Horse Racing: The Sport of Kings

[KittenPokerCheater]

The longest of long shots wins! In the Derby, anything can happen.  And it's awesome when it does.

re: NYtimes
ETA: at the race time, the odds had gone up 80-1.  

Edited May 8, 2022 by KittenPokerCheater

[Crashcourse]

I never bet on any sports, but I'm always delighted when the long shot wins, and that was a loooooooong shot.  

I hope Rich Strike has a great dinner.  😋Also, the jockey (I think his last name was Leon) had a beautiful little daughter and wife. 

[Just Here]

^The Lexington Herald-Leader has a good write-up about the jockey, Sonny Leon.

Here's the last 50 seconds of the 2022 Kentucky Derby, with Rich Strike labeled (the video in the tweet may be geo-blocked for those outside the USA):

And the full race (via YouTube; again, may be geo-blocked for those outside of the USA):

[Irlandesa]

Yeah that was crazy.  And the odds weren't 30-1. They were 80-1 at race time.  I kind of wish I bet even though I don't either.

I don't follow racing so I found myself wondering why they weren't talking about that horse that was coming on strong and it's because they didn't expect him. It's amazing how he just kept going forward through the crowd. 

[proserpina65]

On 5/7/2022 at 7:17 PM, twoods said:

The crowd seemed shocked. A lot of people lost money today. Congrats to the winner!

This is where my habit of putting a couple of bucks on the longest shot in the race would've paid off.  If I actually bet on races, that is.

It was pretty exciting watching it.  I went from rooting for a couple of horses who weren't near the front (although Tawny Port did finish 7th) to saying any horse that wasn't trained by Baffert to "yay, that really long shot" all in the course of 2 minutes.

[JTMacc99]

On 5/8/2022 at 1:40 AM, Irlandesa said:

It's amazing how he just kept going forward through the crowd. 

I know I'm like a month late, but I'm just now catching up on things.

It was such a good ride by the jockey along with a little luck.  He kept his horse down on the railing, and as the other horses in front of him in the final turn and into the stretch started to fade, they all faded to the right and out of his way. He just kept storming up along the rail!

In hindsight, when the announcer excitedly let us know the pace after the first half mile, it should have clicked with me that the horses up front were going WAY too fast for a 1 1/4 race. 

Somebody off the pace was going to have a chance to run past a bunch of fading horses in the final 1/8 mile, but LOL, it was pretty unlikely it was going to be Rich Strike. 

[SunnyBeBe]

Did anyone watch today?  

[BuckeyeLou]

On 5/6/2023 at 7:38 PM, SunnyBeBe said:

Did anyone watch today?  

Between the Coronation & the KY Derby, I saw lots of Fabulous Hats :)  But, with the deaths of 7 horses in the weeks leading up to the Race, it cast a shadow over everything.

[SunnyBeBe]

12 minutes ago, BuckeyeLou said:

Between the Coronation & the KY Derby, I saw lots of Fabulous Hats :)  But, with the deaths of 7 horses in the weeks leading up to the Race, it cast a shadow over everything.

Yeah, it did.  I’m sort of torn about it.  I no longer watch football, because of player brain damage.  So, why do I still watch this?  I guess I feel the horses are well cared for.  I need to do some research and a deep dive into it. 
 

I liked the Coronation festivities too.  

[SuprSuprElevated]

We watched, sort of against my better judgement. My disdain for the sport is growing by the year, and all of these deaths punctuate that. 

I'm increasingly annoyed by the use of animals for human entertainment/enrichment. I know that there are horse people that would counter my sentiments, but I just can't rally overlook the problems with the sport.

[SunnyBeBe]

Are there any deep dive documentaries on it?  

[SuprSuprElevated]

42 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Are there any deep dive documentaries on it?  

I would imagine so, but none that I've seen.

[SunnyBeBe]

I found this piece today.  I don’t really understand the situation.  The Preakness is today.  
 

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/268751/op-ed-no-alibi-for-not-supporting-preakness-traditions

 

This is terrible news.  I think horse racing may be facing some big changes. 
 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/20/sport/preakness-stakes-bob-baffert-2023-preview-spt-intl/index.html

 

Edited May 20, 2023 by SunnyBeBe

[cleo]

I can't watch racing anymore. I did watch the Derby, but I felt uneasy about it. I knew about the 7 deaths.

I'm not an expert on the industry, but there are enough injuries and mistreatment of the horses that I just can't bring myself to watch anymore. But I was never very heavily invested, so it's not a tough decision.

As for the first article, I'm curious what the age of the writer is. A) yes things change. Traditions change. B) is a fancy breakfast with white linen or whatever it is the most important thing? Horses dying is just taken in stride so casually.  I can't really muster up much sympathy over a swanky breakfast. 

[annzeepark914]

Horse racing should face major changes (where the animals are protected at all times) or just shut it down for good. It's not a real sport any way as the jockeys are just getting a free ride. The horses are the only athletes.

[SunnyBeBe]

I’ve been reading and I also talked to a friend of mine who used to own horses and even boarded horses on her property.  She said horse racing is terrible and that she does not support it at all. She agreed with much that I read about them racing horses that are too young and underdeveloped.  The racing ruins their muscles and bones. It also deprives the horses of living a normal life. So, I’ve decided to let it go and not watch it anymore. I explained it to my dad, because he likes it and we always watched the races on tv together.  He was open and agreed it was cruel.So, we’ll have to start a new father-daughter tradition.  He’s 86.  

[SuprSuprElevated]

I know what will lead to answers about all these horse deaths; shut the damn thing down!

2-horses-die-injuries-churchill-downs-bringing-total-12-home-kentucky-derby/