that , but just sayin.
Better late than never
http://www.drf.com/news/aqueduct-apprentice-ortiz-rising-star-among-young-riders
Joe, i disagree with your assessment on this, respectfully of course. I went back a few minutes ago and watched this race (from August) and don\'t think that there was anything there at all to warrant a DQ. Al Khali is a huge specimen with a high head and a tough horse to ride due to his size and gait length. While he was \'bothered\' somewhat, i believe that the top 2 horses were in a furious sprint to the wire, i don\'t think the slight \'check\' cost this horse a placing, he\'s just not \'handy\' enough and he\'s not a \'true\' sprinter. This race came down to a quick late sprint, AL was not gaining enough on the top two horses to say that even 10 strides after the wire he would have been 2nd. He wasn\'t \'getting\' to either horse imo.
Normally, disqualifications that \'cost a horse a placing\' are made if the horse who was \'cost\' a placing is gaining rapidly on another horse. Al Khali was not \'gaining rapidly\' on the top 2 horses and he was beaten by over 1 length at the wire for 2nd. I think the distance between the 2nd and 3rd place finishers was a huge factor in this \'non call\'. If Khali was beaten for 2nd by a rapidly diminishing margin, i think you might have a case....there\'s actually a point with a few strides left where the 2nd place finisher seems to \'rebreak\' when he feels the pressure of the winner. Rahy was \'loafing a bit\' but when the winner came along side, he picks up again and starts running again. Its not likely Al would have outgamed this horse for 2nd, even with a clear path all the way.