The Preakness Stakes- Saturday

My understanding is GG has NOT been 'jocked off' as you say - Baffert has NOT dispensed of GG's services - GG had opted/agreed to ride for lucas on board Dublin before it was decided that Lucky would definitely run!  So in affect Baffert had to go and look for a new jock!

As for the rest of what you have to say sheikh I am happy to report that I concur...... ;-)

Think Lucky will have NO better chance to scalp one than on saturday against a very very very mediocre field - dont really rate super saver (even with Borel) - a smaller field will suit Lucky and Caracortado is a decent horse who should run a Big one - I see him in the frame if he gets a good trip with lucky fighting it out to the wire.

May be a one two right there...........!!

I think this article from last Sunday clears up the matter :



Lookin At Lucky's status for the Preakness Stakes is still unclear, but one sure thing is Garrett Gomez will not be riding the Kentucky Derby favorite Saturday.

Gomez will ride the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Dublin, according to Bloodhorse. Dublin finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby.

Baffert had been openly critical of Gomez's ride on Lookin At Lucky after a third-place finish in last month's Santa Anita Derby. Baffert would not commit to keeping Gomez with his top 3-year-old following Lookin At Lucky's troubled sixth-place run in the Derby.

Baffert said he informed Gomez's agent, Ron Anderson, of the change.

"I told Ron I didn't know if I was going to run the horse, but if I did I was going to make a change only because of the bad luck we've been having lately," Baffert said. "Just out of respect, I said, 'If you can find another mount, find it,' because I didn't want him to get shut out of finding a mount."

Martin Garcia, who rode Baffert's Conveyance in the Derby, would be a likely choice to replace Gomez.

'vicious beating'.  Hmmm....  He hit him a few times from the eight pole home.  I see, every day, horses hit dozens of times, already exhausted, with 6 furlongs and 4 fences still left to go.....  I am certain what Borel did is nothing even remotely close to that.

MarkeyPd, I enjoy a discussion as much as the next person but your post left me wondering what race you watched ... maybe the donkey derby? After reading your thoughts, i thought I must be wrong and have watched the wrong race myself.. I then re-visited a wonderful piece written in the Daily Racing Form questioning the ride of Borel, but then again, why would I follow the Daily Racing Form when I could have you (who likens the kentucky derby to a steeplechase ..maybe round Fontwell?)
Please enjoy the piece which I concur with 110 % ..maybe then go back and watch the race...(it was at Churchill Downs by the way, if this helps)...

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Stan Bergstein's Daily Racing Form 

May 4, 2010

Cheering this Derby win too much of a stretch

Hi, it's the old tree-hugger checking in.

I dislike interrupting parades or anointments or deifications, and I am particularly averse to disturbing the canonization of saints. So as hesitant as I am about stepping in where angels fear to tread, I regretfully cannot join the millions celebrating the elevation of Calvin Borel to sanctity, and must cast a lone vote of disapproval of his stretch savagery with Super Saver.

I was not one of the announced crowd of 155,804 enraptured by the wild cavorting of Borel as he raised his arms and thumped his chest and slapped hands with every groom and outrider in sight, in ecstasy over his third Derby win in four years.

I understand all of that overwhelming happiness, but I was not one of the millions who joined in the joyful celebration of his rail-riding skills. The punishment he administered to his mount in the last eighth of a mile dulled my enjoyment of all that. I had cleaned the screen on my home TV to make sure I had a clear picture, and I counted eight hard blows in the final eighth and at least 14 from the head of the stretch to the wire. I may have missed a few before Borel and Super Saver cleared the pack, but he worked the colt over pretty good.

I realize this was the Kentucky Derby, with all the hype on the line and on the air, but I still found it surprising that the writers who joined in the angry chorus following the Eight Belles incident a few years ago - although it did not involve whipping - were nowhere to be found bemoaning the hard stretch beating last Saturday.

I went back and read at least 25 post-Derby reviews, all drooling over Borel's skillful ride without one mention of his whip artistry. No one I know of bothered to check to see if there were welts on Super Saver after the Derby, but Borel was giving the best whacks his arm could deliver. Big bettors may have said they would be enraged if Borel had not hit his mount so vigorously, but it would be interesting to know how many out in Tubeland were equally enraged that he did.

As for that Bo-Rail moniker, I come from a background where drivers and trainers understand the shortest distance around a racetrack is to keep turning left along the rail, and the biggest surprise to me is the adulation that comes from people, including racing writers, who think it remarkable and some special talent that Borel, out of the bayous, understands this. The really surprising thing is that other jocks apparently don't.

It was amusing to see Borel counting out three on his fingers before displaying them to the crowd in Louisville and around the world on TV, but he didn't need to count the yards saved by getting to the rail and staying there.

Also strange to me is the belief of an absolutely top trainer like Bob Baffert that he was doomed when his horse drew the rail in the Derby. You can get trapped there, of course, if your horse doesn't have gate speed and can't leave fast enough to avoid being buried, but the notion that just because not many horses have been able to take advantage of it at Churchill Downs doesn't mean it's a death sentence or a law of physics that you're done before you start if you draw there. The next jock who wins from post 1 in the Derby will likely be heralded as Borel has been, but it will be no super accomplishment.

The 2010 Derby, with its fine television ratings and giant crowd, will go down as the huge artistic and marketing success that it was, given the wide open mediocre field and Borel's masterful rail ride.

I would like to know, however, what Super Saver thought of it. Or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Or all those at home who dislike what St. Calvin administered to his mount through that long stretch last Saturday.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Nice Piece...

Come on Lucky and Carocortado  in the Preakness

Discuss....

btw...when I say Stan Bergstein is not an expert on Thoroughbred racing....I am specifically referring to the fact that he is a Harness man.

I dont claim to be an expert but MY EYES told me ALL I needed to know - it looked pretty harsh (dare I say 'cruel'..?) stuff to me.....!  His (borel's) force appeared when whipping to be a lot harder than the other jocks - you could actually see his shoulder 'drop' as if forcing more momentum into the whip - all in all pretty gruesome and at one point it did look like he slapped him down the neck - I could be wrong about that one tho!

As for a new 'softer' whip Mark....ummmmmmm ask a boxer if the new saver gloves dont still sting and hurt like FC.uk..... when slapped by one!

I guess only the horse knows how painful it actually was - does he mind?  Pass.....!

Marky - Im sorry but your post left me in tears

FIRST of all, never been a fan of Bergstein...he is not an expert on Throughbred racing.  (I am.)

Being that you are a self proclaimed expert I visited your topic -Calling MarkyPd to see how you are doing... Not Good Marky, Not Good !

I only got as far as the first couple of posts....

You oppose Hollywood Hit (superstar) - in fact in your words .. he is a fantastic lay, he goes on to smash the course record, run a beyer of 114. oh dear

You give 3 lays at Mountaineer Race 4 on Monday, 2 of your 3 lays filled out the exacta ..oh dear !

Do I need to talk about the Pletcher horse that won by 200 lengths at Delaware... probably not...

Just wondering where you get the expert tag from?...

I have changed my mind, I don't want your thoughts on the preakness...[:x]

You will notice above I stuck to the subject at hand, and said nothing personal about or against you kind folks...  anyways, back to the topic at hand.... http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/news/story?id=4671332

Giving safer whips a crack

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By Marcus Hersh
Daily Racing Form
Archive



Calvin Borel knew they would be coming.

Calvin Borel rides Rachel Alexandra to victory in the Woodward Stakes.
AP PhotoWas Rachel Alexandra abused by Calvin Borel's whip during the stretch run in the Woodward?
Turning for home in the Woodward Stakes on Sept. 5 at Saratoga, Borel had the lead riding Rachel Alexandra. She already had turned back foes hounding her during the first two-thirds of the Woodward. Now the closers were on the hunt.

At the three-sixteenths pole, Borel went to his whip. He smacked Rachel three times right-handed, switched over to his left hand, whipped her five times, and then went back to his right for a final surge as Macho Again drew nearly even.

In the final 150 yards or so, Borel gave Rachel Alexandra 15 pops of the crop, tapping her on the shoulder a couple of times and showing her the whip between smacks to the rump. At the wire, it was Rachel by a head.

Borel had whipped the filly more than 20 times on her hindquarters. In the days that followed, online blogs hummed with comments, and letters to the editor came into Daily Racing Form: Had Rachel Alexandra been abused by Borel's whip?

But there was another question, nowhere asked: Had Rachel even felt the sting of Borel's whip in the Woodward?

Borel was using the latest in riding-crop technology, a low-impact whip tipped with a long, padded popper. Lighter and producing less sting, the new whips may cost riders a measure of control and instill in some horses less urgency to give their all. But throughout the country, new whip rules are coming into effect because of pressure placed on racing following the high-profile deaths of Barbaro and Eight Belles, whose catastrophic breakdown after finishing second in the 2008 Kentucky Derby spurred an industry-wide assessment of the safety of racehorses.

Three states - Kentucky, Indiana, and South Dakota - have mandated use of the new, more horse-friendly whips. California has a proposed state rule, and jockeys there already are riding with new crops, a change mandated by Del Mar and Hollywood Park racetracks. Santa Anita, Delaware Park, Monmouth Park, and Philadelphia Park have "house rules" requiring the use of new crops. In New York, jockeys at the Saratoga meet took the lead, electing to use new whips beginning Aug. 16. New whips are already fully in use or being phased into tracks operated by Churchill Downs Inc. Canadian venues require new whips, and stewards there scrutinize the number of times jockeys strike their horses, handing out fines for overuse of the crop.

The new equipment feels and works differently than the old. The popper on the end of a traditional riding crop is about two inches long and made of solid leather. Used too vigorously, it can raise welts and draw blood. Not so the new whips, which are tipped by a popper about six inches long. Sewn inside a soft pad of woven fibers made to look like leather is a piece of foam. When it strikes horseflesh, the lighter, thickly padded whips make an impressive pop while delivering their cushioned message.

Horses used to being encouraged by the whip's sting may no longer feel compelled to respond. Riders accustomed to whaling away in the stretch may discover they're wasting energy.

"The whip is not a whip," Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux said during the Keeneland fall meet. "It's a noisemaker."

A few days earlier, at Hawthorne in Chicago, veteran rider E.T. Baird had said: "If I had to make a comparison, the old one, it's 'pop,' and the new one, it's like you're hitting with a marshmallow."

An impetus for change

Eight Belles was whipped 10 times by jockey Gabriel Saez in the 2008 Derby, a low number, given the magnitude of the event. Still, for many people these days, with the presence of domesticated animals in daily life greatly diminished and with more attention to animal rights, whipping feels unacceptable.

Outcry against whips was heard as far back as 1980 in England. In April 2007, padded whips became mandatory in flat races there, and steeplechase riders in the British Isles already were using softer crops. And while racing insiders would have scoffed at the idea that Eight Belles broke down because of whipping, racing's critics did not hesitate to make the jump. On the website of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a blog post from last summer still makes reference to Eight Belles's breakdown in the context of the whip:

"Most of you probably remember the tragedy at the 2008 Kentucky Derby in which a young filly, Eight Belles, was whipped mercilessly in the final stretch, only to break both her front ankles after she crossed the finish line," reads the posting.

It was not just PETA, the radical edge of anti-racing, responding to the Eight Belles breakdown. Coming out of the 2008 Derby, the public's perception of the sport might have been at an all-time low. A consumer research firm employed by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association compared racing's image to that of Tylenol in the 1980s and boxing in the 1990s.

The Grayson Jockey Club formed its Thoroughbred Safety Committee on May 8, 2008, just days after the Derby. Issues taken up there already had surfaced in two earlier Jockey Club Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse summits. Three concerns were attacked in this initial phase of the post-Eight Belles crisis: Toe grabs, steroids - and the riding crop.

There was talk of banning the whip, but jockeys had to explain why that wasn't possible. For example, if a horse running full speed decides it would like not to finish negotiating a turn and heads for the outside fence, a polite request from a 110-pound human may not be heeded.

"A whip is a useful guiding tool," said jockey Robby Albarado. "If a horse is getting out, pop, pop, pop - you can control them with it."

The first new whips were obtained for use in flat races during the 2008 meet at Ellis Park in western Kentucky. At the recommendation of the Jockey Club, riders there began trying the padded whips that had been adopted by steeplechase jockeys. But the riders encountered problems.

"Steeplechase riders, you know, they can be 6-foot-1," said Johnston, the Guild rep. "When our riders reach back to hit with that length whip, they don't get where they need to be. So the first whips were too short. In the second phase, the poppers didn't pop at all. The jocks said it was like hitting them with a feather. The horses weren't respecting it."

Even when manufacturers got the length right and put more pop in the popper, there were further setbacks.

"Those early new whips were breaking," said jockey John Velazquez. "I broke three the first week [at Keeneland] last spring."

Larry Fowler, who is based in Kentucky and has been making whips for 22 years, theorized the new whips might have broken more often because jockeys were striking harder than in the past, trying to compensate for the cushioned blow. Or perhaps the new poppers transferred energy differently.

"Maybe the recoil was into the shaft and not so much into the popper," Fowler said.

New whips are more expensive than old whips, costing from $60 to $100. Their length and weight varies. Although the Association of Racing Commissioners International has released model rules governing crops, it is up to jurisdictions to set basic whip guidelines. ARCI standards require a whip weigh no more than eight ounces, be less than 30 inches long, and have a shaft at least one-half inch in diameter. The flap, or popper, must be between .8 and 1.6 inches wide.

New whips are assembled much like the old. They start with a four- or five-foot tapered fiberglass rod, which is cut into a whip length. The fiberglass is then wound with duct tape to achieve a desired width. Around the tape goes fabric, and over the fabric, a rubber handle. At the last, the popper gets slid on and glued into place.

"At first, I was like, 'Nah, I can't believe they're making jockeys do this,'" said Garrett Broussard, who makes whips for Desormeaux, Albarado, and Edgar Prado and works as a jockey's valet at Fair Grounds. "But now I'm used to it."

No horse or rider is the same

Calvin Borel rides Rachel Alexandra to victory in the Woodward Stakes.
Horsephotos.comDid 'Rachel' feel the sting from Calvin Borel's low-impact whip?
How will the new whips affect the performance of a rider? As usual, it depends on the rider and how much they relied on the whip to begin with.

"Different riders have gotten the most of a horse different ways," said trainer Neil Howard, who has been on the racetrack since the 1970s.

Some famed riders of the past were known for making the most of their stick.

"There was [Angel] Cordero, of course, and Jorge Velasquez," Howard said. "Of course, the guy I consider the god of riders, Pat Day, he probably didn't wear out one whip in his entire career. [Braulio] Baeza, he was another one, a finesse rider. They all have the same goal but get there a different way."

Riders such as Garrett Gomez in Southern California spoke favorably about the new sticks even as they were in the process of being adopted. But many jockeys say the whips take getting used to.

"Initially, I didn't like it," Albarado said. "I thought it was useless, and I'm not one of those guys that's going to overpower a horse. But everything's changing now. The perception is we're using a safer whip."

Advocates for an all-out whip ban contend striking a horse will not actually make it run faster, but that is not the prevailing view among current riders, who say some horses do respond to the whip by exerting themselves more fully, some don't.

"It takes them out of being lazy," said Baird. "Most of the horses, they're pretty free-running. A lot of them, it wouldn't bother them if you hit them with a bazooka. They're going to protect themselves. But you can compare it to people: Some are more motivated, more aggressive, than others."

Said Velazquez, who is not noted as a heavy whipper: "I always thought you've got to get in a rhythm with a horse first before you worry about whipping. There are some times when I feel like a horse needs to be whacked a couple times to really get the most out of them."

James Graham often has gotten mounts because he is a strong jockey who readily goes to his stick.

"I'm an aggressive rider, and I get paid to ride the way I ride," said Graham. "I use the whip more than average. It's fair to say that they do respond more to the old whips. The new whips are light - very light. Some of the cheaper [horses] won't respond as much."

Desormeaux said he has at least grown accustomed to the different feel of the new sticks during the last several months.

"All I know is everyone is using the same thing," he said. "It's a level playing field."

New whips, new rules

It remains to be seen whether a new generation of whips is accompanied by a new era of whip regulation. Jockeys in Australia recently staged a strike when the national authority attempted to impose regulations on how often a horse could be whipped in a race, and the authority eventually ceded ground. The 2008 Cheltenham Festival in England, a major jump-racing meet, turned chaotic and contentious as stewards handed down a flurry of bans for abuse of the whip. Riders felt confused about what was acceptable. Less-informed members of the public got the sense abuse was rampant, though cushioned crops were being used.

Canadian tracks have been handing penalties for overuse of the whip since new standards took full effect Sept. 15. "It's been fairly smooth, with one or two wrinkles," said Woodbine steward Gunnar Lindberg.

Jockeys riding at Woodbine can't raise their arm above their shoulder when using their crop. And after whipping a horse three times in a row, a jockey must wait at least one stride, and preferably two or three, before delivering another blow. Fines for violations are progressive and can be costly in stakes races worth more than $100,000, where too much whipping can cost a jock 20 percent of his purse earnings.

Riders at Woodbine, faced with a loss of income, are making adjustments. But elsewhere, jockeys find rules governing use of the whip difficult to take. In the United States, use of the whip is monitored by track stewards, but there are no codified rules.

"I think that goes way beyond," said Velazquez, who is chairman of the Jockey's Guild. "You go to one place, they fine you for hitting too much. You go to another place, they want to fine you for not getting into a horse enough if you miss third by a nose or something."

Maybe in some future stakes at Saratoga, a jockey will indeed be brought to heel for the number of times he strikes his mount. But in this year's Woodward, Borel, wielding a new crop, could use it as he chose - not really knowing if his whip was having any great effect.

"At Pimlico, I hit her twice, and that's all it took," said Borel, who carried an old-fashioned crop when Rachel Alexandra won the Preakness. "Two times, and she was gone. [At Saratoga], I was hitting her, but it was just to keep her momentum going. It looks so bad, it was pitiful. To my view, these sticks make it worse, because you hit them so many times. You don't know if they're going to respond."

Borel, old racetrack hand and clearly no cheerleader for the new whips, said this from the jocks' room recently at Churchill Downs, readying himself for a day's worth of mounts. He would be riding all that afternoon carrying one of his Broussard-made, heavily padded crops. Like it or not.

INTERNATIONAL REGULATIONS

A sampling of whip regulations at racetracks around the world:

United States: Variable regulations with ARCI guidelines. Whip use is monitored by track stewards.

England: Whip's contact area must be covered by shock absorbing material. A rider cannot raise the whip above his shoulder or whip his horse more than once per stride. Rider can hit the horse any place except on the quarters with the whip in either the backhand or forehand position and down the shoulder with the whip in the backhand position.

Canada: Whips conform to the ARCI model rules. Jockeys may whip horses no more than three times in a row and must break for at least one stride, preferably two or three. Jockeys cannot raise arm above shoulder, and the whip is not to be used when a horse is not visibly responding or is not in contention.

Japan: There are no limitations on whip use during a race.

Hong Kong: Stewards may punish a jockey if in their opinion he has used his whip to excess or in an improper manner. After a race, if a horse is found to have been marked in any way by a jockey, the rider will be fined by stewards.

Australia: Leather pads on the whip are not permitted, and the foam in the padded segment of the whip must be at least 0.28 inches thick. Riders are limited to seven forehand strikes in the last 100 meters of a race; before the 100-meter mark, the rider cannot use the whip in a forehand manner in consecutive strides and may not use it in a forehand manner on more than five occasions.

France: A rider who whips his horse more than eight times in a race will be suspended or fined. The rider may also be sanctioned if he uses his whip with great force or when the horse is only 2 years old.

Sheikh, in all honesty I would have been terrified with the ride up the rail as it was happening....but thrilled at the result.  As for the final furlong, I can only again say that I don;t care if a horse is hit a hundred times with full-force with theses new whips...it doesn't leave a mark.  I do see, watching the race, why people would show concern...and its goodthat the do....for the welfare of the horse.  I am glad you are one of THOSE people as opposed to those horseplayers who seem only satisfied with a ride of they see a jock flailing away.  Done?  done!   Back to PReakness.  I think your Caracortado is a very interesting bet.  I liked him earlier in the year...I wonder How he will fare on 'real' dirt?

lol...  Initial observations re: Preakness; a) WOW, what a weak crop of 3yos!  b) Pletcher thinks enough of Aikenite to put him in against Suepr Saver (different stable, but still...)  c) Schoolyard Dreams beat Super Saver - narrowly   fair and Square in Tampa Bay. d) a distinct lack of true pace must favour the tactically inclined? and e) I have decided thhat even though I think SS is the real deal, and has truly learned to rate, I am going to downgrade his win due to the extremely perfect trip he got in KY, and look for someone else....  No laying him, but I'll find someone.....   good luck!

Podcast about The Preakness:

http://timeformfeatures.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=614789