(raymond)

I’ve noticed several comments, tweets and at least one post about Calvin’s use of the whip on Rachel. My only question is, what took you so long? Did people just now notice that American jocks whip horses too much?

Check out Calvin’s ride of Lady Joanne in the 2007 Alabama (not on YouTube, sorry!) or Mike Smith on Tiago in the Santa Anita Derby:

(partymanners)

And these are just two that came to mind immediately. AND how about all those horses who aren’t Rachel Alexandra, Lady Joanne or Tiago?

If Rachel can get some meaningful discussion going about use of the whip it will be one more stellar accomplishment for her to add to her impressive resume. It’s easy to blame the jocks, lord knows I’ve done it, but the issue is bigger than that. We have vague rules that are hard to enforce which makes it that much harder for stewards to actually do something about it.

I’m a huge fan of whip reform. Sadly as regular fans and players we’re all used to it but commenter ljk summed it up nicely on a post last year when he said:

I’ll say it again: to newcomers our sport looks like people with sticks beating horses to make them run

Word.

Posted by dana on Sep 08 2009    
Filed Under: Stewards, The Whip, 2009, Mike Smith, Rachel Alexandra, Twitter, Raymond Haddad, Internet, Grrrr, Fans, Tiago, Race Replay, YouTube, Calvin Borel, Racing

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(J R Webb)

On one hand the Del Mar cougar contest is harmlessly chuckle worthy and certainly in tune with at least some of their market. On the other hand, it’s just another example of how women in racing are frequently either reduced to their looks or perceived as not as skillful as their male counterparts… let’s review.

During the intro to Eddie Read on ESPN the voice over extolled the virtues of Del Mar while panning of shot of pretty young ladies dressed in summer hats…

“This seaside spa meet has it’s own beauty. Many notice it on two legs under hats”

Then there was the recent reminder that if a woman does happen to be talented, she’s “not just another pretty face“. And let’s not forget that no matter how talented she might be, she’s still perceived to be not as skillful as her male colleagues.

Meanwhile, while Rachel Alexandra is busy kicking every ass regardless of the genitalia that sits nearby, she’s (occasionally) getting called things like “Miss America“. Feh.

I’d like to take a moment to do two things:

1. Echo Barry Irwin’s recent sentiment shared over at Paulick’s and thank Jess Jackson, for purchasing Rachel Alexandra away from owners who would have never given her the opportunities she’s had to thrill us, precisely because she is a female.

2. Point out to all those pre-Preakness hand-wringers who seem to erroneously view sex as a safety issue that the great Rachel Alexandra is still very much with us… and the game is better off for it.

(Saratoga was great! Post coming soon.)

Posted by dana on Aug 04 2009    
Filed Under: Rachel Alexandra, Del Mar, 2009, Daily Racing Form, Grrrr, Racing

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Rachel Alexandra, thoughtfully not screwing it up for the stallions (Sarah K. Andrew)

Just a few short days ago there was an excellent discussion going on here at GbG regarding the Oaks, the Derby and ultimately the biases that exist here in the good ole U S of A that generally preclude talented fillies from running in open company.

I believe all in attendance were somewhat in agreement that yes, Americans do have their biases about running fillies with colts, but just in case anyone is still in denial that fillies don’t get the chance because of the beliefs of their connections vs. their ability, I offer Exhibit A.

Dolphus Morrison, Rachel Alexandra’s breeder and co-owner, had this to say about running her in the Derby:

I think the Derby is a colts’ race and it’s there to showcase the horses that are the top potential stallions. It’s kind of stupid for some jerk with a filly to screw that up.

I guess this answers the question posed in the aforementioned discussion “Which guy stopped her from entering the Derby?” One Mr. Dolphus Morrison, who politely doesn’t want to “screw it up” for the potential stallions. How thoughtful!

Do you think you’d ever, EVER hear that kind of attitude in Europe if an owner had a filly as talented at Rachel Alexandra? No, you’d see them at the l’Arc collecting their whopping check and smiling for the cameras. Can we please stop pretending that it’s a matter of talent that keeps top notch fillies in restricted company and acknowledge that these types of attitudes exist?

Stay tuned for Oaks card picks either tonight or tomorrow morning and Stallion Kentucky Derby picks probably Saturday morning. But since I have a decent amount of handicapping to do, no doubt I’ll be doing some procrastination posting!

Posted by dana on Apr 30 2009    
Filed Under: Sarah K. Andrew, Kentucky Oaks, 2009, Rachel Alexandra, 3yo, Kentucky Derby, Breeding, Let Horses Race, Grrrr, Derby Trail, Racing

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While others have already done a great job discussing yesterday’s coverage of the Lane’s End, I noticed something interesting during the show. And by interesting I mean annoying.

At some point in the show there was an ad for DRF’s Formulator. The ad was funny and stylistically riffed on advertising of yore. An exaggerated vaudeville barker voice-over narrated all of the great qualities of Formulator while retro images intended to be charming, light hearted and funny illustrated the points.

I particularly got a chuckle out of the pig racing shot. Sadly though, there was one visual sentiment that not only hearkened back to the days of yore, but looks as though it’s still firmly entrenched in the days of now. To drive home that Formulator was easy to use “at every skill level”, they flashed an image of two women. Now there’s a selling point, even a woman can use it!

Did they think it was funny or not even think about it? Was it the same sentiment Kenny Mayne espoused during the bazillion hour BC coverage last year, “men wager, women vote” or was it just a light hearted yet unconsciously telling choice? We’ll never know.

Much has been pointed out recently about racing’s reliance on “antiquated stereotypes and frivolity to appeal to women“. Ditto the speculation that airing the Oaks on Bravo could marginalize the Oaks as a “chick race”. How nice to have this bothersome trifecta rounded out by subtly being reminded that we’re also not perceived as being as skillful as our male colleagues… thanks guys!

Don’t get me wrong, I think Formulator is a fine product, after all they did make it easy enough for me to use!

Posted by dana on Mar 22 2009    
Filed Under: Industry, 2009, Daily Racing Form, TV, Ads, Marketing, Grrrr

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4 minutes to post, time for a commercial!

Has anyone else watching Santa Anita via simulcast found the commercials during the parade maddening? I can’t figure it out. Besides the race, the parade is the only other thing I want to see. NYRA, who’s been tearing it up over on Twitter, does faaaaabulous parade camera work on the simulcast.

I’ve had a private little boycott of SA going since the inception of the parade commercials that I broke to play the excellent Big Cap card. I should have stuck with it as I had a rotten day at the virtual windows. At least I kept my wagers light, thanks to the commercials.

Meanwhile, back on the east coast Kiaran McLaughlin summed it up by joking:

They’ve got good races out on the West Coast. Why didn’t (I Want Revenge) stay out there?

I’ll move I Want Revenge in to my top 10 list and look forward to seeing him in the Wood. I was never a Haynesfield believer, at least not for the Derby, so no surprise there. I like Val’s read on Imperial Council. I liked the way he closed as and will keep an eye on him, although he might be improving just a hair too late for the Derby.

I’m not sure I put any stock into the idea that I Want Revenge’s win validates Pioneer of The Nile. I like PoN but I Want Revenge’s performance in Robert B. Lewis was just so-so, not the strong performance of yesterday plus there’s that pesky synth/dirt question for PoN. GbG commenter and all around smart guy o_crunk probably has PoN’s number as a turfer.

As impressive as I Want Revenge was, even more impressive is Mr. Ernie Munick’s video of Gotham day at the Big A! Sights include a walk down wind tunnel memory lane, race caller smack down, Brooklyn Backstretch with Derby fever, local fans supporting their local jockey colony (as long as they’re winning) and a little holiday ballet on the fence. Fun stuff… it even made me wanna go to the Big A!

And how about Einstein? Kate of Keiblog shares this sentiment:

Einstein should inspire more horse owners to race their champs beyond 3 and 4. Japan does it. And obviously a champ is a champ! Go Einstein!

I won’t disagree, it’s great to have such a versatile talent around to show the rotten kids how it’s done!

Posted by dana on Mar 08 2009    
Filed Under: Einstein, Aqueduct, 2009, Twitter, I Want Revenge, Santa Anita, Kiaran McLaughlin, Grrrr, Derby Trail, Race Callers, NYRA, Racing

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