HANDICAPPING INSIGHTS
JULY 26, 2013
by Dick Powell
Being a steward at a major racetrack is not an easy job. It’s tough enough to
change the finish of a race that affects the jockey, trainer, owner and bettor.
In many cases, it sends the jockey to the sidelines and out of business for a
period of time so their decisions have to be rock solid. And at the major racing
venues, more people are watching and wagering.
Last week, we saw two incidents at Del Mar, which raised many eyebrows and
howls of protest from those that came out on the short end.
In Friday’s seventh race, a Cal-bred stakes race for two-year-old fillies
going 5 1/2 furlongs on the main track, longshot Eddies Curl broke in hard from
post 4 and took out her two rivals to the immediate left. Yes, there is often
bumping when horses break from the gate. But where is the line between the
normal amount of bumping and causing severe interference?
In the case of Eddies Curl, she took out Evening News when she came over and
turned her sideways. Yes, Evening News broke a bit slow and the body slam that
came from Eddies Curl might not have been as bad but she, and the bettors who
used her, never had a chance. It was the old, “They’re off; you lose” scenario.
Pay the Debt, breaking from post 2, was bumped from the rail horse, Sprouts,
who came out at the start. When you watch the replay, you’ll see the four horse,
Eddies Curl, break in hard and take out the three and the two. The one comes out
a bit and the two further impedes the three in the violent chain reaction.
This incident at the start was way beyond what we usually see at the start of
races and the stewards conducted an inquiry. To the surprise of many, the order
of the race remained unchanged with Eddies Curl left up in the second position.
What poured salt on the wound was the ruling indicated that “the incident
occurred too early in the race to warrant a disqualification.” Where “Too Early”
begins and ends is anyone’s guess and it made the decision even more difficult
to accept.
Calling fouls that result in disqualification is difficult enough. Adding the
totally subjective decision on whether a foul occurred “Too Early” only makes it
more difficult. Plus, it gives the stewards room to cop out and act like there
was a foul but we are not going to change the order of the race.
As controversial as their no-decision was in Friday’s seventh race, nothing
could prepare us for Sunday’s disqualification in the last race. The videotape
of this race should be used in every steward’s class from here on. And, it
should be used under the heading, “This is not a foul.”
Cosmic Heat finished through the stretch strong and won the six-furlong
sprint by a convincing length. Nearing the wire, he drifted in some as he went
by the leader, Centenario De Oro.
Rallying from off the pace was Fighting On, who came up between the two
front-runners in the deep stretch. Edwin Maldonado was forced to check his mount
as the gap between Cosmic Heat and Centenario De Oro tightened up and he could
not finish his rally.
There was no stewards’ inquiry as the horses came back to be saddled then it
was announced that there was a jockey’s objection. The replays were shown
numerous times and at no point did I think there would be a disqualification.
Eddies Curl drifted in slightly and did not look like it warranted a DQ.
Maldonado was as much at fault for running his horse into tight quarters as
Agapito Delgadillo was for drifting in aboard Cosmic Heat.
After a lengthy delay, the stewards disqualified Cosmic Heat and placed him
third for interfering with Fighting On. Maybe it was a reaction to Friday’s
non-call, but it was a terrible decision for something you see every day. Horses
coming from behind do not have the right to squeeze through holes that may or
may not exist. This is horse racing and the riders are race riding and unless it
is a clear violation of the rules, there should not be disqualifications just
because the rider might have overreacted when his path closed up.
A few other things on the events at Del Mar. Why didn’t’ the stewards post
the inquiry sign when there was something that needed further attention in the
running of the last race on Sunday? They will tell you that they are looking at
the replay even if they did not post the inquiry sign but how are the fans
supposed to know that? By not posting it on Sunday, it gave the impression that
they were not reviewing the race until Maldonado claimed foul.
It is hard enough to decide if a foul occurred without further complicating
it with the foul occurred “too early” in the race or “it did not affect the
outcome of the race.” I wish we would go back to the system where a foul was a
foul and there were no mitigating circumstances. Racing is dangerous enough so
even meaningless fouls should be called to make the game as safe as possible for
the horses and riders.