Transcript of Zayat, Allen on HRTV

[horseofcourse]

So Mark Allen is the first imbecile to own a race horse...really? First of all he did not invent the TC nominating system. He had nothing at all to do with that. Perhaps he did in all your wild imaginations, but my guess is that TC nominating system was in place before he ever became involved with a TC horse. Mark Allen did not purchase a non-nominated TC horse for 10 million dollars. He did not do that. He saw his 50-1 no chance horse win the Ky Derby with by all accounts a great ride by his jockey. In fact, it was his jockey who got all the credit and his horse pretty much zero credit. A couple days after the Derby, his jockey who fit well on his Ky Derby horse by all credible evidence tells him he is off the horse in the Preakness. A pretty much unprecedented move in the last 65 years of TC horse racing...a Derby winning Jockey opting off the horse for the Preakness to ride another.

I don't know this guy from Adam, by all accounts he is a complete jerk and his moves here seem a bit ridiculous without question. But pardon me for feeling a bit sorry for the guy. A jockey gives his horse the ride of his life in a completely different style from all his other races, and is informed he will not ride him in the Preakness...the only horse in the world with a chance at a TC will not have the jockey who gave him a perfect ride. Again, pardon me for pretty much understanding the guys desperation. The rules allowed him the chance to keep his jockey, and he looked into it. I see this as exactly the same as entering a rabbit. You're acting WITHIN the rules to give your horse an advantage.

This is a complete non story. Zayat is a big boy and can do whatever the heck he wants. He is the one who went public with all this stuff...not Allen. Jackson is the one who bought the 10 million dollar non-TC nominated horse...not Allen. Jerk or not, the owners of Mine That Bird losing their Ky Derby winning jockey is simply not a common occurrence. They went a bit nuts...big deal.