Bless You George Washington...

[richard burch]

i loved this horse.

last year when he was entered in the b.c. i thought he would be in the turf division. i thought he would win that race easily. but they put him in the classic and he came up in 7th place.

you would have thought they would have learned something. english turf horses don't do dirt!

instead they enter him again in the classic after retiring him!
...f'n unbelievable!!!

what dissappointed me most was that they had the chance to reconsider this ill fated move. when they saw the conditions of the track they could have scratched him. when the jockey went to the whip on the backstretched he could have pulled him up and trotted him home to retirement.

instead he kept pushing him to his ultimate demise.

this horse was a champion and deserved a better place to leave this earth than the mud at monmouth park.

this event marred what ever was left of a dismal,rainy day. whats worse is it did'nt have to happen.

new rule: all turf horses must have at least 2 grade 1 races on DIRT to enter the classic.

[onebadbeast]

Well Spoken.............a Sad Loss For The Animal World.....greed...

[richard burch]

Originally Posted by onebadbeast

Well Spoken.............a Sad Loss For The Animal World.....greed...

thank you,,,

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by richard burch

new rule: all horses must have at least 2 grade 1 victories on DIRT to enter the classic.

Horses who've won the BC with less than 2 career Grade 1 wins coming into the race.

1984: Wild Again
1986: Skywalker
1991: Black Tie Affair
1993: Arcangues
1994: Concern
1996: Alphabet Soup
1998: Awesome Again
1999: Cat Thief
2000: Tiznow
2002: Volponi
2003: Pleasantly Perfect

11 of them would have been excluded by this ever so ingenuis rule.

[letswastemoney]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Horses who've won the BC with less than 2 career Grade 1 wins coming into the race.

1984: Wild Again
1986: Skywalker
1991: Black Tie Affair
1993: Arcangues
1994: Concern
1996: Alphabet Soup
1998: Awesome Again
1999: Cat Thief
2000: Tiznow
2002: Volponi
2003: Pleasantly Perfect

11 of them would have been excluded by this ever so ingenuis rule.

Arcangues was a european too so he never raced on dirt before.

[RolloTomasi]

11 of them would have been excluded by this ever so ingenuis rule.

Anything that would have stopped Volponi, Arcangues, Concern, and Alphabet Soup from being BC Classic winners can't be all bad.

Then again, the fact that such horses can win on racing's alleged "biggest day", just underline's the fact that the BC races are often no more important than any other top level race in the country.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

11 of them would have been excluded by this ever so ingenuis rule.

Anything that would have stopped Volponi, Arcangues, Concern, and Alphabet Soup from being BC Classic winners can't be all bad.

Then again, the fact that such horses can win on racing's alleged "biggest day", just underline's the fact that the BC races are often no more important than any other top level race in the country.

why, you blasphemer, you!

i wish everyone would understand that....especially the announcers on espn who come back from commercial talking about 'another championship sewn up by so and so' after they win. they need to change the name back to breeders cup, or festival, or anything other than 'world championships'.

[fpsoxfan]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

11 of them would have been excluded by this ever so ingenuis rule.

Anything that would have stopped Volponi, Arcangues, Concern, and Alphabet Soup from being BC Classic winners can't be all bad.

Then again, the fact that such horses can win on racing's alleged "biggest day", just underline's the fact that the BC races are often no more important than any other top level race in the country.

Maybe It's because I'm still waking up, but could you explain what you mean by this post. I'm really trying to understand. Thanks.

[Danzig]

jambalay was injured, grasshopper didn't win anything to get in. he lost the super derby to going ballistic

[Danzig]

jambalaya isn't retired yet. they're giving him 90 days, and then reexamine. not supposed to be career threatening tho.

[ArlJim78]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

This thread is ridiculous and is further evidence that this board is on the decline. While GW was a gallant horse, to try and act as if the outcome would have been any different on any surface is a joke. When approached with real facts, like DrugS has given, people really shut up. Get a grip guys.

oh boy, the board policemen have stepped in and righted another wrong. bravo. another over reaction to an emotional throw-away line by someone who was obviously shaken up by the demise of one of racings stars.

no the board went into severe decline when certain smug people like yourself decided to become the official arbiters for all board content. it is a disservice to run around daily labeling others opinions as ridiculous or a joke. get off your high horse.

you especially who went to extraordinary lengths to defend the rights of Morty who never made a single post that wasn't a joke or ridiculous, chastising other who "didn't get it", it would seem that you speak from both sides of your mouth. we were told over and over that we should have tolerance and acceptance for Morty, but everyone else that you disagree with needs to get a grip and is bringing down the board?

[Danzig]

it is a painful experience to lose a horse, god knows last years bc was painful for me after the distaff.
but to suggest that anyone is at fault imo is an over-reaction. had coolmore known going in that this would happen, do you really think they'd have run george?! hell no.
altho the winning percentage of euros on the dirt is low, who can forget the awesome performances by some of those travellers in defeat?
as for the jock going to the whip, that's what jockeys do. sometimes horses pick up when all is lost; who hasn't come here or elsewhere after a horse is seemingly done, only to awaken and put on a rush, and talked about that amazing performance?? again, if anyone had as much foresight as hindsight, this would not have occurred.
if you really feel that the human beings in this sport are that brutal and uncaring, perhaps you should leave the sport, and become an advocate to save these beautiful animals from the cruelty and greed. i'll continue however to be a fan, to enjoy the thrill of watching these beauties in action, and i will continue to feel pain for those who are lost.
but i will not point fingers, as to point blame for the running of a racehorse to me is ridiculous. unless this horse was shown to be unsound and unfit for racing, you are doing coolmore a disservice.

New Rule: There's a god damn search button. Use it.

[richard burch]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

This thread is ridiculous and is further evidence that this board is on the decline. While GW was a gallant horse, to try and act as if the outcome would have been any different on any surface is a joke. When approached with real facts, like DrugS has given, people really shut up. Get a grip guys.

with only about 20 - 30 people on this board most of the time you have to take what you can get.

[johnny pinwheel]

it comes down to running sound horses. any horse that doesn't start for months or retires and comes back. should be questioned. the greed factor is a problem. they made discreet cat 7/5, he has not won since 8/2006. do you think hes the same horse? well they ran him. then the ones that are good and healthy ,well most of them will be retired. street sense,hard spun,curlin will say bye ,bye. gw was impotent so back to racing he went. these rich folks used to race for pride. not the bottom line. who pays the price ?horses like GW and the fans thats who!

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by johnny pinwheel

it comes down to running sound horses. any horse that doesn't start for months or retires and comes back. should be questioned. the greed factor is a problem. they made discreet cat 7/5, he has not won since 8/2006. do you think hes the same horse? well they ran him. then the ones that are good and healthy ,well most of them will be retired. street sense,hard spun,curlin will say bye ,bye. gw was impotent so back to racing he went. these rich folks used to race for pride. not the bottom line. who pays the price ?horses like GW and the fans thats who!

i bet a year ago when they retired gw, you screamed greed. you probably wanted him to run at four, i know i did. so now greed brought him back?
you know, citation missed his entire four year old season. came back like gangbusters at five. that's just one example.
there are other horses who have run well past the age of four, or have been retired and then brought back to racing for one reason or another.

had gw not been sub-fertile, he'd not have come back. but we're talking about a four year old in his prime, not a much older horse. he missed a few months, probably not much more of a layoff then what flower alley had between his bc and his first race the next season. he was multiple group one placed this year, not exactly scraping the bottom of the barrel.
should he have run the race, in hindsight we'd all say no. but there were no indications leading up to the race that he shouldn't go. no one would have done as they had, had they known then what we all know now. but no one had that benefit.

[richard burch]

when i wrote this post i did'nt think it would evolve to this. i really was'nt emotional when i posted it but i did have three vodkas in me.

the frustration of seeing another great horse go down...and in those conditions made me angry. i havent changed my opinion on this but i respect all of the different views.

i love this sport and i don't want it to be tarnished by an event i still feel did'nt have to happen on racings biggest day.

for me, it's about keeping horses alive during and after there careers.

ie: john henry

[stonegossard]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

This thread is ridiculous and is further evidence that this board is on the decline. While GW was a gallant horse, to try and act as if the outcome would have been any different on any surface is a joke. When approached with real facts, like DrugS has given, people really shut up. Get a grip guys.

I see Super Boardman swooped down and scolded you. Too funny.

I agree...the surface had nothing to do with his demise....the connections gave up on him and kept throwing him to the wolves...very often....that was the problem.

These whiney "oh the poor horsie" threads are a bit much....they should keep them all in one area so we dont have to read em.

[richard burch]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Horses who've won the BC with less than 2 career Grade 1 wins coming into the race.

1984: Wild Again
1986: Skywalker
1991: Black Tie Affair
1993: Arcangues
1994: Concern
1996: Alphabet Soup
1998: Awesome Again
1999: Cat Thief
2000: Tiznow
2002: Volponi
2003: Pleasantly Perfect

11 of them would have been excluded by this ever so ingenuis rule.

i am speaking of european turf horses winning on US dirt tracks.

as far as i know, most if not all euro racing is on grass. those so-called tracks are in fields that are not level.

you can also see that they run in the opposite direction which can cauyse problems when they come to the US. this was evident in a race yesterday when 3 horses blew the far turn.

if the euros want to run here they should should try to get some dirt tracks and run in the other direction.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by richard burch

i am speaking of european turf horses winning on US dirt tracks.

as far as i know, most if not all euro racing is on grass. those so-called tracks are in fields that are not level.

you can also see that they run in the opposite direction which can cauyse problems when they come to the US. this was evident in a race yesterday when 3 horses blew the far turn.

if the euros want to run here they should should try to get some dirt tracks and run in the other direction.

I hear ya.

However, your new rule was awful.

If the BC Classic was restricted to multiple Grade 1 winners on dirt - in many years you'd have a four or five horse field running for a $5 million purse.

You'll actually run the risk of having more horses breakdown that way. Because the connections of a long in the tooth or sore horse who won a pair of Grade 1's in the past....they will do everything possible to make a race against three or four opponets that carries a $5,000,000 purse.