Maybe They're Trying to Tell Us Something??
It's disheartening sometimes to see/hear things about this great game of horse racing.
A vet is charged with injecting horses with vodka at Fonner Park (there's a story on racingdispatch.com if you can bear to read it) and harness racing continues to get bad press in Ontario and elsewhere.
Yesterday at Gulfstream, COTTONMOUTH broke down in a claiming race. Yes, these things happen and I don't know if the horse is alive or not, since I'm not there. The point I would like to make is that the horse's current form had to be in question, and if it wasn't, to vets there or track stewards, then it should have been.
Why does a horse suddenly bolt early in a race when he has not done it before? Why was Kent Desormeaux his rider for that bolting incident at Gulfstream on Jan 3 and then yesterday, a rider named D. Pena-Mora is named? A week after the horse bolted, he had a sizzling workout at GP (one week after!!!).
Later in the day, THE GOOD LUCK GUY, trained by the very good horseman Jody Hammett (who claimed an old, broken down horse at Fort Erie last year just to retire him), pulled up on the class dive. He was claimed by Frank Passero, who incidentally won the race with Ontario-bred BELIEVER'S WAR. Let's hope horses will be put through rigorous and not haphazard examinations, not just physically at the barn but on PAPER, before each race day.
I hope a response to an email sent to Gulfstream about COTTONMOUTH and the incident will be answered. And/or those who own horses, take care of them and be charitable to retirement groups for horses. The game is about the horses.
A vet is charged with injecting horses with vodka at Fonner Park (there's a story on racingdispatch.com if you can bear to read it) and harness racing continues to get bad press in Ontario and elsewhere.
Yesterday at Gulfstream, COTTONMOUTH broke down in a claiming race. Yes, these things happen and I don't know if the horse is alive or not, since I'm not there. The point I would like to make is that the horse's current form had to be in question, and if it wasn't, to vets there or track stewards, then it should have been.
Why does a horse suddenly bolt early in a race when he has not done it before? Why was Kent Desormeaux his rider for that bolting incident at Gulfstream on Jan 3 and then yesterday, a rider named D. Pena-Mora is named? A week after the horse bolted, he had a sizzling workout at GP (one week after!!!).
Later in the day, THE GOOD LUCK GUY, trained by the very good horseman Jody Hammett (who claimed an old, broken down horse at Fort Erie last year just to retire him), pulled up on the class dive. He was claimed by Frank Passero, who incidentally won the race with Ontario-bred BELIEVER'S WAR. Let's hope horses will be put through rigorous and not haphazard examinations, not just physically at the barn but on PAPER, before each race day.
I hope a response to an email sent to Gulfstream about COTTONMOUTH and the incident will be answered. And/or those who own horses, take care of them and be charitable to retirement groups for horses. The game is about the horses.
posted by Jen Morrison @ 7:46 AM
2 Comments:
At 9:50 AM,
Anonymous said…
I am in complete agreement with you Jen. These activities just further the general public's opinion that racing is shady and crooked.
I was a part owner in a race horse several years ago, and she was not a winner. Although sound, I knew the partners were intending to send her to the auctions for slaughter. I quickly bought out the partners and took her for my own. Now she is competing in Hunter Jumper and winning ribbons. She is spoiled rotten and still mine.
It is all about the horses and their welfare as far as I am concerned.
At 1:38 PM,
rather rapid said…
good post. i hope influentual people in race such as urself will continue to demand pre-race diagnostics. how incredible is it that the technology is there and they fail to use it. the nebraska vet situation, that is beyond incredible. wondering if he's suspended and when the license will be revoked.
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