The setting is just before the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic last Friday. While conducting an interview with ESPN’s Jerry Bailey while warming up second favorite Life At Ten, jockey John Velazquez told Bailey and a national television audience that she was not warming up well. According to ESPN and The Paulick Report, ESPN producer Amy Zimmerman contacted the Churchill Downs stewards by telephone before the race and notified them of the troubling conversation between Velazquez and Bailey. But no action was taken before the race by the stewards or Kentucky Horse Racing Commission veterinarian Dr. Bryce Peckham to follow-up on the information from ESPN regarding the physical condition of the Life At Ten.Life at Ten, normally a filly who likes to race to the lead, broke last, was never competitive in the least and was eventually eased to the wire by Velazquez. It can be argued the 5-year-old mare’s safety was compromised. There is no doubt that those who wagered on Life At Ten were not represented properly and lost money when they should not have. And that is saying it nicely.
In an explanation published by The Paulick Report, KHRC spokesman Dick Brown explained the matter by by saying there was no consideration given to scratch Life at Ten as there was “no dialogue with the track veterinarians or the stewards from the outrider, Velasquez or Pletcher indicating a problem with the horse that would have led to her possibly being scratched.”
Wednesday, chief state steward John Veitch told the Louisville Courier-Journal’s Jennie Rees that it was unfortunate, but “there's nothing we can do for [the bettors].” In a prepared statement, the KHRC said “The KHRC takes seriously the safety of horses and jockeys – before, during and after each race. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission firmly believes its veterinarians and racing stewards acted properly in all instances regarding this race.” They did not mention of how seriously they take the interests of the wagering public or the fans.
The KHRC also said in that prepared statement, “From the time Life at Ten was brought to the paddock, saddled, led to the track for the post parade, warmed up and loaded into the starting gate, neither trainer Todd Pletcher nor jockey Johnny Velasquez voiced any concerns they may have had regarding Life at Ten to any racing officials, veterinarians or the outriders prior to the running of the Ladies Classic.”
Despite the fact that neither Pletcher from his location in the grandstand far from Life at Ten, nor Velazquez aboard her, formerly requested the state veterinarian to examine Life At Ten before the race, seems inconsequential and sophomoric as a explanation. It is sure to be helpful to the official veterinarians to have a questionable horse brought to their attention, but by no means should they pass the blame on the person who's job it is to ride the horse - not diagnose it.
Veitch, a former trainer now in the Hall of Fame, the two other stewards, the KHRC and the state veterinarian are attempting to explain this away by saying they didn’t know about her condition because the communication with ESPN was not part of racetrack protocol.
Equally ludicrous is the explanation of veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage that Life At Ten was simply not acting well before the race, creating a gray area that made it difficult for the state veterinarian to make a diagnosis sufficient for recommending a scratch. Bramlage represents the American Association of Equine Practitioners on many national horse racing telecasts explaining to viewers the implications and complications of equine injuries that may occur while on the air and is a prominent equine surgeon in Kentucky.
A former race track and current equine veterinarian told The Brock Talk that Life At Ten was in distress galloping out of the post parade and was cramping to point of causing apparent lameness. Anybody who has had cramps whether from athletic exertion, late night ziti or anything in between knows effortless running is often not an option. That condition changed little before Life At Ten got to the starting gate and should have been recognized by Dr. Bryce as lameness with no need to diagnose the cause as tying up.
To add insult to this situation is the possible prohibition of pre-race, on-track interviews of jockeys by television. Telling the Courier-Journal that “From the time a horse leaves the paddock until the time he starts, nobody (other than officials) should have communication with that jockey one way or the other,” Veitch also said that jockeys should not be distracted. Not only is that insulting the intelligence of jockeys, but archaic in a sports media world where NASCAR drivers and NFL football players wear live microphones into and throughout live competition.
It also tells me that Veitch and the stewards received information from ESPN that they could not process properly and their solution is to stop the information. In the future, if they don’t know about potential problems in a horse race, they can’t be held accountable. It seems unlikely however, that this solution will have any benefit to the horse, the horse player or the fan.
Until the Churchill Downs stewards and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission figure that much out, they are far from correcting the embarrassment that was Life At Ten in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic.
