You've got 40 year old men trying to make 115 pounds and 2% total body fat and to do so many of them are absolutely punishing themselves and risking their health to do it. Did anyone see the HBO special "Jockey"? Mall mentioned it. I missed it, but looked it up on the net and read about it.

Making weight has been a battle for Sellers and others. This in an age when people are bigger and stronger just like the horses. To continue to hold men to the light weights is unjustified. Lets give them some breathing room, so they can have an ice cream cone or a beer now and then. It may be marginally tougher on a 10K claimer to carry 122 rather than 116 pounds, but I'm pretty sure that carrying six more pounds is easier on the horse than the jockey having to reduce six pounds and I'm not arguing for changing the Triple Crown imposts.

You got a guy like Lukas who has argued for changing the distance and spacing of the Triple Crown and yet he can't find it in himself to support compassion for the riders? If anyone remembers what this heartless ghoul said about Chris Antley they'll understand and applaud why he's on the bum's rush out of town now. Typical Lukas unadulterated B.S. God I hate that man. Thank You Silver for reminding me why.

Now the issue of the Nasty Little People. Theres quite a bunch with Derby mounts so if you employ the Chuckles Derby Commandment to disqualify the little money hungry, greedy, grubby fingered, you're on your way to cashing big time in the Run for the Roses.

The disqualified:

Rion Hart - Mike Smith
Master David - Alex Solis
Imperialism - Kent Desormeaux
Borrego - Victor Espinosa
Castledale - Jose Valdivia
Quinton's Gold Rush - Corey Nakatani
St. Averil - Tyler Baze

Please note that Victor Espinosa doesn't really know much English and its really hard to believe he knows exactly what the heck the petition he signed said. He may have thought he was petitioning for automatic citiznry for all foreign Jockey's. The same could be said of Javier Santiago, but Baffert alleviated that problem by benching that particular little bread snapper. The other guys know English perfectly well and it is believed they can count. Riding horses well is another matter entirely. You have to recognize with the retirement of jocks like McCarron, Pincay, Delahoussaye and Stevens infrequent riding that theres a talent vacuum out West and Pval was the only guy with the ability to fill it.



Post Edited (04-27-04 22:02)