Smith gets call on Cutting Humor
 

In a shameful maneuver, Starlight will pay the fee to Corey Lanerie to put Mike Smith on Cutting Humor.

Bad Karma for sure. Feel bad for Corey but I'm glad he gets the 180k

Whose call was that, boss ? Owner or trainer ? Did Smith lobby for it ? Doesn’t seem like his style .

Shameful for who? Certainly not Starlight, as they have to pay double, and hardly "owe" Corey more than that. Maybe Mike? He did win the TC last year and has had plenty of time in the spotlight. I mean, he did opt off a horse for the trainer of that TC winner to ride the one he thought had a better chance this year. Nothing wrong with that, but worth pointing out.

It's a business. Lukas always had this one right. Loyalty goes both ways, and sadly, there isn't a lot in this business by either side. As long as both acknowledge this, and don't just whine when it suits them, it's fine.

It certainly is a business, and there is no requirement for any businessman to have any class.

And this one sure doesn't.

Snidely Whiplash was also a businessman.
And Ebenezer SCrooge.
Hey, Henry Ford fired on his striking workers.

Hope he pays double and gets nothing back.

It seems like Mike wasn't first man up for Baffert youngsters this year. I hardly blame him for going with what horse gave him the best chance.

Idk. Baffert said Roadster was his top horse early on and that’s who Smith landed on.

Maybe it's my memory but I recall in prior years Baffert didn't spread it out as much and Smith was on multiples.. I very well could be wrong.

Who does?

having a freeroll for 180,000 with Mike Smith up works for me. It's not like Lanier has a history with the colt.

Trying to recall...Baffert had 2 legit derby horses in 2015 and Smith wasn’t on either. I don’t recall if Smith rode any Baffert horses that didn’t make the derby.

It was a statement not an insinuation.

Then why was it following a quote of my post? I'm confused.

It was a general statement and I quoted your post since it was on the topic. That is all.

If the horse doesn't finish in the money, or in the mix (which is likely), the move will be questioned even more. Of course, that won't be known until after the race. Obviously they think Smith moves the horse up a certain number of lengths.

If the horse wins, especially if it's close, it will look like a good move and the people with hurt feelings will be like Paul George saying Damian Lillard's shot was a "bad shot". It wasn't a bad shot after it went in....

I will guess it will be long forgotten at 7:30 ET Saturday night.

As a bettor, I like it. Cutting Humor looks like a sprinter to me. Just with the way he runs. Hopefully Smith can attract some money to him and push up the odds on some other horses that I like.

I agree, kind of bull. Corey WAS the leading rider at CD last year, it’s not like he’s some noname.

Fee
 

Steve,

when you say fee, how does that work?

Thx

I’m laughing that this was the big controversy leading up to the race. “Long forgotten” is an understatement.