What Do You Guys Think

Mark Atienza · Post by **Mark Atienza** » 17 years ago

OK heres the thing long story short. His horse was inside the last furlong pole and 7 lenghts infront when his horse took a bad step and broke down. i was there and it wasnt one of those break downs when the horse just falls straight down or the horses legs is visibly broken. the horse just started limping then baze hit his horse with his whip. Now heres the thing, Do you think because of the mike vick dog fighting stuff had anything to do with this ruling or not.

An apologetic Russell Baze was suspended for 15 days by Bay Meadows stewards and fined $2,500 Aug. 26 for misusing his whip as the result of a complaint arising from an incident at the Bay Area track last week.

"I’m not going to try to defend what I did," said the Hall of Fame rider. "There is no way to defend it. I made a bad decision in the heat of the moment, and I am truly sorry. I made a bad decision, and I’ll take the punishment that was handed to me.

"Hopefully this will not be the defining moment of my career," added the 49-year-old Baze, North America's all-time leading rider who is closing in on 10,000 lifetime victories. "Hopefully, I’ll be judged on the right decisions I’ve made in the past and on the right decisions I’ll make in the future. In this day and age of athletes and public figures making public apologies, it can begin to ring hollow. I want people to know that I am truly sorry. Nobody knows how contrite I am in my heart."

The suspension runs Sept. 2-16, accounting for 11 racing days on the Bay Meadows racing calendar.

Baze whipped the 4-year-old gelding Imperial Eyes, who was breaking down in the shadow of the finish line during the first race at Bay Meadows Aug. 23. Imperial Eyes, a 4-5 favorite in the $8,000 maiden claiming event at one mile, was leading by seven lengths mid-stretch before taking a bad step near the sixteenth pole. The horse changed leads and resumed running for the wire, and Baze admitted trying to get Imperial Eyes to finish by using his whip. Imperial Eyes was later euthanized after suffering a condylar fracture of the cannon bone in his left front leg. He finished second in the race.

The action came after stewards reviewed films of the incident during a 2 1/2-hour meeting Aug. 25 with Baze and his attorney, Brian Pitnick, also a Northern California trainer. They also heard from investigators for the California Horse Racing Board, assistant trainer Steve Sherman, who saddled Imperial Eyes, and Dr. William Grantham, the veterinarian who treated the injured horse.

Stewards withdrew two other CHRB-initiated complaints against Baze arising from the incident -- for cruelty to an animal and actions detrimental to horse racing.

Pitnick said he felt the misuse of whip allegation "was overblown, especially after Dr. Grantham, the vet in the case, made it clear (the whip use) was not a causal factor" in Imperial Eyes' demise. He said he felt stewards were under "strong public pressure" to assign responsibility for the incident, which drew national attention.

However, he said there was little likelihood of making an appeal to the courts.

"Russell is a stand-up guy in every sense of the word," Pitnick said. "I think he just wants to take his medicine and put this behind him."

Baze, who rode two winners Aug. 26 at Bay Meadows, has 9,826 career victories.

Mandy Saunders · Post by **Mandy Saunders** » 17 years ago

According to the reports, the horse did not start to limp until after the wire. The bad step was before the wire, the horse seemed to pick himself up okay and continue, Baze gave him a tap with the whip, after the wire, the horse became lame. Granted there was no reason for the whip at that point 'cause the horse was so far ahead, I highly doubt it was the cause of the fatal breakdown, as reported in this article. Also, I think it his highly professional on Baze's part to just take his punishment without arguing. He obviously feels bad about it.

Mark Atienza · Post by **Mark Atienza** » 17 years ago

the bad step caused limping. but thats not the point the point is, Being in front by 7 with a furlong to go then you notice the horse took a bad step by the way its a 8k claimer (dog). so the horse was able to change leads and continue running then baze whipped it ahalf furlong from the wire. just before it got passed by other runner. Was that the right move ? ( to make the horse pass the line on his good lead) or should he have pulled up right when he started breaking down.

Remember he was breaking down in the shadows of the finish line

Mandy Saunders · Post by **Mandy Saunders** » 17 years ago

Mark Atienza wrote: by the way its a 8k claimer (dog)

What gives you the right to call an 8k claimer a dog? Bad form. My end of the conversation is over.

Carolyn Eaton · Post by **Carolyn Eaton** » 17 years ago

Personally, I felt that the punishment fit the crime. Jockeys can often feel things wrong with a horse long before it's noticeable to the eye. That might not have been the case here, but any time a horse takes a bad step it's a good idea to be cautious for the remainder of the race. In the case of Afleet Alex in the Preakness - he picked himself up and surged on, showing his rider he was OK. In the case of Charismatic as he crossed the finish line in the Belmont, Chris leaped off his back and grabbed his leg ASAP - which is likely what saved him from further injury. In this race, reports of the race indicate the horse was slowing down after the bad step.

Most Sim folks believe all life is valuable, whether it's a $2500 claimer or a top stud. Although this is an open forum, negative comments tend to offend people.

Inca Stables · Post by **Inca Stables** » 17 years ago

Many people are in the "Sport of Kings" and in recent years partnerships have flourished at the low level claimers. This was someones thrill, investment, or hobby. It should not matter if it is an 8K claimer or a Stakes race.

Baze recieved the punishment that he deserved and admitted his wrong doing.

Miryam

Ryen Hanna · Post by **Ryen Hanna** » 17 years ago

In my years in racing, I've found that it's entirely too hard to put yourself in the position of the jockey and make guesses as to what should or should not have been done. The view from on top of the horse is entirely different than that of a railbird.

In the case of Baze, yeah he may have done something that wasn't acceptable, but it doesn't mean he was without reason. The vet cleared him of the whipping being any causal factor, and the owners of the horse have been quoted as being 100% behind Baze.

In my opinion, the punishment that was handed down was not, in the end, anything relating to the offense itself, but rather it was for appearance's sake. Perception is reality, and I think both the track and Baze are conducting themselves in entirely the right fashion.

Chuck Whittingham · Post by **Chuck Whittingham** » 17 years ago

I have the utmost respect for Baze and thing that he is one of the best to ever get ontop of a horse. With that being said, I watched this race and I feel the suspension he recieved was justified. A man who has ridden over 30,000 races knew his horse was in trouble and I think got caught up in the moment.

John Bricking · Post by **John Bricking** » 17 years ago

Hey can someone put a link to the video of this i still havent seen it.

Anna Leroux · Post by **Anna Leroux** » 17 years ago

<a href='http://www.horseracingtalk.com/horse-ra ... k-739.html' target='_blank'>http://www.horseracingtalk.com/horse-ra ... 39.html</a> here's a video I found

John Bricking · Post by **John Bricking** » 17 years ago

Thanks Jade for the video.
That wasnt as bad as i thought it would be but it still wasnt right.

Mike Eaton · Post by **Mike Eaton** » 17 years ago

Big deal its part of the game the jockey is doin what hes there for winning. I think if anythink its the trainers fault.Its there job to make sure the horse is sound and all.

Chris Briggs · Post by **Chris Briggs** » 17 years ago

I'm a little confused on why such a harsh penalty for Baze. As someone who has seen a few breakdowns (all are bad, yes) it's rare to see a horse seemingly pick itself back up like that. I personally didn't see anything wrong with what Baze did, but that could be my lack of understanding completely what he did.

“I think Russell’s getting a really bad rap,” Steve Sherman said. “There’s no way I’m * off. In my opinion and my dad’s opinion, he did nothing wrong. No way he’s at fault.”

Sherman said critics of Baze’s ride should view the entire incident and not merely the clip of Baze applying the whip as Imperial Eyes broke down.

“When he took a bad step, Russell pulled up, but then he seemed to re-gather himself. When he took off again, Russell hit him with his whip just as he broke down,” Sherman said. “I think people are just seeing that part, not what led up to it.

“There’s no way Russell would do something like that if he sensed the horse was hurt and could go down

Reading what the trainer says, and seeing the reaction of the of those in charge makes me seriously question his suspension.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems too harsh for what happened.

Edit: I should point out, I don't watch near as much racing as I used to.

Anna Leroux · Post by **Anna Leroux** » 17 years ago

mike eaton wrote: Big deal its part of the game the jockey is doin what hes there for winning. I think if anythink its the trainers fault.Its there job to make sure the horse is sound and all.

A horse can go into a race many times and be fine, an accident happens and causes the injury. You can't blame the trainer, and also saying the jockey is in there just for the win isn't right either. Many jockeys, yes are there to win but there are more jockeys who would pull a horse up if he felt something wrong. Obviously when this horse continued to run without to much problem Baze didn't see a problem and kept going. The timing of when he went to use his whip and the breakdown was just bad timing. It really isn't anyone's fault, it just happened. You can't prevent everything.

Lisa Strummer · Post by **Lisa Strummer** » 17 years ago

Sometimes instinct takes over. Maybe he thought the horse just stumbled... I've seen ALOT of jockeys and exercise riders use the whip as a corrective thing when a horse stumbles to help gather the horse back up. People outside of the business probably won't understand that, but it does happen. But my question is if they put the horse down, it must have been a displaced fracture and he could've heard the break (I know it's gross), and most likely would've tried to pull the horse up if he did. The way the horse powered to the front, it had to be a bad step, a very sad part of racing. I know one thing, the trainer wouldn't be behind him if he thought he did something that wrong.