tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post8683178095332000048..comments2024-03-05T05:38:22.024-05:00Comments on Left at the Gate: Louisiana Derby DayAlan Mannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12570505944559196118noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-60563457556028331462007-03-10T13:50:00.000-05:002007-03-10T13:50:00.000-05:00Mr. Ed,Thanks for the helpful info.For me, part of...Mr. Ed,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the helpful info.<BR/><BR/>For me, part of the fun in going to Belmont is getting to see the horses, jockeys, trainers, etc. -- famous or not -- up close. I especially enjoy watching them "parade" through that "tunnel" through the grandstand. (During last year's visit to Belmont, I noticed that some of the outriders who were "parked" with their horses near the crossover were even letting onlookers pet the "ponies.")<BR/><BR/>When I saw the set-up at Aqueduct, I realized that Aqueduct probably wasn't designed to have any similar kind of tunnel. But it did get me to thinking how the horses suddenly appeared all of a sudden in that paddock!<BR/><BR/>It is remarkable, as you point out, how accessible and "one-big-family-like" the sport of horse racing is. That, along with the "event-like" quality of the Wood Memorial, made last year's visit to Aqueduct a lot of fun.<BR/><BR/>Sincerely,<BR/>BenjaminAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-33962306657543594682007-03-09T21:33:00.000-05:002007-03-09T21:33:00.000-05:00Benjamin,I hope you enjoy the Wood, I have been at...Benjamin,<BR/><BR/>I hope you enjoy the Wood, I have been attending annually since the 70's. Lately there are enough fans there to make it event worthy without being too crowded, although the fact that most of the grand stand remains closed for eventual construction may make it a little cozy.<BR/><BR/>There is a dirt path around the outside rail of the club house turn which is used to bring the horses from the back stretch to the saddling area. Right before they get to the clubhouse they have a choice whethar to continue to the paddock via the racetrack, in which case they parade in front of the clubhouse, or a tunnel that goes under the clubhouse to the paddock. The tunnel is about 100 yards, the lenghth between the beginning of the clubhouse to the paddock, and is restricted to horsemen and employees.<BR/><BR/>The good news is that once the weather warms most of the trainers send their horses to the paddock via the track. I like to sit on the benches in the front of the clubhouse on hopefully a beautiful spring day and watch them walk with their handlers before being saddled. <BR/><BR/>Was within six feet of Funny Cide last year and not a soul around me realized they were looking at a past Derby winner. In no other sport can you get that access.<BR/><BR/>Enjoy, and good luck.<BR/><BR/>Mr. EdAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-57573562892234781182007-03-09T16:39:00.000-05:002007-03-09T16:39:00.000-05:00Alan,Thanks for the information -- and the quick r...Alan,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the information -- and the quick reply! <BR/><BR/>The information about the red "S" is very interesting and should come in handy when I make my one or two yearly trips to the race track. I hope to go to Aqueduct this year for the Wood Memorial. I also hope to go to Belmont once this spring -- this Manhattanite's once annual foray into the "countryside" -- but not for the "Belmont" itself. I made that mistake the year Funny Cide ran!<BR/><BR/>But back to schooling "Nobiz Like Shobiz" in crowd noise: <BR/><BR/>The feeling I got from the Barclay Tagg comment you quoted was that "Nobiz" veers inward (lugs?) to the LEFT in races to "escape" the noise of a cheering crowd (even those crowds that are relatively small compared to the Derby) that is on his RIGHT. That's apparently why he doesn't lug in during training (when he's running before empty stands), but lugs in during races. So the problem (at least to someone like me who is, admittedly, not that knowledgeable about horse racing) seems to be with the way crowd noise affects the DIRECTION of his running -- and his resulting speed (because the jockey has to "fight" the horse to get him to run straight and this uses up some of the horse's energy).<BR/><BR/>So even though it would be, obviously, impossible to duplicate the noise of a Kentucky Derby crowd, it seems to me that even schooling him in crowd noise in general (even at levels much lower than the Kentucky Derby) would be helpful in desensitizing and acclimatizing him to the "kind" of noise (although not the volume) that even now, apparently, comes as a "surpise" to him (since now he seems to only experience it during an actual race, when there isn't an opportunity to calm him down) and which forces him, as a matter of raw "instinct," off course to his left.<BR/><BR/>But then again, since the Kentucky Derby has those enormous mobs of people in the infield, maybe the noise on the left (the infield) will equalize and neutralize the noise on the right? (Or maybe it'll just make him "zig-zag" during the race or just freak him out altogether -- which I think is your point.)<BR/><BR/>- - - - -<BR/><BR/>By the way, if you have the time, another question: <BR/><BR/>If I remember correctly, when I went to Aqueduct for last year's Wood Memorial, I couldn't figure out what route the horses take to get from their stalls (wherever they are) to that below ground- level paddock. I suppose there is an underground tunnel, and I wonder where it is (and how long it is)?<BR/><BR/>Again thanks for the information (and for your interesting blog)!<BR/><BR/>Sincerely,<BR/>Benjamin Hemric<BR/>NYCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-73245214395495712362007-03-09T15:40:00.000-05:002007-03-09T15:40:00.000-05:00Benjamin -Thanks for reading, I appreciate it!Yes,...Benjamin -<BR/><BR/>Thanks for reading, I appreciate it!<BR/><BR/>Yes, trainers do school their horses by bringing them to the paddock on race day...if you're at the track, you may sometimes notice a horse with a red 'S' tag being walked around there. The problem is that these days, there's very little in the way of "enormous crowds of screaming people" that would even come close to the atmosphere at the Derby, where there were more than 150,000 people last year. So unless a trainer pipes in crowd noise like football teams do, I don't think there's any comparable situation that would prepare a horse for that.Alan Mannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12570505944559196118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8711985.post-27374046554652292522007-03-09T14:19:00.000-05:002007-03-09T14:19:00.000-05:00Hi! I'm only a "casual" and somewhat new fan of h...Hi! I'm only a "casual" and somewhat new fan of horse racing who's been enjoying your blog, off and on, for the last year or so. Since I know very little about horse racing, please forgive me if the question that follows is way off base.<BR/><BR/>Last Wednesday you wrote:<BR/><BR/>"[Nobiz Like Shobiz] . . . seems to have a long way to go mentally, and he has only one more race with which to get there. Tagg, who will try adding blinkers in the morning this week, said that he shies away from the crowd; if he does that at Gulfsream, what is he going to do with 140,000 people there?"<BR/><BR/>I've heard that trainers "school" horses for tense situations, like entering the starting gate, being saddled in the paddock, etc. Is it possible (or even a worthwhile idea in the first place) to try to school Nobiz Like Shobiz in getting used to screaming fans who are watching horses race down a homestretch?<BR/><BR/>What I'm thinking of is every day or so taking him for a little while to the infield of a major racetrack like Gulfstream where he could be walked around, calmed or fed while other horses race down the homestretch. He could thus learn to get used to (to be systematically desensitized) to the loud, close-up roar of an enormous crowd of screaming people.<BR/><BR/>Since I'm new to horse racing, I realize that there may be good reasons not to do this that I don't know about (e.g., it doesn't work, management wouldn't allow it, etc.) or, alternatively, that this is already well known among horse men and done all the time, but just isn't advisable or hasn't been mentioned with regard to "Nobiz Like Shobiz."<BR/><BR/>Any information that you can provide with regard to this idea would be most appreciated.<BR/><BR/>Sincerely,<BR/>Benjamin Hemric<BR/>NYCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com