CA drug testing - race 8

[shanahan]

maybe we should test the stewards.  If a hole does not exist - or better yet, you wait too long to take it - don\'t bitch...why is CA so f***ed up on these things?  Another outrageous ruling...but of course, they should just call me, ask me who I had, and then DQ it - might save time.

[Lost Cause]

Can\'t see a problem with that ruling as the 3 looked like he was going right on by until the other one drifted in.
I thought it was the right call.

[P-Dub]

Just saw the race.

A hole did exist. I don\'t know what you mean by take too long to take it. That horse established position to go by, he was almost a half length into the hole. The 1 horse drifted in at least 2 paths and forced the 3 to take up. Amazing the horse re-rallied to finish second with the others closing.  Pretty dangerous move by the 1 to drift in with those horses flying down the stretch.

Tough beat but the right call.

[Rick B.]

I think the stewards got fooled on this one. I\'d almost be willing to bet that when they look this one over today or tomorrow, Rosario isn\'t going to get any days.

You have to examine the head-on shot very closely.

The first thing I noticed was the run down the backstretch -- why is Rosario so far away from the rail? It became obvious when Rosario tried to move closer to the rail: the horse wasn\'t having it, because the sun was casting a shadow from the top of the rail right down onto the turf course, and Repo didn\'t want to step on it.

Is this significant? Maybe, maybe not, but Rosario was never able to get Repo to get closer to the rail until a few seconds after they came out of the turn for home.

Now I\'ll get to the meat of what I saw: using the head-on race replay from Twin Spires: at 1:07 Rosario moves in two paths, finally getting closer to the rail, and in the process, he \"tightens up\" Garcia\'s horse. (Garcia still had room to come through, but it would have been tight.)

So far, all Rosario is \"guilty\" of is race riding, not a foul.

Here\'s where you have to watch carefully: Rosario and Repo DO NOT drift in any further, but Garcia stays where he is -- he won\'t squeeze through, and won\'t get out of there, either.

For SIX seconds!

At 1:13 into the replay, Garcia finally realizes that the hole isn\'t going to open any more, and his horse simply can\'t be coaxed into going through, so he snatched up his horse and then ducked outside.

Sorry, that\'s not a foul -- that\'s a rider decision, and I think Garcia\'s \"check and tip out\" move sold the stewards on the idea that a foul had been committed. Had he made that decision and moved five seconds earlier, he might have won the race outright, without the drama. I don\'t think he deserved to get moved up for his indecisiveness,

My usual disclaimers apply here:

1. Had 0.00 invested into the race.

2. I\'ve seen worse DQ\'s -- far worse. I\'ve also seen horses get pinched and clobbered and knocked into the rail, with no call. I think what galls the average horseplayer isn\'t necessarily that DQ\'s happen -- it\'s that the calls are so horribly inconsistent.