Posted on 06/10/2018 5:41:53 PM PDT by ml/nj
What I say here I don't say lightly.
Yesterday I attended my 53rd consecutive Belmont Stakes. I have the highest regard for trainer Bob Baffert. Though based in California, he regularly ships in horses to run in big races in NY (and elsewhere). Last year on Belmont Day he entered horses in four races and they all won. This year he entered horses in three races and won them all. This is no mean feat. But this year one of his horses did not win. (Huh?)
Baffert entered two horses in the Belmont Stakes. The other horse they probably didn't talk much about on TV was Restoring Hope who broke from post position #5. He was ridden by Florent Geroux, one of the best riders in the country, IMHO.
Geroux broke second to last on Restoring Hope. He then rushed the horse up to split the pack of horses in front of him. Noble Indy, the #9, was expected to contend for the early lead that might have put some pressure on Justify early. And Noble Indy did break alertly and looked like he might run early as expected, but Restoring Hope broke through the horses in front of him carrying Noble Indy extremely wide. Restoring Hope continued unnaturally wide until he cut over toward the rail and appeared to shut off Bravaso who was racing just behind Justify who looked as if he might be ranging up to challenge Justify. Thereafter, Geroux kept Restoring Hope just behind and outside Justify so that any other horse that might challenge would have to go three wide.
I saw none of this myself until alerted today about it by a friend at my club who showed me a race replay. I asked him whether anything was said about it on the TV coverage and he said nothing was said. But of course nothing was said. Justify was the hero of the media, in a way similar to the way Obama was a hero of the media.
Replays are available and nyra.com. Once there you want to select the races of June 9th, and then the 11th race. Two views are available, the usual "pan" view and the "head-on" view (which seems to most omit the most egregious interference with Bravaso). There is also a replay available at NBC where the interference with Bravaso is more obvious.
The Racing Form has an article about this: Horsemen question Geroux's ride on Restoring Hope.
It is my opinion that Baffert and Geroux should be suspended indefinitely. Justify should be disqualified from the purse money and consideration as the Belmont and Triple Crown winner.
Even if one of the jockeys in yesterday's race would have claimed foul, I believe it could only have been against Geroux and Restoring Hope (who finished next to last). It used to be that if a trainer or owner had more than one starter in a race, they had to run as a coupled entry. Then, if one fouled another horse in a race, all of the coupled horse would be placed behind the fouled horse. Yesterdays's race shows that horses with a common interest must run as a coupled entry if they are even allowed to start in the same race.
ML/NJ
ping
Justify would have won anyway. A remarkable horse.
Has horse racing become NASCAR ?
You have “teams” where you have another jockey riding a nag to block serious contenders?
Sure looks that way.
The Triple Crown isn’t tainted because a bunch of sore losers cry after the fact. It seems in this day and age no one can just man up and say, “I got beat.” The other horses weren’t blocked by Raising Hope. Justify held the lead from post to wire. At the head of the stretch, Mike Smith asked Justify for speed, Justify responded. No horse on that track was going to catch him.
Justify ran 2:26 and Secretariat ran 2:24. Not even close. I saw Secretariat win the Belmont. It was jaw dropping.
Soros owns a percent of the breeding rights not the horse,
Is it true that George Soros is part owner of Justify? If so, then I’m not surprised. At either the possibility of cheating, or at the fact that the media are ignoring it.
It was mentioned on TV. And it was stated that it was legal.
Far too much mileage out of that one race. What other races do you know about? Did you know he spat out the bit for 3 major races?
As a Man OWar fan I just get sick of it. Sorry.
Can we please put this to bed?
SOROS COMPANY HOLDS 15% OF HIS STUD RIGHTS.
He is NOT an owner, not now. Amazing people dont complain more about the actual ChiCom owners here.
Oh and actually Justify ran closer to 2:28. American Pharoah ran it in about 2:26.
This is nothing new.
Most common is the rabbit strategy. A closer teams with a fast front-runner in hopes of wearing out another speedy front-runner so the closer can pick up the pieces.
Has Jill Stein weighed in on this yet?
I have decided this is a yawner. RH did nothing to push out horses on the clubhouse turn, only himself. And hardly did anything to keep some one horse in check...early, not late.
Justify had no whip and not even a hand ride until maybe half way, then finally waved the crop. Meanwhile his 3closest opponents all got out the crop coming out of the turn.
Not buying it.
The big red horse in 73 rules. Anything that doesnt break his time is second place. But I gotta think they saved Audible for a reason.
I think Mueller needs to investigate. Trump is behind it as payoff to someone, somewhere! Give the boy another $4 million and see if he can dig up something.
Justify may have THOUGHT he was going to stud, but put that boy behind bars!
Load of crap. The object is winning. Blocking is not only part of horse racing but in NASCAR as well. Whine all you want, your problem is explaining how a dead last horse Gronkowski smoked the rest of the field to take 2nd place? Everyone else is just whining! If it wasn’t for that horse, you might have an argument.
Tomorrows NY Post sports cover:
If that has you all up in arms you must have really pulled all the hair out of your head when Woody Stevens has jockey Pat Day on 49er slam into Winning Colors all the way down the back stretch to insure the Filly had no way of winning the triple crown. Both Woody Stevens and Pat Day should have been thrown off all race tracks forever, that was the dirtiest piece of riding I ever saw, and I have been around race tracks for many years.
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