Quote:
Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin
Rabbits have been used for years. They are part of the game. There is a difference between sending a rabbit and sending a horse that borderline fouls other horses. Geroux was right on the verge of fouling Bravazzo. He came in on him and caused him to check. And don't tell me I'm biased. I didn't like Bravazzo at all. I bet on Justify. I got +135 on him offshore. I wanted Justify to win. But I can still look at what happened objectively.
There are thousands of people out there including tons of trainers who had a problem with what happened. It's not as if it's just Repole saying something. He's simply saying the same thing that thousands of other people are saying. That is not sour grapes. How do you explain all the people out there who said the same thing as Repole?
What is going to happen next? Is a guy going to enter another horse to take out half the competition at the break? If that did ever happen in a big race, it would put the stewards in a tough position. The rider would obviously claim it was unintentional. Are the stewards going to disqualify the winning horse, if the trainer's uncoupled entry mate fouls a couple of other horses at the break?
I'm not claiming that anyone should have been disqualified in the Belmont. But I think it was an unethical, reckless and potentially dangerous thing to do. What if Bravazzo would have clipped heels and gone down? It would have created a huge scene, even if nobody got hurt. Would they have disqualified Justify? I would say probably not, but you would have people screaming twice as loud as they are right now. By the way, the stewards do have the power to disqualify an uncoupled entry mate (even with a different owner), if he fouls someone to the benefit of the other entry mate.
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You must have watched a different race than I did to suggest Restoring Hope did anything that remotely came close to making Bravazo clip heels and go down. In reality, he drifted out slightly going into the first turn before straightening and holding the two path, i.e. the same trip anyone who wanted to be aggressive could’ve gotten. Then he packed it in just in time for Vino Rosso to take his best shot at Justify, which wasn’t near good enough.
I love the idea that rabbits are just good old-fashioned gamesmanship but running an anti-rabbit is somehow a disgrace that needs to be investigated. No amount of hysteria or exaggeration or made-up hypotheticals will allow you to have that both ways. Killer redboard on your 6/5 Justify bet though.