Jockeys are Doing Their Part to Save Horse Racing
Lost in the melee and the aftermath of the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby is the powerful story of how the jockeys have come together to do their part to save horse racing. These same jockeys, during and after the 2019 Kentucky Derby, landed squarely on opposite sides of the fence of what trainer Mark Casse and jockey Tyler…
Thoughts on the 145th Running of the Kentucky Derby
The 145th, known heretofore as the craziest Kentucky Derby ever! I will endeavor to clear up a few questions I’ve been asked, and in the process bust a few myths and opine here and there. I’ll try to go in chronological order. Perhaps John Steinbeck said it best—even back in 1956: “This Kentucky Derby, whatever it is—a race, an emotion, a…
Thoughts on the Santa Anita Crisis
The rash of catastrophic breakdowns that happened in a 6-month period at Santa Anita Park make it seem like racing fatalities are common. They are not. While it is true that there are somewhere around 50-60 training or racing fatalities per month at U.S. tracks (1.68 per 1,000 starts), it’s also true that there are nearly 3,300 human deaths per…
