Paulick's response on "life at ten gate"

[Songofthesword]

http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/br...-ten-incident/

probably the best piece he has ever written if you ask me. spot on.

[islandgirl45]

http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/br...-ten-incident/

probably the best piece he has ever written if you ask me. spot on.

I agree. I wondered why there were no reports of post-race drug testing on LAT just to rule out everything. And if I was her owner, watching my horse jog around the track in obvious discomfort would be upsetting, to say the least. When you factor in the thousands of dollars bet on LAT, the whole incident smells bad.

[Horse's Rear]

Has ANYONE asked Pletcher if she showed any signs of being off BEFORE she arrived in the paddock?

That's the part that makes so little sense to me. Maybe it's just timing, as I suppose it could be, but did she really just begin to act lethargic in the paddock?

[Della]

Wonder if Quality Road had a similar....allergy to....something.....

[Lakeway]

As I mentioned on another thread, the entire episode made me fearful for her, and I elected not to watch the race. I have followed her all year and was very worried that she would get hurt. I know John Velasquez took care of her, but what if something had happened?

Still reading conflicting stories about how she's doing. First it was a possible reaction to the Lasix, then that she tied-up, then a higher than normal temperature.

Any news would be appreciated... I'm so hoping she'll be ok... At least they did the right thing and pulled her out of the sale.

[jenn52318]

If it was a tying up type thing then yes it could come on very quickly. Going from maybe looking just not quite herself in the paddock, ie just not quite as perky as normal. Which if he scratched for for that many people would be mad too if it never progressed into anything. I would guess she was quiet and maybe just not as fluid as normal but nothing really standing out which makes it hard to pull out at this point in time. To me the mare looked unhappy but was not lame in any shot I saw, which is what the vets saw, and if they scratched every horse that looked unhappy a lot of horses would be scratched.

Who really knows at this point what happened, and while it does have a feel of something not right, it is also possible that it did happen that quick, and if she did have a slight fever that could have no relation to the tying up either. The last thing Pletcher or anyone wanted to do was send out a horse that would not perform.

[Matt Converse]

Wonder if Quality Road had a similar....allergy to....something.....

Just remember, not all of Pletcher's horses ran poorly.

[Still on the Farm]

I would think that if they suspected tying up, then they would have pulled a muscle enzyme survey. Would be nice to see the results on that.

[Brooklyn Cowgirl]

It is suspicious. I don't understand why the racing authorities don't see why this incident, which was seen on national television--gives the sport a black eye from both the wagering integrity and the animal welfare perspectives.

Good for Ray Paulick.

[serenassong]

Wonder if Quality Road had a similar....allergy to....something.....

Sure as heck ran like it, was shocked when I read the chart and said that he was last.

Good article, btw

[Slewbopper]

The whole incident reminds me of Brown's Belmont.

[Into_the_Mystic]

I think they all partake in the blame and their should be some fines handed out for this.. A lot of worse things could have gone wrong for the horse by being forced to run when she could barely even walk.. In justice was done to the horse as well as the betting public and someone needs to step up and take the blame.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing about her before teh race and then to see them loading her anyways really pissed me off.

[Songofthesword]

http://arkansasnews.com/2010/11/10/h...s-are-victims/

the backwater newspaper strikes again!

Somebody calculated that about $300,000 was bet on Life At Ten in various ways.
Those bettors had no chance to cash. Not to condone wagering on NFL games, but imagine the complaints if somebody bet on the Indianapolis Colts only to find out at kickoff that Peyton Manning was not going to play.
There is a reason that ESPN scrolls injury updates and a player’s status leading up to NFL games.

spot on

[Rick1323]

When you consider all sources handle and include exotic bets she had over a million riding on her. How it was handled was a disgrace.

For handicappers, how this is handled is far more important than who won the BCC. But as usual it will "go away" in time. Which is the purpose for the delays, reviews and panels that will be formed.....and which will do absolutly nothing about it.

[Sun King]

Good piece.

That whole fiasco upset me so much. The fact that Todd ultimately left it up to Johnny V was also upsetting, especially when he said something was "off" in the paddock. Sure, he may have thought that if Johnny warmed her up, everything would be fine. But she should never have been in that race, period. The only reason she was was because A) There was nothing outwardly PHYSICALLY wrong with her and B) She was too heavy a betting favorite. The catch is with "B" that it doesn't give the bettors a fair race if she's not at her best. But honestly, they were the last thing on my mind.

What ticked me off was that the bettors were ALL ESPN CARED ABOUT. If you saw the race, the first thing Randy Moss says is "Well, I guess the bettors are going to have to take it on the chin" and I was yelling at the TV "Who gives a sh*t? The horse is clearly uncomfortable."

I felt awful for that poor filly. These horses trust us to do what's right for them and her trainer and jockey both failed her. If something catastrophic would have happened, there would have been heads rolling. There still should be. She should never have run in that race, regardless of who was to blame.

[Rick1323]

Good piece.

That whole fiasco upset me so much. The fact that Todd ultimately left it up to Johnny V was also upsetting, especially when he said something was "off" in the paddock. Sure, he may have thought that if Johnny warmed her up, everything would be fine. But she should never have been in that race, period. The only reason she was was because A) There was nothing outwardly PHYSICALLY wrong with her and B) She was too heavy a betting favorite. The catch is with "B" that it doesn't give the bettors a fair race if she's not at her best. But honestly, they were the last thing on my mind.

What ticked me off was that the bettors were ALL ESPN CARED ABOUT. If you saw the race, the first thing Randy Moss says is "Well, I guess the bettors are going to have to take it on the chin" and I was yelling at the TV "Who gives a sh*t? The horse is clearly uncomfortable."

I felt awful for that poor filly. These horses trust us to do what's right for them and her trainer and jockey both failed her. If something catastrophic would have happened, there would have been heads rolling. There still should be. She should never have run in that race, regardless of who was to blame.

Something catastrophic did happen. About a million dollars worth of wagers were taken under false pretenses. I'm glad nothing happened to LAT. She is a gallant filly who deserved better from her connections.

But this is about the very essence of the game. It happens nearly every day at every track across the country. And few if any give a damn. I was hoping some good would come of this.....for the horses and the bettors. But as usual, they expect the gamblers, and the horses to just get over it and move on.

[GinTalking]

Very interesting to read all this stuff because the first moment I realized things were amiss was as LAT crossed under the wire the first time and she was LAST ... or to borrow from a Denman call ... DEAD LAST. If ever drama in the race call was warranted, it was this race.

Here's a filly who is always on the lead and she was lagging far behind the next to last runner. I remember saying (to no one in particular ... maybe Marcie to my left or the track photographer to my right) ... "what the heck is going on that Life At Ten is at the back?"

It's amazing to hear that the TV audience received a lot more information than anyone who was actually at the track.

You betcha ... someone screwed up.

I have been to the track with horses who were uncommonly quiet or rowdy and while the trainer may comment on the difference in the horse's attitude, as many times as not, the horse has run well, even won. But at no time did these horses do anything wildly unusual in the paddock or on the track warming up. I would hope that if a rider felt a horse was really not acting properly that they would do something before that horse ran.

JV should know that horse and how she acts almost as well as the rider who gets on her every morning. They can tell when something's not right.

Incredible that this all unfolded in front of the television audience ... and then their comments became reality.

FYI, didn't Malibu Prayer also run terribly?

[Sun King]

Something catastrophic did happen. About a million dollars worth of wagers were taken under false pretenses. I'm glad nothing happened to LAT. She is a gallant filly who deserved better from her connections.

But this is about the very essence of the game. It happens nearly every day at every track across the country. And few if any give a damn. I was hoping some good would come of this.....for the horses and the bettors. But as usual, they expect the gamblers, and the horses to just get over it and move on.

I agree with you about the bettors. It was catastrophic. It is very sad that this type of thing happens more often than it should. This was on a national stage, which made it worse, on top of everything else that happened last weekend.

[Songofthesword]

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/rac...fe-at-ten.aspx

of course

[hagginwood]

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/rac...fe-at-ten.aspx

of course

The stewards investigating the stewards role in this as well? and no action taken?