Bad DQ @ Pimlico, Race 11

[toetoe]

I'll keep this short. No way that Romans horse should come down. The stewards play God, so they should know the other filly wouldn't win anyway, AND she lasted for second. The jockey's Vlade Divacs imitation was rewarded. Win at all costs, I guess.

[cj]

I had an exacta box of those two, so it probably cost me a few bucks. I did think it was a BS DQ. The 2 actually initiated the contact moving right over on the flank of the 6. That said, Arroyo is an idiot.

[Tom]

I had the 2 - it was GOOD DQ!

[Storm Cadet]

I agree...bad DQ but I had the 2 to win so I'm not bitching

[sjk]

I had a bit more with the 2 on top so it didn't make much difference to me how they decided. I thought it was a pretty quick decision for such an important race.

[toetoe]

Arroyo is a hell of a rider, kind of an East-Coast Martin Pedroza. He pays the price, however, when a shrewd number like Dominguez has the cool presence of mind to play the Don-Macbeth-eve-of-destruction role.

[Jeff P]

I didn't play this race. Yet I thought it was a bad call too. Here's what I thought after watching it. Was there an infraction? Very likely. Did it affect the outcome of the race? No way. So why punish the bettors by making a change? Saw the PIM stewards do exactly the same thing last Thurs (05/11) in R4. Makes me think the stewards at PIM are more likely to play God than their counterparts at many of the other tracks. For example, watch the replay of Woodbine R4 yesterday (May 18, 2006.) Take a look at the incident between the #1 Bounce Forever and the #2 Dance Apollo just inside the quarter pole. Lots of bumping going on and there was both an INQ and a jockey's objection (#2 vs #1.) It took several minutes to reach a decision. During that time they showed replays of the incident from several different angles. Not an easy call to make but it did look to me like both horses had at least something to do with the initial contact. The stewards there let the order of finish stand. And I applaud them for that. Ok, back to PIM. I have very little doubt that if the same race with the same incident had been run in front of the PIM stewards there would have been a change. It may be a subtle thing. You can't always predict what the stewards anywhere will do in a given situation. But as a player I think I'd much rather put my money into pools at tracks where the stewards AREN'T trying to play God.

-jp

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[toetoe]

A mere mortal just applies iron-clad rules. Sunday Silence swerves in the stretch of the KD. Take him down. No-brainer. Rider of runner-up snatches reins as if his life were in danger. Take the winner down. But God figures out the should-have-been, and adjudicates accordingly. The stewards can't apply the knee-jerk rules AND play God, without losing all credibility, but that's what they're doing, with neither rhyme nor reason.

[bigmack]

With all the DQ's that should go forward and don't they yank the better horse in that silly call? Payouts similar on ex and happy to have it but that's too bad as Smart N Pretty ran a darn smart race.

[parlay]

did not bet the race,but
In my opinion there was contact and the winner was guilty
of coming out into the path of the Dom. mount.
It is also my opinion that the Dom. mount was beaten and would not have won.
No action should have been taken to reverse the order of finish.
The jockey on the winner should be fined and/or given days.
This is what would probably happened if the race had taken place in Dubai or Hong Kong.
The horse was in no way prevented from winning the race or attaining his best finishing position.

[Two Bucks To Win]

Nice job by the Md. stewards disgracing the sport on ESPN. Total joke considering you see worse than this supposed infraction every day of the week.

[hurrikane]

damn...I thought the call was good.

Oh, sorry, I had the 2

Actually, when I saw the infraction as it happened I thought "the pup is coming down". 1 for a hundred ain't bad...eh

[PaceAdvantage]

I thought Dominguez was as much to blame for the infraction as Arroyo. Ramon was whipping right handed, and looked to be praying that contact would occur so he could take up, cause he knew he had no shot at winning.

You guys must keep in mind that the rules in Maryland may be different than other jurisdictions. Perhaps the rules in Maryland don't give the stewards discretion as to whether or not they think the interference affected the outcome of the race. Perhaps the rules read "If the stewards rule that contact occurs in the stretch, then a DQ is mandatory" or something like that....I doubt that's the case, because then why bother having professional stewards?

Just a thought....

[toetoe]

PA,

Oh, you mean they get paid?

[toetoe]

Oh, boy. Same day, same jockeys. Invasor won with Dominguez, West Virginia's Arroyo cried foul. Stewards have ruled ... no change.