Woolley Says Mine That Bird May Skip Preakness.

[elleng]

Source: nyt/ap

''If this horse is doing good, you bet we'll run, but he's going to have to tell us,'' Allen said. ''The horse will tell us. We don't owe nobody nothing.''



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/05/04/sports/AP-RAC-Kentucky-Derby.html

[CubicleGuy]

1. I tuned in to the coverage just in time for the actual race

When the race was over, the owner (I believe) was on crutches and didn't seem to want to play the network's game so far as the post-race interview was concerned. When he had no more to say to the guy with the mike, he walked away and wasn't about to let anybody try to drag out the process any longer. It was kind of funny, I thought.

At any rate, the charge that MTB made in the final stretch was something to behold. I've never seen a horse come from the back of the pack the way this one did and just leave all the other horses in the dust. It was simply amazing; the jockey managed to get the turbo-booster for this horse switched on, and then never looked back.

[DUlover2909]

3. Jockeys can really make a big difference.

The horse had a good day. I applaude him. That doesn't mean he'll win every race. It happens.

[trof]

4. The guy on crutches was the trainer.

[achtung_circus]

7. Sorry

it's still Secretariat...

the afterburner in the Preakness in the first tight turn, on the outside, where he passed the field from last to first place in less than 200 yards.

And the Belmont.....

What's to say?? Let him run and 31 lengths over Sham and much more to the field.

[Seeking Serenity]

8. Unfair comparison.

No mere mortal horse should be compared to Secretariat.

Secretariat was Superhorse. The Mozart of thoroughbreds.

Thirty-one lengths. At Belmont (that monster of a race). That's not right. Wow.

[Johnyawl]

11. Do you know why he always had to come from behind?

When they put him in the starting gate, he would back up a step, and rest his ass on the back of the gate. So he always came out of the gate a step behind.

It's the Preakness that impressed me. Watching that video even now, it's unbeleivable how fast he made his move. It seems like he went from dead last to the lead in about 10 strides. It sure impressed the competition, there were only 5 horses in the Belmont stakes. Everybody conceded, scratched, and took the day off.

[bread_and_roses]

9. Sham finished last in the Belmont. And no one's comparing Bird to Secretariat

So what's your problem? Borel gave Bird a great ride, but that little horse did his part. He won by 6 3/4 lengths and in good time (2:02 3/5.), not by a head-bob at a crawl. When Barbaro demolished the field by 6 1/2 lengths in 2:01.36 he was hailed as a wonder.

(Noting for accuracy that Sham finished last is no slur on him - a very fast colt with great heart, born in the wrong year, as they say.)

(edit to correct MTB's winning margin to what is posted on the KD official site)

[achtung_circus]

10. Sorry if I was misunderstood,

or phrased it poorly.

I was responding specifically to this sentence:

"I've never seen a horse come from the back of the pack the way this one did and just leave all the other horses in the dust."

Secretariat in the Preakness defines that.

Sham was responsible (to a great extent) for Secretariat's performance as he gave Secretariat someone to run against.

Bird had a great run. I hope he shows up at the Preakness.

No worries.

[bread_and_roses]

12. np. sorry I misunderstood you. (n/t)

[fishwax]

20. yes, but

"I've never seen a horse come from the back of the pack the way this one did and just leave all the other horses in the dust."

Secretariat in the Preakness defines that.

Secretariat's move in the Preakness was amazing for how quickly he made that move, but he was not as far back as Mine That Bird was, he didn't have nearly as much traffic to get through, and he didn't put the same distance between himself and the field that MTB did. Fun stuff.

Now Secretariat at the Belmont--nothing compares to that :wow:

[MrCoffee]

23. I hate watching that race

Sham didn't deserve that beating.

[elleng]

18. Is THAT Secretariat???

.

[Awsi Dooger]

24. Secretariat did not win the Belmont by 31 lengths

You can put it in red bold print all you want. The record books (for now) still insist on it. It's conventional wisdom idiocy. The margin is inflated by several lengths at the minimum.

I post this every year at about this time because the number is fraudulent. In time it will be revealed as such. Right now the world is still controlled at the top end by guys who idolized Secretariat in their youth and are willing to ignore that basic math screams he did not win by 31 lengths. In time, that will not be the case and when an unbiased lot takes a look at the specifics, there is zero chance the 31 lengths will stand as the accepted margin.

It's impossible since the time to the second place horse is 4.73 to 4.76 seconds. That means that horse supposedly winged the final section of the race in more than 6.5 lengths per second.

As I've posted before, what planet is that? I've checked dozens and dozens of races with wide margins of victory and nothing remotely equals that 6.5+. Everything is in the 5-6 range, normally 5.5 or slightly above. Heck, there was a recent example, Rachel Alexandra's romp in the Oaks. Go to YouTube and time the duration to the place horse. It is roughly 3.45 seconds. And that falls smack in line with every other massive margin race, in terms of lengths per second. The official 20 1/4 length margin with a 3.45 gap equates to 5.87 lengths per second. That's smack in the normal and logical range. The '73 Belmont chart wants us to believe one race and one race alone defied how fast beaten horses are running when they arrive at the wire, the '73 Belmont. Sorry, but the real world doesn't work that way. The true margin is astounding but it's closer to 27 or 28 lengths, not 31. That 4.73 to 4.76 is devastating proof. The visual subjectivity is pure garbage.

The '73 race was so unexpected it shocked Belmont and their official race chart is one of the all time comedic coin flip productions. Secretariat ran the final quarter in 25 seconds, from 1:59 to 2:24. He opened his margin from 20 to 31 lengths over that period, according to the chart. So at that point the chart tells us the trailers were faltering badly. A 25 second quarter isn't extraordinary, other than managing it at the end of a mile and a half after blistering the field in the prior quarters.

The trail horses were nearly walking, losing about two seconds per quarter to Secretariat. Then miraculously, as soon as Secretariat crossed the finish line, these young undistinguished 3 year olds turned into the equine equivalent of Usain Bolt multiplied by Michael Phelps at the end of the only mile and a half race they'd ever attempt, covering 31 lengths in 4.73 to 4.76 seconds, depending on which number you prefer.

I'll give you either one because both are preposterous. :rofl:

[bitchkitty]

14. Just watched it on Youtube.

I love that jockey - is that a Cajun accent?

[Stevepol]

2. steroids?

[jakefrep]

22. They have tests for that

nt

[Seeking Serenity]

5. Calvin Borel (or Bo-Rail, as his colleagues call him) is a fine jockey

He loves riding his horses on the rail. Watching him guide that horse through the traffic, weaving in and out, until he got MTB on the rail where he wanted him was expert horsemanship.

I was happy for that little Coon Ass.

I, too, was tickled by the trainer's handling of the TV interviewer. You could tell the trainer had had more than enough questions about his 21-hour drive to Kentucky from New Mexico with the horse in the trailer. Interesting (if not a little bit patronizing) storyline, to be sure, but I can easily see where that trainer would have been sick of it.

I just loved the fact that a horse bought for $9500 came in and beat all those million-dollar colts. Let's hear it for the little engine that could!

[MikeNearMcChord]

6. Borel won also with the filly Rachel Alexander the day before.

You couldn't help feeling good with the way Borel was celebrating, I wanted to see General Quarters, which was owned and trained by a retired school principal win, but oh well the good horse won.

[Born_A_Truman]

13. Mine That Bird will run in Preakness

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/30547471/

The trainer of the gelding who won the Kentucky Derby at 50-1 odds said his horse will run in the May 16 Preakness at Pimlico, the second leg of the Triple Crown.

“I’ve never been to Baltimore, but it looks like I won’t be able to say that in a few days,” trainer Bennie Woolley Jr. said Monday.

[elleng]

19. Good for US!

Hope the crew can handle it! Have to DRIVE!!!!

(I could do it, but I don't have a HORSE!!!)

[bitchkitty]

15. I like that he says "The horse will tell us".

It sounds like he lets the horse decide if he wants to run.

I found a good article on the jockey:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=2860738

[hamsterjill]

17. Me, too!

I would like to see someone with a little "horse sense" in the triple crown component.

At least that comment makes me think the trainer is tuned in to the health of the horse. I hope so, at least.

With the tragedies of the last couple of years, it's nice to think that someone actually cares about the horses.

[TZ]

21. then you aren't paying attention

The owners of Barbaro cared very much about him.they did EVERYTHING to save him knowing they would never get another penny out of him. Shame on you for stereotyping owners.there are lots of caring horse owners out there if you pay attention.oh andBTW the trainer of the deceased Eight Belles was COMPLETELY devastated by her death and is retiring this year because of it.

[ellie]

16. I love horses!

Run horsey run!