Posted on 06/10/2018 6:55:24 PM PDT by NKP_Vet
Long shot Restoring Hope's run in Saturday's Belmont Stakes is being questioned by some competitors, who suggest the horse might have been used to block other horses from catching stablemate Justify on his way to the Triple Crown.
Bob Baffert trains both Justify and Restoring Hope, which went off at 37-1 and then broke fast to the front and settled into second place for much of the race, just off Justify's shoulder, before falling to eighth at the finish.
Mike Repole, who co-owns fourth-place finisher Vino Rosso and last-place finisher Noble Indy, and Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez both found fault with the ride by Florent Geroux aboard Restoring Hope.
"It baffled me," Repole told the Daily Racing Form. "I would have thought Baffert would have wanted Restoring Hope nowhere close to the pace.
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.com ...
Rubbin’ is racin’.
Good strategy, no?
Both horses from the same stable. Couldn’t possibly be any “collusion” going on.
Next thing ya know they’ll call it NCARACEHORSE.
There was a horse race today?
It happens in horse racing, nascar, and the olympics.
It’s part of the sport.
Sorry. NASCARACEHORSE.
Why should it be any different than NASCAR? I quit watching that, too.
Well, it shouldn’t be. It’s not (or at least shouldn’t be) a team sport.
Roller Derby it ain’t.
Or the “Tour de Belmont.”
Having been an inveterate horseplayer since about 1980, I have a healthy interest in ALL horseraces, and of course the Triple Crown races are a special event. When I saw Restoring Hope was part of the Belmont field, under the Baffert banner, I figured he might well be used as a “rabbit”——this is very common at all levels of races, everywhere, at every track, when the opportunity presents itself-—it’s probably rare in a crucial race like the last leg of the Triple Crown, but there’s certainly nothing about it that can’t be taken into account and dealt with by all the other trainers, horses, owners and especially jockeys.There was no objection from other jockeys, and no steward’s inquiry, and maybe, even if there was some legitimate complaint against Restoring Hope, it would have soured the justified victory of Justify, and the expectation of another Triple Crown winner. For myself, I was most interested in GRONKOWSKI, and I was touting him to whoever would listen, especially with Jose Ortiz aboard. Gronkowski closing so fast, from way back most of this long long race, was very exciting , and I put him stupidly third and fourth in a bunch of my small, 10 cent superfecta tickets...there was probably no way he could have won over Justify, even if the race were another 1/8th or 1/4 mile longer.....still, it was a good exacta with the heavily favored Justify on top.I neglected to make that bet,unfortunately.
Sour grapes. Sore losers
Always good to have a wingman....
F1 for decades.
Ford at LeMans in ‘67(?).
DAMMIT! The Russians and Trump hacked the race!
Sour oats.
A Secretive Investor in Triple Crown Contender Justify: George Soros
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/sports/justify-belmont-george-soros.html
Just screwing the rules and everyone else in favor of himself, as usual.
It is done in human races and teams. It is done in car racing. Why wouldn’t it be done in horse racing? Good racing strategy. Deal with it.
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