BC Friday: A Tale of Two Tales

The first day of the Breeders' Cup is in the books, and I'll get to the actual races at some point soon. But the two bizarre incidents that book-ended ESPN's coverage - the ones that everyone will be talking about - surely demand attention. One of them will probably have too much made of it; the other couldn't possibly cause enough ado about something.

I don't think you could blame Calvin Borel for being pissed after the Marathon. Javier Castellano might be known as a clean rider as he was described on the broadcast. But there seems little doubt that he was clearly at fault for the near-downing of Martin Garcia aboard Romp, and the resulting contact with A.U. Miner that no doubt cost he and Borel a piece of the purse, if not the whole shebang considering the way he recovered and rallied for 4th. Castellano was rightly disqualified from second to 10th for steering Prince Will I Am out into the path of A.U. Miner to cause the chain reaction.

The scuffle and its aftermath (except the reported continuation of hostilities in the locker room) was caught close up on camera, in large part thanks to Jeanine Edwards' quick reaction in calmly calling for the cameras, and an alert director on the job. In my view, the fisticuffs between the two riders reflect no more poorly on the sport of horse racing than similar physical confrontations in other highly competitive and emotional contact-prone athletic competitions do on theirs.

After the two were broken up, there was one moron who tried to block the closest camera's view; I'd like to know who that guy was and who he works for. Maybe he was Borel's publicist. The crazed ferocity of the jockey's reaction provides the type of image that can overwhelm one's achievements and ultimately define his career, especially in the You Tube age. One example that comes to mind is Juan Marichal, the Hall of Fame pitcher who compiled a remarkable record of 243-142 and struck out over 2,300 batters in his 15 year career. Yet one of the first things that comes to my mind upon his mention is the image of him clubbing John Roseboro over the head with his bat. And you can't even find the video on You Tube.

If Borel was a baseball player and went that mental, you can just guess what people would be thinking. Instead of Calvin Bo-Rail, he'd be referred to as Calvin Bo-Roid. It took several beefy regular-size guys to hold him back. Borel has accomplished plenty enough on the racetrack to be inducted into his sport's Hall of Fame. But I imagine that this incident will always be an integral part of his legacy.

I've watched a lot of horse races on TV in my time, but I surely cannot recall anything comparable to what we witnessed on ESPN prior to - and during - the Ladies Classic. In case you missed it, Jerry Bailey asked John Velazquez during the warm0up how Life at Ten was taking to the Churchill track, and the jockey replied: "Right now I'm not sure, to tell you the truth. She's not warming up the way that she normally does." ESPN may have lucked into that stunning bit of inside info, but credit them for some excellent journalism afterwards. Jay Privman promptly sought out Todd Pletcher, who told him that the mare was "very quiet in the paddock. She was acting a little unusual." (If you have a tape, go to 13 minutes to post and you'll see exactly what the Toddster was talking about. And if you watch for a few minutes beyond that, you'll see that Pletcher was not at all forthcoming about those observations during an interview with Privman as the horses headed to the track.)

Bailey then asked Johnny V again, just a few minutes before post, if there had been any improvement. "Not really," he responded. And sure enough, Life at Ten, sent off as the 7-2 second choice to Blind Luck, showed no interest from the start and quickly lost contact with the field. Amazing, astounding, and not a good thing for the sport, especially as ESPN was touting the virtues of the first major racing event televised in "almost" prime-time.

So, plenty of questions here, all revolving around the main one of why Life at Ten was not scratched. Pletcher told the persistent and professional Privman afterwards that he told his jockey to make sure that she warmed up well....and that Velazquez asked the vets to look at her. However, Larry Bramlage, the on-call vet for the American Association of Equine Practitioners, told the Form: "Velazquez didn't say anything to the vet before the race." [DRF] It's certainly fair to question why he did not....and also to ask why the trainer, if he thought his mare seemed "almost sedated-like," as he told Privman, wasn't more explicit in his instructions to his rider about her being able to warm up properly, and what he should do if she didn't.

However, Bailey pointed out that "the attending vet is supposed to come over and ask 'is this horse ok?'" And Randy Moss said: "That's what the vet is at the starting gate for - to protect the public, to protect the horses, to protect the riders." Apparently, that did not transpire either. Ms. Edwards reported shortly before post time that Bramlage, when asked about the jockey's comments, told her that "the vets on the ground have not been made aware of the situation." However, Bramlage apparently had been! Is there no means of communication between he and those vets out at the starting gate?

I also wonder sometimes about the whole idea of these random pre-race interviews which occasionally - though never in my experience to this extent - make the viewers privy to information that other bettors lack. Not that ESPN shouldn't do its job of reporting as much relevant news as possible, and not to suggest that there be any form of censorship. But this is the type of incident that might make bettors feel as if they're better off watching at home than going to the track!

It's certainly quite clear that somebody should have said something to someone; and even Pletcher conceded that she "clearly should have probably not run." Of course, that clearly comes as probably small consolation to all of those who saw their money go down the drain.

- Hearing the Europeans' complaints about the turf course being too firm, and seeing Shared Account ($94) hold off favored Midway in the F&M Turf, I feel more emboldened to try and beat Goldikova in the Mile today. As I've mentioned before, The Usual Q.T. (15-1) has excellent form at this distance and seems at peak form at this time. And Proviso (12-1), trained by Mott, who sent out Unrivaled Belle ($17) to win, by the way, that Ladies Classic, is similarly sharp and enamored of the route.

I like Supreme Summit (15-1) in the Sprint; sharp synthetic shipper seems well worth the shot here should be around those odds. I saw that jp likes him too, and thought he'd be upset that I do, fearing that I was jinxing him. However, after seeing his picks for Friday, maybe it should be the other way around! Welsch didn't care for his workouts, but, then again, Switch sure ran pretty well, didn't she? Big Drama (7-2) is, I think, clearly the horse to beat. Warrior's Reward (12-1) likes the track, has reportedly worked quite well, and is poised to pick up a piece with a late rally.