The 15 days is indeed a sign that the Stewards feel an incident within the race was done at the discretion of the rider or, in other words, deliberately.
Remember I talked about phrases that riders and trainers use when I referred to " taking a shot", or, claiming a foul on a hope and a prayer. Well, " race riding" is another phrase used which refers to riders riding rough or with the will to intimidate. ( Back to this in a minute.)
IMO, the horse switching leads in the turn and the subsequent action that followed is NOT a reason for any days, much less 15 days IMO. If a horse bolts out or ducks out and the rider moves to correct immediately, that rider has done all he or she could do. I feel that Saez DID do that when his horse moved out from the lead change.
I am wondering if the excessive days are due to the " race riding" that took place just after the incident in which Saez moves his mount back inward but continues to move closer to the rail, obviously to tighten the hole on the inside that Code Of Honor was trying to run through. He came all the way back over and bumped, albeit lightly, but he did bump, not brush IMO, Code Of Honor and then proceeded to outrun him to the finish line. THAT is the art of "race riding".
So was THAT it? Or was the incident when Max Sec. switched leads in the turn it, or a culmination of both. Do they feel he was playing bumper cars?
The ruling said the suspension is for "failure to control his mount and make the proper effort to maintain a straight course thereby causing interference with several rivals that resulted in the disqualification of his mount."
The wording is too vague to understand exactly what the Stewards are talking about in particular.
All of that said, it is my opinion that Saez deserved NO days for his ride in the Ky. Derby. I know that people within the business are split on if he should have come down or not. My opinion is regrettably and with much angst, he should have. I say that because he was the best horse and I hate to see the betting public or Max Security pay a price for what happened. The rules pertaining to the betting should be reexamined IMO but I already talked about that last week. But the bottom line is it happened and it wasn't slight or ticky tacky. It was a real thing.
But as for any days, because it is obvious to me that the rider did all he could do as quickly as he could have, to say that the rider "failed to make the proper effort to maintain a straight course", THAT, when speaking to the lead switching and around the turn is wholly inaccurate.
And if it is for race riding Code Of Honor, or a combination of the two, than they should have said so.
The last thought for me is, are they trying to somehow justify the call they made to the public? Wow, I hope not. What a mess that will be.
Credibility and respect is paramount within the game for the Stewards. They talk to riders everyday. Same with Trainers. And I will bet that they will be hard pressed to gain much of any support from either group on this call.
For just my take, I feel it is a terrible decision that will only undermine the Kentucky Stewards respectability moving forward unless something is brought to the table that nobody has heard yet.
The race is below and the "race riding", which fans see all the time, is at 2:12 of the video. It might seem that I am trying to make a case for the Stewards decision. I am not. I am simply trying to understand it and i'm grabbing at straws to try and figure out what the heck they are actually talking about.
All in all Mr. GandT, this thing is a real mess, and IMO the Stewards have nobody to blame but themselves.
Remember I talked about phrases that riders and trainers use when I referred to " taking a shot", or, claiming a foul on a hope and a prayer. Well, " race riding" is another phrase used which refers to riders riding rough or with the will to intimidate. ( Back to this in a minute.)
IMO, the horse switching leads in the turn and the subsequent action that followed is NOT a reason for any days, much less 15 days IMO. If a horse bolts out or ducks out and the rider moves to correct immediately, that rider has done all he or she could do. I feel that Saez DID do that when his horse moved out from the lead change.
I am wondering if the excessive days are due to the " race riding" that took place just after the incident in which Saez moves his mount back inward but continues to move closer to the rail, obviously to tighten the hole on the inside that Code Of Honor was trying to run through. He came all the way back over and bumped, albeit lightly, but he did bump, not brush IMO, Code Of Honor and then proceeded to outrun him to the finish line. THAT is the art of "race riding".
So was THAT it? Or was the incident when Max Sec. switched leads in the turn it, or a culmination of both. Do they feel he was playing bumper cars?
The ruling said the suspension is for "failure to control his mount and make the proper effort to maintain a straight course thereby causing interference with several rivals that resulted in the disqualification of his mount."
The wording is too vague to understand exactly what the Stewards are talking about in particular.
All of that said, it is my opinion that Saez deserved NO days for his ride in the Ky. Derby. I know that people within the business are split on if he should have come down or not. My opinion is regrettably and with much angst, he should have. I say that because he was the best horse and I hate to see the betting public or Max Security pay a price for what happened. The rules pertaining to the betting should be reexamined IMO but I already talked about that last week. But the bottom line is it happened and it wasn't slight or ticky tacky. It was a real thing.
But as for any days, because it is obvious to me that the rider did all he could do as quickly as he could have, to say that the rider "failed to make the proper effort to maintain a straight course", THAT, when speaking to the lead switching and around the turn is wholly inaccurate.
And if it is for race riding Code Of Honor, or a combination of the two, than they should have said so.
The last thought for me is, are they trying to somehow justify the call they made to the public? Wow, I hope not. What a mess that will be.
Credibility and respect is paramount within the game for the Stewards. They talk to riders everyday. Same with Trainers. And I will bet that they will be hard pressed to gain much of any support from either group on this call.
For just my take, I feel it is a terrible decision that will only undermine the Kentucky Stewards respectability moving forward unless something is brought to the table that nobody has heard yet.
The race is below and the "race riding", which fans see all the time, is at 2:12 of the video. It might seem that I am trying to make a case for the Stewards decision. I am not. I am simply trying to understand it and i'm grabbing at straws to try and figure out what the heck they are actually talking about.
All in all Mr. GandT, this thing is a real mess, and IMO the Stewards have nobody to blame but themselves.
"The last thought for me is, are they trying to somehow justify the call they made to the public? "
That was the impression that I got when they handed down that suspension. I'm just really disappointed. Like you said, this whole thing has turned to a big mess.
Moving forward, Sir, see anything interesting in Black Eye Susan and the Preakness. Both are DRF Race of the Day and forms are available on their website. Hopefully, you have time to take a look and give us your insights. Thanks in advance.
