harnessracing.com

A horse named New Dice Please, racing tonight at the Meadowlands, has caught the eye of some track observers (and, apparently, First Over fans) for his inconsistent racelines over the past few weeks. On February 23, at Woodbine on a fast track, the gelding finished eight, trotting in 1.57.3, last quarter in 30.4. On March 1, at Woodbine on a fast track, the Donerail offspring left from the six-hole, cut the mile, but then faded to seventh with a 32-second final quarter. The race went in 1.56.3. The trainer was listed as Patrick J. Hudon.

However, just two weeks later, on March 15, at Woodbine on a fast track, the 6-year-old won in 1.53.1, trotting his last quarter in 28.4. His new trainer? Tony Montini. On March 28, at the Meadowlands on a fast track, the horse came home in .29 and slipped from first to fifth in a race that went 1.55 and change. And on April 11, again at the Big M on a fast track, the trotter finished second from the 10-hole, again in 1.53 and change. All of these facts come from the USTA website.

I have asked Tad Stockman at the Meadowlands and Bruce Murray at Woodbine to comment upon this scenario-- to help educate me about whether this, in fact, is suspicious or just the vagueries of horse racing-- and if they respond I will make sure to post their responses here. In the meantime, anyone out there like to help me understand how a 6-year-old gelding drops three seconds in two weeks to set a lifetime mark? I'm just asking.

Comments

rocco said...

i remember that horse well, he trotted that mile at woodbine in a much cheaper class then he faced at the big m and pretty much gave it up in the stretch. His better race at the meadowlands was in a 35 claimer, at least 2 levels cheaper then the previous race. It appears to me that the horse is very class sensitive and also that he has soundness issues, very few good back to back performances. On the other hand it is a legitimate question to ask if the horse may have gotten some help. In this case i dont think so but that isnt always the way it is.

posted at 12:27 AM on Apr 24th 2008

Jerry Glantz said...

While it is admirable that there are patrons who are policing inconsistent performances isn't the crux of the problem the poor performance of the judges who are paid to do what the fan is doing. Just enforce the rules, keep the hole closed, when you pull a horse make an effort to go forward and generally police the game , i.e. inconsistent performances. Where's a cop when you need one?

posted at 11:23 AM on Apr 21st 2008

bob p said...

Well first of all if you looked at Hudon's stats over his career and Montini's stats, even someone new to harness racing could tell Montini is far more productive than Hudon. Back to the horse, maybe Montini had an ankle or knee injected for a lameness issue that Hudon missed, maybe Montini went after a breathing issue that Hudon didn't notice, maybe Montini's farm has a larger turnout area, maybe maybe maybe... There are countless reasons 6 yr old an 8 yr old and even 10 yr old can drop 3 seconds. But if Montini new for sure what worked, you can be sure the horse would have raced well for more than one race.
Just to change the subject somewhat, I recall an owner once saying to me when his horses were not racing well and others in my stable were. " why don't you give my horses what ever your giving those others?" , as if I had some miracle drug, and if I did, would I have only been racing certain horses on it.
This reminds me of one of Pat Hudon's father's horses about 12-13 yrs ago, it was the Metro Pace ( top race for 2 yr olds)., Hudon's horse broke his maiden winning the race and then went on never to win another in the next two yrs. Go figure.

posted at 10:02 PM on Apr 20th 2008

Eddie Pope said...

This is also the guy who claimed a 9-year-old and turned him from a claimer into the fastest horse of all time (Primetime Bobcat) in a short period of time.

posted at 2:21 PM on Apr 20th 2008

Andrew Cohen said...

Bruce Murray (on behalf of Woodbine Entertainment Group) responded to this entry and here is what he said: "I don't wish to comment on a specific incident, but if we identify a sudden and dramatic form change in a horse that defies explanation, there are obvious concerns which in turn will be addressed. Customer confidence in the product is of utmost importance, so when people see a performance change in a horse so dramatic that it leaves them scratching their heads, it warrants attention."

posted at 5:31 PM on Apr 18th 2008

Evan Bernstein said...

This has always been a fast horse. Obviously he is the type of horse which races best on the front end but I think I remember him being taken off and brushing to the front in the backstretch but he is not too good from a hole. You cant take a big hold of him and is best when turned loose; if someone looks him in the eye he usually spits the bit.

posted at 4:22 PM on Apr 18th 2008

Paul Siegel said...

Bill Robinson always lowered the head, put on lighter hobbles, and went to four aluminum shoes to take three seconds off one...oops...this is a trotter...forget that approach. As I recall Robinson also took a multiple year vacation for feeding them a better lunch on race day. That's the secret! :-)

Of course, it is quite possible for a trainer to improve a horse...it's these guys who seem to improve every horse they get...

posted at 3:37 PM on Apr 18th 2008

What's Up with New Dice Please?

Comments

Post A Comment