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.

[Danzig]

i think zayat should let rachel show whether she 'belongs there' or not...

if he doesn't want to enter one of his fillies, so be it. it's not up to him to decide whether someone else should do the same. as for marylou whitney, birdstone made his mark by having a derby winner. yeah, it would look good to have a tc on your resume-but it wouldn't look so good if (and it's a huge if) mine that bird somehow (lol) managed to win it, but the horse that's arguably the best 3 yo out there was kept out. you want to be the best? then BEAT the best.

If they purposely fill up the race removing her
from the field then I dont get to see her
run against a better horses.

And that sucks.

Those that look at a race totally from a betting
perspective may have a diff. view. If one wants
to view a race purely from a competitive point
of view, it would absolutely blow if she did not
get to run.

We have already lost a number of good horses
that would have added excitement to the triple
crown races for reasons out of anyones control.

[Danzig]

" Does our sport need another Eight Belles? We all know what happened to Rags to Riches after her race in the Belmont. We all know what happened to Ruffian. I did not want to have that part of it on my watch."


this was some of zayats justification for attempting to keep rachel out of the race. i have to say i completely disagree with his contention that running females vs males can have this type of effect on a filly.


i am happy tho to know that he has finally changed his mind about entering a horse that has no business in the race to keep out a horse who absolutely deserves a shot.

[PPerfectfan]

These two freaking cowards make me sick!! They dont want to risk having there butts handed to them by a filly, so they have the nerve to try to get on their high horse and use Ruffian and Eight Belles as examples???? WTF, Could someone please explain to these idiots that Eight Belles broke down AFTER the damn race !!!! How the hell does she know she is running against boys, unless they are hitting on her in the post parade??? I would have alot more respect for them if they just said "Look, that filly is a bad @#%&^^%, and we dont want her kicking our butts"!!

[Danzig]

supposedly allen is doing this so he can 'get his rider back'. i wonder how calvin would feel, whether he'd want to ride back for the guy, if he stoops to this level to keep out the filly?

Shut the f.uck up, you devoid of hearts.

[PPerfectfan]

Originally Posted by Danzig

supposedly allen is doing this so he can 'get his rider back'. i wonder how calvin would feel, whether he'd want to ride back for the guy, if he stoops to this level to keep out the filly?

I dont think its to keep Calvin, its cause he is scared sh*tless of Rachel!!! Must make her connections feel pretty good that these grown men are begging people to enter crappy horses to keep her out. Then they try to get on their high horse and use the "were concerned for her safety" crap, when all they are worried about is their horse getting beat by a filly. Hey guys its called race fixing, get over it, ur gonna get beat by a girl!!!

[blackthroatedwind]

I understand, Dave, which is why I pointed out the flaw in a perfect analogy. I suppose one could say that Jess Jackson bought his way into the Preakness, but I don't buy that one bit.

Frankly, I wouldn't even get into the whole " sportsmanship " debate on this issue. I happen to find the entire episode amusing.

[Payson Dave]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

I understand, Dave, which is why I pointed out the flaw in a perfect analogy. I suppose one could say that Jess Jackson bought his way into the Preakness, but I don't buy that one bit.

Frankly, I wouldn't even get into the whole " sportsmanship " debate on this issue. I happen to find the entire episode amusing.

Clearly it is not readily apparent to all....but I also find the episode along with some peoples reaction to be rather amusing...

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by justindew

I try to avoid being one of those people who makes tons of predictions and then never mentions them again unless they prove to be correct. Thus, below I have listed a few of mine from this spring:

1) Street Sense will never race again.
2) Nobiz Like Shobiz will ultimately prove to be the best horse in this crop.
3) Zanjero will win a Grade I someday.

Laugh away, but I think I will hit 2 of 3.

Unfortunately this post was made after Zanjero came close to winning a Grade I. The exact date was July 4, 2007. So, after your prediction, Zanjero never came close to winning a Grade I.

NT

[justindew]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Unfortunately this post was made after Zanjero came close to winning a Grade I. The exact date was July 4, 2007. So, after your prediction, Zanjero never came close to winning a Grade I.

NT

So?

I got 10-1 odds that a horse who had almost won a Grade I would ultimately win Grade I someday. I'd hardly call that a bad bet. Especially since there are enough Grade I races in America these days for everyone.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by justindew

So?

I got 10-1 odds that a horse who had almost won a Grade I would ultimately win Grade I someday. I'd hardly call that a bad bet. Especially since there are enough Grade I races in America these days for everyone.

So the point is you're touting how close you came to predicting he'd win a Grade I when he never, ever came close to winning one after you made the prediction. You got 10-1? Great.

If I were to say to you today that I think Chocolate Candy will win a Grade I some day and we fast forward 2 yrs and he never does, I definitely wouldn't say "well, look at me, he came within a length!"

NT