Racing! A look at the proposed whip rule

Hello, my name is John Cherwa and welcome back to our horse racing newsletter as Del Mar cancels next Thursday’s card.

It has been a long time since the California Horse Racing Board has addressed the idea of what to do about the riding crop. In fact, it was first brought up in March. Since that time the chair and vice-chair have left the board and two new members were appointed, one of whom is the likely vice-chair.

So, on Thursday the matter will come before the board in a meeting across the street from the Del Mar Race Course. There are two proposals that will be looked at. The first, is the former one proposed that said the riding crop can only be used in the event that the safety of the horse and/or rider were in jeopardy.

The second proposal prohibits the use of the whip “except when waving or showing the crop without touching the horse or when tapping the horse on the shoulder with the crop in the down position while having both hands physically on the reins and neck of the horse.”

Now, it seems if these are the only two proposals that they should be melded together so that the safety option is part of the second proposal, but then it couldn’t be acted upon because it wouldn’t have been posted. Don’t know if it would have to go back for public comment, which would delay it more.

It will likely be the first meeting chaired by Gregory Ferraro along with likely vice-chair Oscar Gonzales. Now, the vote hasn’t been taken, but this is pretty close to having a winning place bet in a two-horse race.

Here’s a theoretical question, with no agenda attached to it. If the riding crop is no longer used on horses, how would showing the horse the crop motivate the horse?

Del Mar cancels Thursday card

I don’t know about you but I scratch my head when a track cancels a card almost a week early because of weather. But that’s what Del Mar did on Friday when it canceled next Thursday’s card out of “an abundance of caution.” As we know, weather forecasts a week out are almost always rock solid.

“We know this is unusual for Del Mar but equine and rider safety is always our primary concern,” said Tom Robbins, the executive vice president for racing at Del Mar. “We’ll make a call next week as to whether or not we’ll have training on Wednesday and Thursday. We plan on drawing entries for next Friday’s card this Sunday and we’ll race weather permitting.”

Rain is expected Tuesday through Thursday. And, Robbins is a guy whose reputation is impeccable. But let’s throw a few conspiracy theories out there. First of all, Del Mar knows it can not suffer any more fatalities after the two last weekend. The heat is already so hot that the track can’t take any chances. So, if it is out of “an abundance of caution,” why would you consider allowing horses to train Wednesday and Thursday. Yes, we understand horses can’t stay in the barn, they need to get out. But, let’s face it, training deaths don’t seem to resonate like racing deaths, where everyone can see them. And, they don’t count in the Equine Injury Database.

That’s not a conspiracy theory, those are what follows.

--You saw some pretty short fields for Del Mar lately. Is it possible that they would have really had to stretch to fill both Thursday and Friday? When Santa Anita returns and they have 12 mandatory dark days, how many of those do you think will be on a Thursday? Ah, I’m guessing most. Not racing on Thursday will only stretch the horse population further.

--As stated above, the CHRB meets at Del Mar on Thursday. With Santa Anita’s license coming up for approval, the presumption is there will be a strong contingent of animal rights folks opposing the action. The CHRB and a racing card give them a two-fer to protest at. And, through observation, protesters generally don’t like to work on weekdays, and instead wait for weekends. With no racing, it might be less interesting for those who protest the sport.

As for me, I’m going to stick with Robbins explanation because he can be trusted. But, it’s not to say there aren’t some collateral advantages.

Madeline Auerbach speaks out

Former CHRB vice chair Madeline Auerbach gave this very candid interview to Daniel Ross of the Thoroughbred Daily News. She talks about how she was forced out and how “Sacramento” (i.e. the Governor’s office) wants to control the board. Let’s just say, she’s not a happy camper as to how this all played out. You can read it here.

Weekly handicapping lesson

Here’s our weekly contribution from Rob Henie of the WCHR (West Coast Handicapping Report) and the ECHR (East Coast Handicapping Report). Today’s analysis comes from the fifth race at Del Mar and incorporates some handicapping angles into the mix. Rob, take it away.

“These are $25,000 claimers going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. What do we do with a bottom level claimer in November? Let’s look at every runner to try and figure this thing out. From the rail, let’s start with FRENCH GETAWAY. Off a nearly two-year layoff, there were some well meant intentions, but the bottom has now fallen out of things, thus, the drop to this bottom level. TOUGH IT OUT is now in the Art Sherman barn, not a barn we typically associate with moving runners up off a claim, thus, no surprise this one’s run evenly in each of his last few starts since joining the new barn. BLUE DANCER has been running at Century Mile (which replaced Northlands Park in Edmonton), Hastings in Vancouver, Turf Paradise, and now Del Mar. Bizarre movement, while inconsistent. MOONLIGHT DRIVE has won two of his last three since June, then again, the fact he’s offered right back for the same $25,000 off the recent win, well, there’s a certain caveat associated with this guy we believe. MAGIC MUSKETIER has shown zero since returning from a brief layoff, both here at Del Mar and Fresno, now on the turf where he’s 0 for 5, no thanks. So, we’ve eliminated much of the field. Let’s get to those who have a legitimate look. Top selection is FOREVER JUANITO (#8). She jumped quickly from the gate last time out, and though not typically a front running sort, this is often a good sign. Horses catapult from the gate, and a healthy runner can often be spotted with the simply point of a strong break, a solid angle which is rarely ever mentioned, but please remember this going forward. Saturday, this 8-year-old is stringing four races together off the nine-month layoff, not only a sign of his good health, but also useful in that he’s a fresh horse, a sharp horse, just many positive attributes to believe another nice effort is coming. START A RUNNIN (#7) has all of a sudden found his rhythm, pushing for the front end while routing on the turf. As Charlie Whittingham once said, “horses are like strawberries, they can go bad overnight.” It’s so true, but also true, is that a horse can gain instant confidence during a running of the race, usually as a result of leading the pack, a swagger, and that’s what we see here with this one. Another good try also seems likely.

“Hot / Cold Race Trends: none

“Win Contenders (order of preference): 8-7

“X Out Runners (eliminating on the win end): 1,2,3

“TOP PICK: FOREVER JUANITO (#8 7-2 A Espinoza)

“SECOND CHOICE: START A RUNNIN (#7 6-1 E Flores)”

^{The West Coast Handicapping Report can be found at http://www.westcoasthorseracing.com It has been endorsed by leading trainers, handicappers and industry sources.}

Del Mar review

It was a spirited stretch drive with a few horses with a chance to win but in the end it was favorite Doc Yco Cheeks winning the featured allowance for fillies and mares going a mile on the turf course for a purse of $53,000. Doc Yco Cheeks, under a smart ride by Rafael Bejarano, won by half-a-length.

Doc Yco Cheeks paid $4.00, $2.60 and $2.40 for trainer Peter Eurton. Rose was second and Brahms Command finished third.

Del Mar preview

Saturday’s card has something you don’t see much at Del Mar—a four-horse race and a five-horse stakes race. The second race, an allowance/optional claimer, is down to four because of a scratch. It’s one of three allowance races. There are four races on the turf with the card starting at 12:30 p.m.

The feature is the Grade 3 $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes for 2-year-olds going seven furlongs. The favorite, at 7-5, is Thousand Words for trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Flavien Prat. He’s only run once, winning a maiden special by half-a-length.

The close second favorite is Strongconstitution at 9-5 for Doug O’Neill and Abel Cedillo. He won his first race, which was on the turf and then finished second in the Sunny Slope Stakes at Santa Anita. There are five horses in the race, which should go off near 4 p.m.

Here are the field sizes, in order: 6, 4, 6, 8, ,9, 9, 10, 5, 8.

Bob Ike’s Dmr pick of the day

FIFTH RACE No. 5 Moonlight Drive (7-2)

Coming back at the same $25,000 claiming level after beating similar at Santa Anita, no reason this Kristin Mulhall-trained gelding can’t score right back. He should sit a good trip right behind the speed and even though he has never won over this course, his runner-up effort here during the summer was good. Tab in a competitive turf race.

Friday’s result: Aqua Seaform Shame ($13.40) broke running, kicked away in mid-stretch, then safely held off her even-money favorite stablemate to record a sharp win at a nice price.

Bob Ike is a Partner/VP of Horsebills.com (here’s a video) and the proprietor of BobIkePicks.com (full-card picks, 3 Best Plays and betting strategy).

Big races preview

A look at graded stakes or races worth $100,000 or more on Saturday. All times PST.

11:05 Woodbine (3): $100,000 South Ocean Stakes, Ont-bred fillies 2-years-old, 1 1/16 miles. Favorite: Owlette (4-5)

11:51 Laurel (6): $100,000 James F. Lewis Stakes, 2-year-olds, 6 furlongs. Favorite: Tuggle (3-1)

12:20 Laurel (7): $100,000 Smart Halo Stakes, fillies 2-years-old, 6 furlongs. Favorite: Summer Fortune (2-1)

12:20 Aqueduct (8): $100,000 Key Cents Stakes, NY-bred fillies 2-years-old, 6 furlongs. Favorite: Time Limit (2-1)

2:36 Churchill (10): Grade 3 $125,000 River City Handicap, 3 and up, 1 1/8 miles on turf. Favorite: Mr. Misunderstood (5-2)

4:00 Del Mar (8): Grade 3 $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes, 2-year-olds, 7 furlongs. Favorite: Thousand Words (7-5)

6:11 Delta Downs (8): $100,000 Delta Mile Stakes, 3 and up, 1 mile. Favorite: Forevamo (3-1)

Ed Burgart’s LA pick of the day

FIFTH RACE: No. 1 Achieved (5-2)

He has been much improved in last two victories and doesn’t figure to regress with one-month rest from last sharp win over runner-up who since beat 870-yard allowance company. He will likely control the pace from his inside slot in this 870-yard affair and he has survived pace pressure before.

Final thought

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Any thoughts, you can reach me at johnacherwa@gmail.com. You can also feed my ego by following me on Twitter @jcherwa

And now the stars of the show, Friday’s results and Saturday’s entries.