Championship Subdivision Football | FCS Football | Stadiums | Blogs | Forums

It's Derby Day. With my mom having grown up literally across the street from Churchill Downs, I always follow the Derby intently.

Nyquist (named after the famous Red Wing) is the strong favorite at 2:1 and being undefeated at 7 wins in 7 races.

I'll go against the tide and pick Exxagerator, winner of the Santa Anita. West Coast bias.

Also pulling for an even longer shot, Brody's Cause, as he has a local Louisville trainer and he gave a good interview.

Some freakish stuff happened in the early Woodford Reserve Turf Classic. A storm rolled in during the National Anthem by Lady Antebellum. The Woodford horses were being led to the track and a sign blew down from the upper level and struck the horse Grand Tito who reared up on his hind legs. Spooked, they said he flipped out again two minutes later and fell into a flower bed and struck a concrete wall. The vet checked him in the paddock and said he's OK, but scratched.

In the Woodford itself, two horses clipped heels and the horse Kasaqui fell and rolled but surprisingly sprung up apparently uninjured. Jockeys were shook up.

Still, very lucky all around.

Mohaymen FTW!

Nyquist = real deal

Exaggerator places

LA Times was saying these two might be the Affirmed-Alydar of this Triple Crown, and they are right so far.

Damn. Two horses have died in the undercard races to the Preakness today at Pimlico.

One died while walking back to the stall after winning his race. The other was a female that broke a leg and was euthanized on the track. That one's jockey also broke his collarbone.

I hope Nyquist's mother was a mudder! Track is slop.

I'm going with Exaggerator again. My nigga.

Fuck yeah Exaggerator.

Nyquist's jockey blew it today. Early pace was way too fast for him.

93henfan wrote:Fuck yeah Exaggerator.

Nyquist's jockey blew it today. Early pace was way too fast for him.

Yeah, when that was happening, I said it was all over unless Nyquist was Secretariat's son.

Dumbass move.

Did they have to put any horses down on the track today?

Heard an interesting take this morning. I'm not one to normally side with PETA, and this doesn't involve them, but it does for the sake/health of the horses. NASCAR would never dream of racing in the rain for sake of the drivers, but horse racing like on Saturday will run in the slop - which puts both the horses & jockeys in danger. Thoughts?

bluehenbillk wrote:Heard an interesting take this morning. I'm not one to normally side with PETA, and this doesn't involve them, but it does for the sake/health of the horses. NASCAR would never dream of racing in the rain for sake of the drivers, but horse racing like on Saturday will run in the slop - which puts both the horses & jockeys in danger. Thoughts?

Do we run marathons in the rain? Do we let our kids play soccer in the rain? Do we play football in the snow? Do we let our kids swim in the rain...oh, wait...never mind.

Almost any sport is more dangerous in the rain. But, you can't compare NASCAR to other sports, or horse racing. We had horses running all over the place on Saturday at the Radnor Races and none got hurt. They eliminated some of the bigger jumps, and there were a couple scratched horses, as there always are, but the horses ran in the rain. In fact, the last time they had to put a horse down at the Radnor Races was on a sunny day with good footing...he simply broke his leg on a jump while getting bumped by another horse. Again...on a perfectly dry day.

Accidents happen.

The one horse at the Preakness track had a heart attack or an aneurysm while walking back to the barn after he won. Did the rain cause that?

The horse who broke its leg was on the grass track, not the muddy track, and the grass was reported to be in fine shape before and after the leg break.

Thousands of horses run in the rain at tracks all over the country. When we hear about the occasional injury, an incredibly small percentage, the average Joe comes out to opine about the dangers of the sport.

Cluck U wrote:

bluehenbillk wrote:Heard an interesting take this morning. I'm not one to normally side with PETA, and this doesn't involve them, but it does for the sake/health of the horses. NASCAR would never dream of racing in the rain for sake of the drivers, but horse racing like on Saturday will run in the slop - which puts both the horses & jockeys in danger. Thoughts?

Do we run marathons in the rain? Do we let our kids play soccer in the rain? Do we play football in the snow? Do we let our kids swim in the rain...oh, wait...never mind.

Almost any sport is more dangerous in the rain. But, you can't compare NASCAR to other sports, or horse racing. We had horses running all over the place on Saturday at the Radnor Races and none got hurt. They eliminated some of the bigger jumps, and there were a couple scratched horses, as there always are, but the horses ran in the rain. In fact, the last time they had to put a horse down at the Radnor Races was on a sunny day with good footing...he simply broke his leg on a jump while getting bumped by another horse. Again...on a perfectly dry day.

Accidents happen.

The one horse at the Preakness track had a heart attack or an aneurysm while walking back to the barn after he won. Did the rain cause that?

The horse who broke its leg was on the grass track, not the muddy track, and the grass was reported to be in fine shape before and after the leg break.

Thousands of horses run in the rain at tracks all over the country. When we hear about the occasional injury, an incredibly small percentage, the average Joe comes out to opine about the dangers of the sport.

"....On average, 24 horses die each week at racetracks across America...

....A state-by-state survey by The Times shows that about 3,600 horses died racing or training at state-regulated tracks over the last three years.....

....At Aqueduct, most of the 16 horses that have died so far this year were in the lower ranks, where purses have increased the fastest because of new casino money.

“It’s hard to watch these poor animals running for their lives for people who could really care less if they live,” said Dr. Margaret Ohlinger, a track veterinarian at Finger Lakes Casino and Racetrack in upstate New York.a track veterinarian at Finger Lakes Casino and Racetrack in upstate New York. She performs pre-race inspections and treats horses injured in races but is not responsible for their overall care.

Last year at the track, Dr. Ohlinger counted 63 dead horses....."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/us/de ... wanted=all

http://www.horsedeathwatch.com/

Ahhh...throwing in injuries from training and those from poorly run tracks (some of which are no better run than a cock fighting place).

Hmmmm...why don't we just add Saturday night neighborhood drag race accidents into the NASCAR stats?

Someone is worried about the health of the horses?

We have kids who get permanent brain damage playing football. Players die from problems associated with any athletic events. We have people fighting MMA style. We still have boxing. We have fox hunting...where foxes and horses die. We shoot deer, wolves, bears, and almost every other living creature. We kill ants, wasps, and mice. We kill each other in great volume.

And life (for some) goes on.

Are we to simply shut everything down and sit on the couch while we play video games?

Horse racing is dying...not from the animal activists protests...and not from the injuries. It is dying due to changing expectations of entertainment. Having a race (a race that lasts only 2-3 minutes) go off every 30 minutes...perhaps 9 or 10 races in 5 hours, is just not captivating enough for most people. Furthermore, the land needed for the breeding and training of horses, as well as the land needed for the racing establishment, is disappearing as America continues its march towards putting developments and malls on every last stitch of land.

Horse racing, done right, is a beautiful sport. It is one of the few examples of man and animal competing together. Sure, there are injuries. Whoops. Competition involves risk. The idea that horses should not race in the rain is absurd. Might as well wrap them, and our kids, in bubble wrap.

Cluck U wrote:Horse racing, done right, is a beautiful sport.It is one of the few examples of man and animal competing together. Sure, there are injuries. Whoops. Competition involves risk. The idea that horses should not race in the rain is absurd.

True.

Has nothing to do with rain.

Unfortuately its not being done right due to to 2 words: MONEY and DRUGS

Cluck U wrote:Ahhh...throwing in injuries from training and those from poorly run tracks (some of which are no better run than a cock fighting place).

Hmmmm...why don't we just add Saturday night neighborhood drag race accidents into the NASCAR stats?

Someone is worried about the health of the horses?

We have kids who get permanent brain damage playing football. Players die from problems associated with any athletic events. We have people fighting MMA style. We still have boxing. We have fox hunting...where foxes and horses die. We shoot deer, wolves, bears, and almost every other living creature. We kill ants, wasps, and mice. We kill each other in great volume.

And life (for some) goes on.

Are we to simply shut everything down and sit on the couch while we play video games?

Horse racing is dying...not from the animal activists protests...and not from the injuries. It is dying due to changing expectations of entertainment. Having a race (a race that lasts only 2-3 minutes) go off every 30 minutes...perhaps 9 or 10 races in 5 hours, is just not captivating enough for most people. Furthermore, the land needed for the breeding and training of horses, as well as the land needed for the racing establishment, is disappearing as America continues its march towards putting developments and malls on every last stitch of land.

Horse racing, done right, is a beautiful sport. It is one of the few examples of man and animal competing together. Sure, there are injuries. Whoops. Competition involves risk. The idea that horses should not race in the rain is absurd. Might as well wrap them, and our kids, in bubble wrap.

Just keep on killing the fokkin' wolves. And geese.

BDKJMU wrote:

Cluck U wrote:Horse racing, done right, is a beautiful sport.It is one of the few examples of man and animal competing together. Sure, there are injuries. Whoops. Competition involves risk. The idea that horses should not race in the rain is absurd.

True.

Has nothing to do with rain.

Unfortuately its not being done right due to to 2 words: MONEY and DRUGS

Agreed. I'm interested to see the blood test on the horse that dropped dead. Drugs are a far bigger deal than racing in the rain/slop.

93henfan wrote:

BDKJMU wrote:
True.

Has nothing to do with rain.

Unfortuately its not being done right due to to 2 words: MONEY and DRUGS

Agreed. I'm interested to see the blood test on the horse that dropped dead. Drugs are a far bigger deal than racing in the rain/slop.

That horse was 9 years old. How many horses are still racing at 9 years old?

AZGrizFan wrote:

93henfan wrote:
Agreed. I'm interested to see the blood test on the horse that dropped dead. Drugs are a far bigger deal than racing in the rain/slop.

That horse was 9 years old. How many horses are still racing at 9 years old?

Well, to be fair, Bernie is still running a race.

As if the Belmont was going to be irrelevant enough, Nyquist will not run - high white blood cell count.

bluehenbillk wrote:As if the Belmont was going to be irrelevant enough, Nyquist will not run - high white blood cell count.

Equals a probable infection.