Community Chat

[birddrops]

I don't watch any longer. Those huge, beautiful horses on those skinny legs and ankles! I am still hurting for poor Barbaro.

[muttmom]

On 6/8/2014 esmerelda said:

On 6/7/2014 JustJazzmom said:

But the Belmont is the most difficult track for a horse to win-- its a mile and a half and its longer than the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness tracks.

What's your point?

I do not know what JJ point is but that in order to win a Triple Crown, horses have a grueling 6 weeks with little rest between races. They run the longest and toughest track last when they are exhausted from workouts, races and travel.

[SydneyH]

On 6/8/2014 TomatoSoup said:

...brutal ""sport"" for both horses and jockeys...

How bad is the hoof injury?

[QueenDanceALot]

On 6/8/2014 Yuban3 said:

Chrome will now be put out to pasture to live out his days.

I can see where the owner is coming from. Name me one other sport, where the athletes can pick and choose which games they'll participate in, before going to the "Big One".

Horse racing is the only one that I can think of where that is allowed.

Firstly, Chrome is not going to be put out to pasture "to live out his days". He's going to rest for several weeks to heal up the injury to his hoof which he sustained when he clipped heels with Matterhorn (a very common racing injury). He'll be back later in the season barring any other issues. And when he does leave the track, he'll retire to stud duty. As a Derby and Preakness winner he will be worth a lot of money in the breeding shed.

And I believe people should be able to pick and choose races. Horses should not be forced to compete when they are not up to it, not training well, or for any other number of reasons. They're not machines and the better owners don't expect them to be.

[QueenDanceALot]

On 6/8/2014 SydneyH said:

On 6/8/2014 TomatoSoup said:

...brutal "sport" for both horses and jockeys...

How bad is the hoof injury?

He had two injuries. One is a superficial tendon cut (not serious, according to reports) and the other is a deeper quarter cut he sustained clipping heels with Matterhorn (a fairly common occurence). They expect him to heal in 5-6 weeks.

[QueenDanceALot]

A mile and a half (the Belmont distance) is not run in the US anymore. Races have gotten shorter and shorter over the decades (the still run longer distances over the turf in Europe). Hence, horses do not train for it. A mile and a quarter is pretty far these days. Most races are between 6 and 7 furlongs. A mile is considered a classic distance. A mile and an eighth is a common distance (8 furlongs). Getting the extra 1/8 of a mile is a big deal, never mind an additional quarter (from the Derby distance of a mile and a quarter to the Belmont mile and a half).

Most people look to their breeding to decide whether they are a good bet on the mile and a half (when they look to bet on a race).

[lizzief]

On 6/8/2014 KittyLouWhoToo said:

On 6/8/2014 Yuban3 said:

Chrome will now be put out to pasture to live out his days.

I can see where the owner is coming from. Name me one other sport, where the athletes can pick and choose which games they'll participate in, before going to the "Big One".

Horse racing is the only one that I can think of where that is allowed.

Firstly, Chrome is not going to be put out to pasture "to live out his days". He's going to rest for several weeks to heal up the injury to his hoof which he sustained when he clipped heels with Matterhorn (a very common racing injury). He'll be back later in the season barring any other issues. And when he does leave the track, he'll retire to stud duty. As a Derby and Preakness winner he will be worth a lot of money in the breeding shed.

And I believe people should be able to pick and choose races. Horses should not be forced to compete when they are not up to it, not training well, or for any other number of reasons. They're not machines and the better owners don't expect them to be.

I don't think anyone is saying they should all be FORCED to race in all three races. What is being said is that the horses that qualify in the Derby should be the only horses allowed to run in the other two races to even the field. A horse could be scratched for medical reasons of course. But once out, they couldn't miraculously feel better and run in the next race. That seems to be what's happening now.

[QueenDanceALot]

On 6/8/2014 lizzief said:

On 6/8/2014 KittyLouWhoToo said:

On 6/8/2014 Yuban3 said:

Chrome will now be put out to pasture to live out his days.

I can see where the owner is coming from. Name me one other sport, where the athletes can pick and choose which games they'll participate in, before going to the "Big One".

Horse racing is the only one that I can think of where that is allowed.

Firstly, Chrome is not going to be put out to pasture "to live out his days". He's going to rest for several weeks to heal up the injury to his hoof which he sustained when he clipped heels with Matterhorn (a very common racing injury). He'll be back later in the season barring any other issues. And when he does leave the track, he'll retire to stud duty. As a Derby and Preakness winner he will be worth a lot of money in the breeding shed.

And I believe people should be able to pick and choose races. Horses should not be forced to compete when they are not up to it, not training well, or for any other number of reasons. They're not machines and the better owners don't expect them to be.

I don't think anyone is saying they should all be FORCED to race in all three races. What is being said is that the horses that qualify in the Derby should be the only horses allowed to run in the other two races to even the field. A horse could be scratched for medical reasons of course. But once out, they couldn't miraculously feel better and run in the next race. That seems to be what's happening now.

They are individual races. To win all three is very difficult, and has gotten more so because, as I pointed out, we don't have other mile and a half races any more in the States. Horses are being bred for speed, not for distance. That's the biggest reason why there hasn't been a triple crown winner in 35 years.

I see no reason to change the rules so that the Triple Crown could be easier to win. I think breeders should change their practices and stop breeding for speed as the be all and end all. It's better for the horses, too. Speed kills. But money talks, and as long as the predominant distances are between 6 and 8 furlongs, breeders are going to breed for those distances.

[pitdakota]

On 6/8/2014 lizzief said:

On 6/7/2014 Blueskies2 said:

I agree 100% with Chrome's owner.

Only the 20 horses that qualified at Kentucky Derby should be eligible for Belmont.

As he said, the other horses have been running their hearts out for 5 weeks and a fresh horse comes in and wins.

Doesn't seem fair to me

I agree! It's coming off as sour grapes, but I could swear this is not the first time this issue has been discussed, at least in the media. The other favorite, Wick&d Strong (are you kidding me? Webbie won't allow the word!), didn't do well either, probably because of being in the two previous races as well.

Wic ke d Strong did not run in the Preakness.

[sidsmom]

From the Bleacher Report (Tom Weir)....funny twist:

Imagine hearing that there is a hot baseball prospect on the horizon with fascinating family ties to Hall of Fame players.

On his dad’s side, relatives include Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. On his mom’s side, the limbs on the family tree stretch out to include not one, but two ties to Mickey Mantle.

He’d be intriguing, right?

Now take that same prospect, give him four legs and feed him some oats, and you have Saturday’s favorite in the Kentucky Derby: California Chrome.

California Chrome is related to two of horse racing’s 11 Triple Crown winners on his father’s side. His great-great-grandfather on his father’s side was 1977 winner Seattle Slew, and his great-great-great grandfather was the horse widely considered the greatest of all-time, 1973 champion Secretariat.

#CaliforniaChromeFAIL