Well I will never place a bet at DEL again.....

[GMB@BP]

Probably not popular opinion but I guess I am jaded from my time on farms and the track, I think the punishment fit the over reaction from what everyone says is a very good starter.

I think the DRF article sheds a little more light.

It ended up a 8-day work suspension as it is, I have seen way worse, way more dangerous stuff from riders and yet they might even be asked to explain their actions.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by GMB@BP

Probably not popular opinion but I guess I am jaded from my time on farms and the track, I think the punishment fit the over reaction from what everyone says is a very good starter.

I think the DRF article sheds a little more light.

It ended up a 8-day work suspension as it is, I have seen way worse, way more dangerous stuff from riders and yet they might even be asked to explain their actions.

Very reassuring...

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by GMB@BP

Probably not popular opinion but I guess I am jaded from my time on farms and the track, I think the punishment fit the over reaction...

If the horse's "overreaction" had caused the starter to actually hurt himself...then, what "action" do you feel that he would have been justified to take against the horse?

[PaceAdvantage]

Wait, I found the assistant starter handbook.

In it, on page 94, it says if a horse is freaking out in the starting gate, the best way to deal with it is to try and punch it as many times as you can in the face/head in order to put it into a semi-comatose state. That should be enough to calm the horse down in order to get the race off.

[GMB@BP]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

If the horse's "overreaction" had caused the starter to actually hurt himself...then, what "action" do you feel that he would have been justified to take against the horse?

None of course, the starter was in the wrong.

Dealing with these animals is challenging and for a moment this guy lost his cool.

He was out of a paycheck 8 days.

My view is that is fair in this case, everyone stated he is a good employee who works a very dangerous job.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by clicknow

When you blow your top like that, to the point where you become an abuser, I sincerely hope his family or friends will hasten him to a full psychological examination.

I sincerely hope some "concerned" people meet him in the parking lot and demonstrate why hits to the head are not a good thing.

The man is trash - treat him as such.
Fire his arse and ban him from the grounds forever.
No mercy for scum like this guy.

[thaskalos]

If that was the "best starter" out there...then I would hate to see the WORST.

[Dave Schwartz]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

Wait, I found the assistant starter handbook.

In it, on page 94, it says if a horse is freaking out in the starting gate, the best way to deal with it is to try and punch it as many times as you can in the face/head in order to put it into a semi-comatose state. That should be enough to calm the horse down in order to get the race off.

Of course, were I the horse's owner, I'd be screaming for his head. I'd really like to see this done to a horse trained by somebody like Baffert.

Do you suppose that an 8-day suspension would be the end of it?

[castaway01]

Originally Posted by GMB@BP

Probably not popular opinion but I guess I am jaded from my time on farms and the track, I think the punishment fit the over reaction from what everyone says is a very good starter.

I think the DRF article sheds a little more light.

It ended up a 8-day work suspension as it is, I have seen way worse, way more dangerous stuff from riders and yet they might even be asked to explain their actions.

You've seen a rider, on camera, punch a horse in the head full force a half-dozen times? Not that if you had seen it it would justify the starter acting insane here, but how do you just excuse this as business as usual?

He should be fired, that's all. So he's been doing the job for 20 years? It appears he can't handle the pressure anymore. I'm sure someone else would like the chance.

[PaceAdvantage]

Horse can't run away...can't turn around and fight back...

As Al Pacino once said:

YouTube

[lex]

Of course this is the first time this guy punched a horse as far as we know.

If you took your dog to the groomer and it got punched in the face would you take it back because it's one of the best groomers ever?

Too bad the only ones that seem to care are the bettors and fans. If I owned a horse he wouldn't be in the gate with that guy.

Horse racing seems to go out of its way to make it hard to support.

[Afleet]

Originally Posted by Dave Schwartz

Of course, were I the horse's owner, I'd be screaming for his head. I'd really like to see this done to a horse trained by somebody like Baffert.

Do you suppose that an 8-day suspension would be the end of it?

Has any of Bafferts horses died in his care?

[Elliott Sidewater]

Just read about this incident today. Two thoughts: 1. if I owned the horse that the assistant starter hit, I would not have taken it well, and probably would have done or said something that would get me fined or suspended. 2. Different strokes for different folks.....isn't this the same track that gave Juan Vazquez a 60 day vacation for slugging Trevor McCarthy?

But the assistant starter gets nothing; why should anyone still following racing be surprised when 'making it up as we go' is the new normal?

Maybe it's time for a #me too movement for race horses, who until now have only the glimmering memory of Mr. Ed as a spokesman for the breed.

OK, now I'm over it, so when is first post for the Wednesday card?

[turfnsport]

I have written about this incident and somewhat surprised by some of the people defending his actions.

I have been doing this for a very long time and have run a few horses at Delaware Park back in the day.

This incident was disgusting. I have seen horses act up in the gate thousands of times. This was the first time I can recall something like this.

I saw not one, not two, not three but FOUR punches. The he slammed the horse's head against the gate.

I think I could have lived with a statement like "Hey we have suspended this guy for eight days without pay already, put him in anger management, he has made an apology to the connections and his fellow workers and he is coming back to work. "

Instead we get this:
“The Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission (DTRC) has advised Delaware Park that the Stewards have completed a thorough investigation of the incident that occurred in the starting gate before the fifth race at the racetrack on Thursday, June 14th and that no disciplinary action will be taken against the Assistant Starter. Based upon this determination, the Assistant Starter, who has been on suspension since the incident occurred, will be allowed to return to his position.”

Here is a response from Vic Stauffer to one of my tweets:

"Thought the situation was handled properly by both the track and the Delaware Commission. They followed due process and made a ruling. Didn't saying anything about appropriateness. I did say, given the TOTALITY of the entire situation I agree with the decision #cmonmikeyouknowme"

Ugh.

[PaceAdvantage]