In the 3rd at Delta Friday, says the chart, Relentless Bar “fell…and was transported by equine ambulance.” Here is that fall, and how ugly it was. While confirmation will have to wait till our FOIA, I can’t imagine the two-year-old – yes, two-year-old – survived.
Also: Yesterday, the Thoroughbred Daily News ran on an article on Irad Ortiz’s success at Saratoga earlier in the day. It began: “Five-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. won six races at Saratoga Saturday to tie the Spa’s record of six victories on a single card.” And it closed: “After track announcer Frank Mirahmadi called him a future Hall of Famer, Ortiz, Jr. said, ‘That’s the goal, make it there. If we make it there that would be great. I try to keep my feet on the ground and keep doing the grind and getting better.'”
Yes, that’s right, the person currently be extolled by the TDN and NYRA – here – has been credibly linked to cockfighting in his native Puerto Rico. This blog practically writes itself.
And I wonder why- when his horse was dramatically winning the 2nd race yesterday- he had to beat the shit out of her when there were no “safety” issues, the horse wasn’t weaving or swerving, and there were no other horses around her? But he just kept wailing away on her!
Mind you, this was after 3 horses were injured in the starting gate after one completely freaked out and started thrashing.