Paco Lopez gets 30 days - Horse Racing Forum - PaceAdvantage.Com

davew · 02-01-2019, 07:42 PM

for careless ride at Gulfstream yesterday, causing 2 horse to go down and jockeys hospitalized with broken bones

ReplayRandall · 02-01-2019, 08:01 PM

Paco lost control of his temper again and took out Romero Maragh on the #1 in the final turn, as well as the #2 horse.....What did Paco lose his cool over? Going into the first turn, Paco was on the rail with #7, and as they finished the turn going into the backstretch, Maragh forced his way up the rail making Paco check hard and steady his horse behind the two leaders.....The replay shows what I've described but deletes the actual horses and jocks going down....Long-time coming for Paco, he had this suspension coming and much more, to be honest.

Jeff P · 02-01-2019, 08:58 PM

Yeah, I saw that too.

Watching it unfold during the actual running of the race, when Paco tipped out for room, I got the sense he wasn't just tipping out. Like you, I thought he may have been trying to send a message.

That said, there's another factor at play here - something I don't think Paco was really aware of.

Yesterday at Gulfstream there was a fairly significant crosswind - about 11 mph - blowing left to right as you come out of the turn and face towards the finish line.

Imo, a horse's body has an aerodynamic shape - especially when viewed from the front. It's basically a cylinder mounted on really skinny legs. Anything sticking out of the cylinder's sides (shoulders, hind quarters, etc.) has rounded edges. From the front view, the neck and head are blade shaped. Imo, the design (if there is such a thing) is pretty efficient when it comes to cutting through the wind.

But a horse's body viewed from the side is anything but aerodynamic. It's basically a rectangle - no more aerodynamic than a big sheet of plywood.

At the point in the race when Paco started to tip out - and (Imo) send a message:

I think the wind played a part in causing the #7 horse to shift out a few feet more than Paco intended. And from there, a train wreck ensued.

Imo --

If you need to send a message, do it the old fashioned way - in the jock's room (face to face) not on the racetrack.

I have no problem with Paco getting 30 days.

Whether the incident was intentional or not:

Paco left the stewards no choice. They had to send a message of their own.

-jp

.

Immortal6 · 02-01-2019, 09:29 PM

Lol hard to do it the "old fashioned way" in the jocks room when Romero was boarded off with two fractured vertebrae and a punctured lung. Give me a break with that comment. Romero took an aggressive line to skim the rail like that and cut underneath Paco into the backstretch but retaliation by what Paco "did" is just wrong. Now, however, if you are saying Paco should have waited til after the race to confront Romero then yes I would agree with that.

Second point is what Paco "did" can anyone produce a head on replay of that far turn? In my eyes, you can see Paco look over his right shoulder when he starts to tip out...did he think he had cleared the

enough to make his swing to the outside? I've only been involved with racing for little more than a couple of years so I'm not familiar with where all of the "oh it's Paco up to no good again" comes from. Maybe it is warranted, if so I would welcome some concrete evidence i.e. previous suspensions, video evidence etc. genuinely want to know what/where so much hate for this guy comes from.

Jeff P · 02-01-2019, 10:14 PM

I don't have access to the unedited video. But I understand why they edited it.

Following Gulfstream Spill, Apprentice Romero Maragh Undergoes Thoracic Fusion Surgery:
https://www.paulickreport.com/news/p...usion-surgery/

Quote:

A scary spill in Thursday's first race at Gulfstream Park left apprentice jockey Romero Maragh with a pair of fractured vertebrae in his spine, according to cousin and journeyman jockey Rajiv Maragh's Twitter account. The Daily Racing Form reported that the 18-year-old apprentice underwent surgery to fuse four thoracic vertebrae (T5 through T8) on Friday.

Full disclosure: I actually bet the #7.

While watching video during the running of the race:

I saw Paco cut off the same rider who cut him off earlier in the race.

How often does that happen?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Immortal6

Now, however, if you are saying Paco should have waited til after the race to confront Romero then yes I would agree with that.

That's EXACTLY what I'm saying.

-jp

.

davew · 02-01-2019, 10:43 PM

they have full replay on amwager

It looks to me that the 1 clipped heels on the 6 or just stumbled and 7(paco's horse) was clear, although the 7 did force the 1 outward while veering out towards top of stretch.

the little guy · 02-01-2019, 11:45 PM

I see this very differently. As is too frequently the case, we are reactive instead of proactive. Stewards need to discourage reckless riding ( especially herding which basically condoned by many US Stewards ) BEFORE someone gets hurt. Giving an substantial penalty BECAUSE someone got hurt is, well, so racing. Maybe it satisfies an angry mob, but it's too late, and it's a giant leap from the other penalties that are meted out.

What happened yesterday is awful. It's horrible anytime a rider gets hurt, but many injuries are unfortunately the risks of the profession, but when something wholly avoidable happens, it is especially upsetting. In this case, the culprit was a rider that has behaved recklessly in the past, yet as far as I can remember, was never punished even nearly this severely. When I was at Gulfstream in 2016, in a turf race one Saturday, he was on the lead in the stretch in around the three path, looked inside and saw Joel Rosario coming, and drifted over sharply and cut him off. Yes, he was disqualified, but I highly doubt he got a significant suspension. What he did then was no worse than what he did on Thursday, except in result. The idea should be to penalize as a deterrent, not as a punishment based on the severity of the result of one's actions.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy he was dealt with seriously. However, if we really want to do something to deter this from happening in general, more serious, and progressive, penalties need to be delivered for all infractions, so that hopefully they don't lead to riders getting needlessly injured.

ReplayRandall · 02-02-2019, 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the little guy

I see this very differently.

Your post is no different from anyone else in this thread....Yours is just more "wordy"....But thanks for agreeing with everyone else.

cj · 02-02-2019, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReplayRandall

Your post is no different from anyone else in this thread....Yours is just more "wordy"....But thanks for agreeing with everyone else.

Isn't Andy the first to mention being proactive rather than reactive?

Jeff P · 02-02-2019, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the little guy

I see this very differently.

Andy, I agree with you 100%.

-jp

.

Suff · 02-02-2019, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davew

they have full replay on amwager

It looks to me that the 1 clipped heels on the 6 or just stumbled and 7(paco's horse) was clear, although the 7 did force the 1 outward while veering out towards top of stretch.

I saw it live, had the 7 , watched him run 2nd, and looked clear of the 1 when the 1 went down , clearly clear truthfully.

I closed the video, and went back 5 mins later to see the place price and saw him off the ticket. I was so sure that he was clear that I went to replay and watched 2-3 times. He looks clear still... close enough to clip heels but just close enough. i guess the bad move was horizontally.

If you watch it again, it looks like Lopez is barking at Maragh for about 5 gallops before he goes by him.

ReplayRandall · 02-02-2019, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cj

Isn't Andy the first to mention being proactive rather than reactive?

Isn't that what I inferred in the last line of my post #2?.....What they let Paco get away with all this time has come back to bite GP in the ass...They let it go on for waaaaayy too long. It's their own damn fault that two jockeys are seriously hurt, and the horses as well.

cj · 02-02-2019, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReplayRandall

Isn't that what I inferred in the last line of my post #2?.....What they let Paco get away with all this time has come back to bite GP in the ass...They let it go on for waaaaayy too long. It's their own damn fault that two jockeys are seriously hurt, and the horses as well.

You lose me when you confuse infer and imply. Maybe you implied it, I wasn't smart enough to infer it.

ReplayRandall · 02-02-2019, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cj

You lose me when you confuse infer and imply. Maybe you implied it, I wasn't smart enough to infer it.

You're smart enough....Maybe too smart sometimes.

Andy, you and myself each make money off this game in our own unique ways. Most of the time we agree, but occasionally we have differing opinions from our own perspectives....Who's perspective is more closer to the truth of a matter?....It's always a close call, but depending on the situation, it becomes obvious to the viewers, who has the better insight.

dilanesp · 02-02-2019, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the little guy

I see this very differently. As is too frequently the case, we are reactive instead of proactive. Stewards need to discourage reckless riding ( especially herding which basically condoned by many US Stewards ) BEFORE someone gets hurt. Giving an substantial penalty BECAUSE someone got hurt is, well, so racing. Maybe it satisfies an angry mob, but it's too late, and it's a giant leap from the other penalties that are meted out.

What happened yesterday is awful. It's horrible anytime a rider gets hurt, but many injuries are unfortunately the risks of the profession, but when something wholly avoidable happens, it is especially upsetting. In this case, the culprit was a rider that has behaved recklessly in the past, yet as far as I can remember, was never punished even nearly this severely. When I was at Gulfstream in 2016, in a turf race one Saturday, he was on the lead in the stretch in around the three path, looked inside and saw Joel Rosario coming, and drifted over sharply and cut him off. Yes, he was disqualified, but I highly doubt he got a significant suspension. What he did then was no worse than what he did on Thursday, except in result. The idea should be to penalize as a deterrent, not as a punishment based on the severity of the result of one's actions.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy he was dealt with seriously. However, if we really want to do something to deter this from happening in general, more serious, and progressive, penalties need to be delivered for all infractions, so that hopefully they don't lead to riders getting needlessly injured.

Andy, the legal system is the same way. If you are caught doing 90 on a rainy day or making an unsafe lane change, very few jurisdictions will make you do any jail time. Do the exact same thing and kill someone and you'll do 2 or 3 years for vehicular manslaughter.