As much as I do like Jeremy and believe he is a great jockey, I think the important thing here is that the horse COULD have received permanent damage to his eye and COULD have in fact LOST his eye as a result of Jeremy's 'accident.'  In this respect I have to support the stewards on this one.

Jeremy Rose was given a six-month suspension for a whipping incident at Delaware Park. Was it justified

Yes, the punishment was not only justified, it should have been more!  These animals give their all and get whipped for it - in the eye? If Jeremy Rose has an "anger management" problem, then he has no business doing what he does for a living.

To receive 6 months for an incident like this is ridiculous.  The entire situation was overblown and it appears as if the stewards were reacting to all the bad publicity surrounding the sport right now.  No jockey would attempt to injure the 1,200 pound animal he is riding and perhaps cause a fatal accident.  The horse was drifting into the rail, he was trying to keep it off the rail.  From the video I saw, I don't even agree with your comment that he was frustrated and lost his temper.  Wait a stride or two and he might have been into or over the rail.  The fact that Jeremy has apologized and offered to pick up any vet expenses is to his credit.  Victor Molina wasn't given that long a suspension for deliberately kicking a horse.  Trainers aren't suspended that long for medication violations.  It was an accident, he apologized, the trainer seems to bear no ill will.  A short suspension for poor race-riding MIGHT be in order.  Definitely not what was handed out.

I absolutely agree with the 6-month suspension.  There is no way you can watch that video and think that Rose did not intentionally hit that mare in the face.  I commend the Delaware Racing Commission for its decision and I hope this serves as an example for other jockeys.

Yes, I feel this is an appropriate and justified suspension.  That was not an accident!  For starters, you don't whip the shoulder, you whip the flank.  There is no need for a whip to EVER be ANYWHERE near the horse's face.  You can run the whip across the shoulder, but you don't HIT them.  Watch Desormeaux or Prado or any of the experienced, professional jockeys and you will see they may run the whip across the horse's shoulders, but they never hit them.  You whip the flank, preferably where the blanket is to avoid serious injury to the horse.  This was a justified sentence considering the possible risks to the horse as well as the other horses and jockeys in the field when Appeal to the City veered into them after he "accidentally" whipped him in the face.  It was no accident and if he can't control his temper with his mounts, he does not deserve to be a jockey.

If you are looking at it as just an accidental strike due to Jeremy losing his temper, then six-months seems extreme for a first offense.  Losing one to three months for a first offense would seem more appropriate.  But as a result of the hit, the horse swerved across the path of the multiple horses and could've caused an accident.  Thus it seems appropriate to send a stern message to Jeremy that he's not the only one out there.

Intent is a biggie here. I don't know Rose, the Stewards do. I'll bet you can be sure had this been a $250,000 Grade I race he wouldn't have made this "mistake". Just because she's a lesser talented $25,000 claimer means nothing...betting $2 bucks on her brings in the same thing as the big races...money. She did nothing but try her best.

I know on the video I saw a PO'd jockey hit a horse in the face, causing her to swerve out into the rest of the horses...any kinds of accidents could have happened.

PS The last time I rode my horse his head was seperated from his shoulder by a long, curved neck...

I own a two year old filly, and if a jockey whipped my filly in the face, intentionally or unintentionally, that jockey would never ride my horse again.  I commend the Delaware Racing Commission for its prompt and fully appropriate action. Jeremy Rose deserves the opportunity to redeem himself, and I'm sure he will, but it won't happen on the back of my filly, I guarantee you that.

Absolutely justified; in fact anyone who thinks striking a horse about the head should not be in racing at all. Neither, for that matter should Molina, the kicking jockey. The excuses sound good, but aren't.

The PETA folks are going to LOVE this. Talk about fueling a smoldering fire...

The race film does not provide the kind of angle that I need to make an appropriate assessment of whether there was an intent to strike the horse on the face. I will give Jeremy the benefit of the doubt as well. However, the stewards were standing there and I am inclined to take their word. I do think the severity of the punishment is largely due to the climate surrounding racing right now. But if that prevents jockeys or others from getting frustrated and taking it out on the horses...perhaps it is for the best. Might be a good time to discuss getting rid of whips; which many jockeys seem to be in favor of. I'm glad Appeal to the City is going to be OK. And, yes, Molina should have been suspended a much longer period, perhaps even barred. Kicking is really unnecessary.

No i don't agree totally with the 6 month suspension. Thank you for providing the tape, i finally got to watch the race and i think rose was telling the truth. I do think he should've been suspended but not for so long. I get that tracks are try to enforce whip rules and fair treatment to horses, but to do this is just a bit over the top in my oppinion.

I have watched this thing 30 times, and I don't see enough for a man to have his bread and butter taken for 6 months!

I do feel like most of us in the business are walking around on pins and needles because of the image problems the exist with this business today.

If the trainer can support Rose, so can I.  I believe that most of us are very partial to our horses, and if the person who has the most on the line can say he didn't mean it, then the Stewards should have exhaled, and give the man some type of punishment, but that was far too much!!

Compared to other infractions and what suspensions are implemented I do feel this is a bit harsh. It shows that there is a double standard in horse racing. Certain jockeys and trainers seem to be able to get away with a whole lot more than this single incident (Patrick Valenzuela, Rick Dutrow, Steve Asmussen, etc.).

With that said, there is NO excuse for taking the whip to a horse's face and it is a very serious situation. He deserves what he got but as I mentioned there are others who deserve a whole lot more.

Whether intentional or not, the act did take place and like Eloise, the horse could have lost her eye from it.  It is not a question of frustration or not, he has been a jockey for a long period of time and knows better.  I'm sorry but strongly believe that the stewards have made the right decision in this case.  Maybe a test case but it puts a call out to all other jockeys that just because you are frustrated you don't take it out on your bread and butter.

He put the filly in the hospital.  If I were on the Commission he would have received one year suspension, and one year probation. That kind of behaviour from a professional jockey will not be tolerated.

I didnt see the actual act but the stewards did. Track Stewards are generally fair in these types of incidents, so it must have been a pretty blatant act. If it was my horse and it was a blantant act, I would take Mr Rose to the wood shed for some Jockey schooling.

Suspension, yes he deserves one but not six months. He will be paying the vet bills and will be obliged to take an anger management course. Keeping him out till after Labour Day will hurt his wallet plenty as he will miss out on the bulk of stakes races.

Invariably, if he is truly guilty of a deliberate attempt of harming a horse, the trainers will get together and freeze him out of mounts which is probably more costly than any action that the stewards will come up with.

No - 6 months is too long.  60 days is more appropriate.   Now its time for the industry to seriously look at removing the whip.  So what if times decrease by .5 of a second or even 5 - horse racing will always be thrilling but the time has come!  Eliminate the whip and you have one less opportunity for abuse.

He deserves at least 30 days!! Let me put this way....suppose you're running full speed, and someone whacks you in the face, by accident or otherwise....Hmmm...food for thought.

Rose is very lucky that the connections didnt take his whip away and smack him him one in the face, and say..."oops i tried to tap your shoulder with it"

He needs to loose his license and find another way to make a living..

You've all heard the phrase "timing is everything." Well, that is the second most important point to be made here.  The most important is that yes, the mare might have lost her eye.  Back to Point No. 2, the more this story is publicized, the more steam it will add to the anti-whip movement.  Frankly, the incident is all I needed to see to join that movement myself.

The six-month suspension is more severe than many might have expected, but events don't happen in a vacuum and decisions aren't made in one, either.  The overall (besieged) state of racing is obviously a factor in the Rose punishment, like it or not.  

I am sure race riding is a tough, challenging occupation, but he is a professional jockey with years of experience and must be held accountable.  I agree with the stewards, especially their anger management course requirement.  (I've never heard of such action before, but they must know more than I do.)

Finally, we all remember the Afleet Alex acrobatics in the '05 Preakness, the previous high point of Jeremy Rose's career.  Do we  also remember that whipping (Scrappy T) was the cause of that near-tragedy?  Come on, are all these accidents and near-accidents and mostly the terrible publicity really worth it to keep the whip?  Jerry Bailey says no, and I think he was a pretty intelligent jockey.

I can't believe the comments that the whipping incident was an 'accident.'  Obviously, the folks making those comments have never sat on a horse.  A tap on the shoulder can be accomplished with both hands on the reins and a flick of the wrist.  A wise jockey doesn't send his mount into the paths of others.  How quickly Mr. Rose has forgotten what happened to Afleet Alex when ScrappyT was blindsided.  The video clearly shows the hand removed from the rein and the arm directing the whip toward the mare's head.  And when she didn't react enough, he hit her again. As an old horsewoman, I found it shocking.   Forget the eye, no one hits a horse in the head if one cares about horses.  I side with the stewards and commend them for their quick action in this matter.

The stewards were/are absolutely justified for handing down a 6 month suspension and requiring that he pay the vet bills.   And by the way, the trainer does not stand by Rose.  The intial statement he made was before he saw the head on of the incident.

   Rose deliberately hit the horse in the head.  You don't bring your arm straight up and out to tap a horse on the shoulder.   And from what I understand this is not the first time he's hit a horse inappropriately---just the first time it was done in public.

  He does have an anger management problem.  At Colonial Downs last year I saw him go off on a fan who asked for an autograph and commented that the horse he had ridden in the Va Derby hadn't run well.  Rose screamed at the guy and called the horse a dumb nag that wouldn't listen to him.  I had always been a fan of Jeremy Rose until I saw him totally lose it.   There's not a doubt in my mind that he didn't intentionally strike that poor mare in the face for no reason.  

I agree that it is impossible to tell from that angle whether or not the hit to the face was intentional.  I am inclined to believe it was unintentional because it was one strike.  If he was acting in anger, he probably would have hit her in the head repeatedly.  Still, it was a bad mistake to make and a suspension was in order.  I don't believe it should have been six times the suspension given to the jockey that clearly kicked his horse in anger.  As for the comment that there is never any reason to strike a horse in the shoulder, as a trainer of riding horses it can often be necessary to tap a horse on the shoulder, especially if you're having steering trouble.  A tap on the rear usually gets you going faster.  A tap on the shoulder can help you gain steering and control.  Also, I feel it should be taken into account that Rose took responsibility for his mistake and offered to pay her medical expenses before he was reprimanded. The stewards are making an example of Jeremy Rose because of all the recent bad press racing has received.

This is a tough one.  I can see both sides.  First of all, let me just say that I am speaking from the perspective that he truly didn't intend to hit the filly in the eye and that he did feel bad about it.  I'm not arguing whether or not that's true.  Obviously, if it was intentional, there is no question that 6 months is a generous suspension.  If it were intentional, I would want to see a longer suspension.  However, let's assume that it wasn't intentional.

Argument in favor - Racing needs a scapegoat.  The industry, being under the intense scrutiny that it is, needs to step up and show that they are no longer going to tolerate abuse and rule bending, even if this means targeting a first-time offender.  The general public, for the most part, isn't going to take the time to find out the truth.  They see the headline, and they want to see repercussions.  In this case, Mr. Rose falls victim to timing and must "take one for the team."

Argument opposed - Why should one person take the fall for the mistakes of the industry?  This is not an established abuser, at least as far as the record shows.  If this had been a repeat offense, 6 months is understandable, but it was a first offense for a rider with an established clean record.  

My final judgement - No, the punishment does not fit the crime.  The industry needs to stop being reactive and start being proactive.  This suspension is a reactive response to the immense pressure they are under from media, the general public, protection groups, Congress, etc.  If they would establish a national ruling authority and national guidelines for every racing state to follow, this wouldn't even be an issue.  If it was established that any jockey who misused his/her whip, intentionally or not, would be suspended 6 months for his/her first offense, then that's fine.  The problem is that it's not established.  Punishment in one state doesn't match punishment at another track.  Inconsistency is part of what makes the racing industry look so bad.  If the article read along the lines of--jockey hit horse in eye; this was first offense; rule such and such calls for an automatic 30 day suspension; jockey suspended for said time--then I don't think people would react so strongly to it.  Unfortunately, we have an industry that has let things go for so long that now they overreact to every incident with punishments intended to make a statement rather than address a problem.

What we need is some positive reinforcement.  There are some very heartwarming stories on the Bloodhorse website.  Unfortunately, they are scattered throughout the page and significantly smaller in size to the negative headlines.  I would like to see your publication start drawing attention to what is good about racing.  When Dutrow and Asmussen got their violations, it was the first thing I saw when I pulled up your home page.  Why not make some positive headlines that way.  I know you guys can only do so much and a lot of the problem comes from non-racing media, but you are one of the leading sources of racing information.  Use that to help the industry.  Like many have expressed, I want to be reminded why I love this sport so much.  It's good to report on the bad stuff, but let's give the good stuff just as much attention.

Sorry for the long post!

Is the forum where Rose makes his appeal, and Dutrow, and Asmussen etc, open to the public?

If it were up to me he would never ride in another race!!!!!!!!!

It's all a shame as we remember Jeremy's great Preakness ride, and Alex's Belmont burst at the top of the stretch was tremendous. He seemed a cool jockey, and I want to believe him now. Accident or not, its more grist for hysterical elements of the press during a bad time for racing. Most important: the filly is fine.

I wouldn't suspend him, but if I was the racing comissioner, I would no longer allow him to ride with a whip.  Ever.  I have ridden for years, and there's no way you can mistake a head for a shoulder.  If you can't tell the difference, then the whip is better left in the hands of more experienced horsemen.

HEY BILL D

YOU ARE ON TARGET WITH YOUR OPINION. I OWN 2 RACE HORSES THAT RACE IN FLA. YOU CAN BET THE BANK IF ROSE OR ANY RIDER MISTREATED MY HORSES IN A SIMILAR MANNER,I WOULD BE WAITING FOR HIM AFTER THE RACE!

yes this is just another black eye for horse racing

I believe that whipping of these race horses is excessive. A professional who rides these animals daily does know where the shoulder is and where her head is. That whip should have never been close to the mare's head at anytime. The racing commission is telling him and all the other jockeys to be careful with these whips. Thank goodness the mare's sight is OK and she will be OK. I bet she will really be head shy tho, that is too bad.

I am very curious if those who think the suspension was too much have ever sat on a horse and used a whip. Because I'm thinking that it is almost impossible to "accidentally" hit a horse in the eye at a full gallop with such force that the horse ends up in the hospital. I have seen jockeys wave the whip by the eye to encourage the horse to move forward, but that would not be enough force if it brushed the eye to cause such trauma. And if you are attempting to use the whip on the shoulder, it is not necessary to fan it so close to the horse's face.

I think the punishment is justified. Even if it was an accident, it was careless and caused a severe injury. Sometimes a punishment is strictly about making amends for the result of your careless actions.

He should be banned from the sport, period. Anyone trying to defend his actions needs to look at the head-on replay again. If it was an "accident" he would have immediately stopped whipping the horse, and not take two extra blows, which were *obviously* done in anger. He could have caused a major accident.

It's a joke.  

I do not think this punishment is justified. If Victor KICKED a horse and got 30 days then Jeremy accidentally hitting the horse in the face while trying to do his job should not be given six months. That is a looooong time especially compared to the one that Victor got. Obviously kicking a horse was on purpose and as Jeremy says, the whipping was an accident. I have no reason to believe it was on purpose because it is very out of character for Jeremy to do that and I cant see it being intentional.

I have not seen the tape, nor do I want to, but I'm another rider who has been puzzling over how to accidentally smack a horse in the face at a dead run. No one wants to think this was intentional, but Rose is known to have a temper. Safety of horses and riders should be paramount. Why is the issue of his punishment one "to be debated" rather than trusting the judgement of the stewards and realizing that the incident has to be understood in the context of the current climate and was also intended as a sign of (hopefully)things to come? Obviously Delaware Park is trying to send a message-and its one we should support.

This was the 1st time I have been able to view the race.  I have always thought Jeremy Rose is a talented rider and have always thought highly of him, but this is an incident that leaves my thoughts of him in doubt.  I have to say, I completely believe it was intentional.  I think he was frustrated by not being able to get to the horse in front.  His horse looks like he hung on him a little bit.  I know someone previously stated that Rose's horse was lugging in, but I honestly didn't see that.  If you go back and look at the replay, his horse was actually keeping a fairly straight line.  Also, when Rose struck the horse, notice how the whip did not come up and then straight back down.  He had a little cross action with the whip towards the horse's head.  Notice the 2 times subsequent whips were straight up and down and the whip wasn't brought as high either of those times.  I think he was frustrated and did hit the mare intentionally, but I think once he crossed the finish line shortly after the incident he realized what he had done.  Watch the replay again.  After crossing the finish line, he looks down towards the horse's head to see if he had done any damage.  I think then and only then he realized what he did was wrong and then he was both sorry & a little nervous of the possible consequences.  Six months is a long suspension, but in this case, it's fair.  It's just an unfortunate incident.  I do believe had this been done some other time than now when horse racing is facing so much scrutiny, the suspension would probably have not been as severe, but unfortunately for Rose it wasn't.

The stewards are right; that wasn't an accident.  Treating a claimer differently than a Stakes horse says it all about his attitude.

Come on! Jeremy Rose is not an apprentice rider. It's not as if he's a bug trying to find his balance in the saddle and hits the horse in the eye accidentally. This man lost his cool and his professionalism. No horse deserves that kind of blatant abusive treatment. It's clear Rose has some issues to work on. The six month suspension is justified. He is just another reason why our sport is getting a bad rap by the general public.

I don't buy the "accident" thing anymore either, not after watching the video. He doesn't seem so terribly close to the rail in the first place, let alone to hit her with that kind of force. Looks like other horses were also getting the hell whipped out of them.  Time to get rid of the whips entirely I think!  I'm also tired of reading "couldn't have happened at a worse time".  I strongly disagree.  Couldn't have happened at a BETTER time.  Now that the spotlight is on the sport, now that the public (which are the bettors, hence the ones putting up a lot of money) are sick and tired of the abuses that continue in this age, in this sport!  Reform is long past due. If this is what we're seeing and reading about, imagine what we're not being made privy to, all that is going on behind the scenes and not being reported.  I applaud Bloodhorse for keeping it in the forefront!

I agree with the suspension indeed. Infact it is not long enough, he should get a year suspension and it should be at all track's. He should not be allowed to ride a horse again until his suspension is over.

If he has a temper problem, he should find another vocation.

That was no accident, the whip should not be around the face of the horse at all.I would hope tht all trainer's and owner's would watch this video befor considering having him ride thier horse's. The whip's are used way too much and should have stricter enforced rule's on using them in race's.

He should be banned from horse racing peroid.

I accidentally hit one of the horses that I care for in the eye.  He tried to bite me and I intended to pop him in the shoulder for this.  He turned his head to grab the lead and the end of it hit him across the eye.  I felt terrible and he kept his eye shut for a while, but no damage was done.  This is just to show that sometimes we do things, either out of anger or as a reaction, that we regret.  Should Rose be suspended?  Absolutely yes?  For 6 months?  I do not think so, 30 days would probably be sufficient.  However, a 6 month suspension can always be reduced upon appeal.  A 30 day one cannot be extended without due cause.

In defense of the sport, "showing the whip" and waving it beside a horse's head (without contact) is used frequently and serves a legitimate purpose.

What Jeremy did was wrong, yes.  But is it possible that he was making a "valid" manouver and then made a very poor decision out of anger?  Yes.  Those of us whose careers involve horses can probably think of a moment where the pressure got the best of us and we weren't the good horseperson we wanted to be.  It's how you handle those screw ups that show your character.  Let's keep watching Jeremy to see how he handles this before we condemn him.

I absolutely support the stewards here. You NEVER take out your frustrations on a horse, EVER. If Rose cannot control his temper, perhaps he should stop riding for a while until he can. There is no excuse for abusing an animal, none. Delaware Park has my full support on this one.

I feel this was not an act he committed on purpose.  I have watched the video and read his letter of apology.  Accidents happen, I own and ride horses myself and things happen.  I feel 6 month is TOO long of a suspension, especially given his sincere (and I believe it is sincere) concern over what happened.  Using a whip is part of horse racing and I use a whip on my own horse when he needs it.  It isn't cruel if used properly.  Although I don't ride like a jockey, due to the nature of their position in the saddle and the way they handle their whips I can see this easily happening.  I think the stewards overreacted on their suspension just to appease all the animal rights activists.

i've personally watched and been impressed with mr rose's rise through the ranks over the years. he's demonstrated an ability to get many types of horses to the winners circle;claimers,stakes horses,older and young ones.i would not classify mr rose as being in the top echelon of the the american jockey colony but certainly one who'd like to be considered as such. i'd like not to think that this type of race riding was something we were going to see more of from this rider.he has developed some "issues" with anger as well as disrespect for the animals he rides and the jocks he rides with. besides exercising bad judgement, wreckless riding and endangerment to others, i believe the delaware racing commission was justified in their punishment.i've wondered if mr rose [like mr prado] has found his way to the new bolton center ,yet? i hope this experience makes a good jock -a better jock.  

im fixing to get people mad,but here goes.have ANY of you ever rode a race? i think not. i was a rider for 29 years. yes he did hit the horse in the face but does anybody know for sure that the horse wasnt lugging in with him? no its all guess work from our view of the film. as a rider you make split second decisions. good or bad. true what he did was wrong BUT a 6 month suspension is absurd. anger managment and 7 days of no paycheck plus picking up the tab for vet bills is enough. what do you think that will cost him??i would love to see all the people who have made comments actually get their butts in a jocks saddle and try and perform in a race. most cant ride a  stick horse but want to go for the death penelty on this matter.also you dont whip a horse in the flank you hit it on the butt

Racefan66 makes an excellent point.  If all of us that work with horses, either professionally or as a hobby, had to quit forever because we reacted in the heat of the moment and made a poor decision, then there would be precious few of us left handling horses.  It's easy to stand back from this incident and condemn Jeremy Rose.  Let's remeber: when you're riding a 1,000 pound animal that's running at top speed and not responding, it's scary because it's dangerous.  I don't care how long you've been riding or how good you are - there are times when you KNOW you're in trouble and you may overreact in the name of self preservation.  If your mount feels like it's heading for a collision and not steering like you want, it would be easy to swing a little wildly, knowing that if you can't get that horse going where you want, you'll both get badly hurt. Again, Rose did not repeatedly strike the mare in the head.  He hit her once, accidentally or otherwise, realized he made a mistake and became concerned for her health and welfare.  He doesn't deserve this level of punishment and calling out.

This incident must be overblown.  Jeremy Rose was such a compasionate jockey when he rode Afleet Alex.  How could he have changed so much?  If he is required to pay the vet bills for the filly, this will serve punishment enough.  Thoroughbred racing has been overwhelmed lately with nothing but negative press!  It is time to look at the positive side of it for a while.

I do believe Jeremy Rose should face a suspension. However six months is too much. Was this suspension this heavy because of all the recent bad press about racing? Or was it a way to make riders more responsible for the way they use the whip? In this case I know Jeremy is riding for the best placing he could get, however in looking at the video tape it is apparent to this observer he was only going to get third in the race. For those who think his mount was about to go over the rail, I don't buy it. His mount was one lane off the rail when he struck his mount. It is my opinion that riders carelessly overuse the whip. Before you say I'm nuts, please keep in mind I am a person who loves the sport. However there have been far too many instances where riders have a clear lead and victory, only to see them keep going to the whip. You have a lead in deep stretch nobody is coming put it away. This is where Stewards have to step up in my opinion and call these guys in and fine them and then suspend riders for unnecessary use of the whip. These people (stewards)should be able to tell when the use of the whip is necessary and when it isn't.

Folks,

This industry is in BIG trouble from a public-relations standpoint. Let's just ban the whip. Nobody is going to be disadvantaged because everybody would be on an even playing field. The breed would evolve to showcase the horses who truly LOVE to run, and the horses who "need encouragement to give their best" would be exposed. The truly best jocks would rise to the surface... the ones that get the most from their horses without having to encourage them with any instrument but their hands and voices. If we don't make changes, make examples, and TAKE THESE ISSUES SERIOUSLY, we could lose oue favorite sport. It's time for us to Be realistic and start punishing ANY behaviour that can be perceived IN any way as a lack of propriety. This goes for jocks, trainers, owners, grooms, starters, etc. While we're at it, let's get over the polytrack issue. It's been proven safer. Again, what is everyone afraid of? If all tracks were synthetic, everyone is on the same playing field. VIVA REVALUCION!

I have just watched the race replay. This jockey is supposed to be a professional. This was abuse. Not just overuse of the whip, this was abuse by the one who is supposed to be the smarter animal.

This mare was orphaned as a foal and hand-raised. Someone loves her very much. And who knows, if she races again, how she will react to the whip next time.

It shouldn't matter if the horse is a claimer or Triple Crown contender.

He also could have caused an awful accident by causing her to veer out.

Can you imagine a handler in a dog show getting frustrated with the dog and hitting the dog in the face with a whip?  This is no different.

And for Jeremy to have done it while he was actually on the horse tells me that anger overcame his judgement. He's not someone I would want on my horse.

I've owned racehorses, and if this were my mare, Jeremy's suspension and having to pay vet bills would not be nearly enough.

It was a beating. Suspension is valid.  A lot of bad personalities have emerged this year and one of them is Dutrow. I respected Desormeaux's reason to pull up. He sensed something not right. The combination of the shoe and the soft course probably was the situation but a decision of safety first should be praised rather than criticised.  

I think it is justified because, whether it was intentional or not, the horse could have lost her eye. I believe this makes all the difference in this case.

Over the point that the mare was drifting to go over the rail, I don't agree. She still had ample space between her and the rail when Rose hit her. I hope after the six months he will return again free of all this. He does seem generally sorry about what happened.

6 months for a experienced Jockey that says it was unintentional? Does he have a pattern of doing this? If not then its just plain dumb. 6 months is a long time not to make money and it could forever alter his career.  Seems a bit excessive to me. What should we do to politicians who allow PEOPLE to sleep in the streets at night? Oh.. I am sorry we were talking about something more important right... a horses eye?

If you were a regular attendee of Delaware Park, you would know of Rose's attitude problems.  You simply cannot mistake a horse's shoulder for her neck.  No doubt in my mind that it was intentional.  I would rule him off the track forever, along with Molina and that NY jockey who threw his whip at and kicked dirt on a horse that had broken down and was lying on the track. It is, or should be, all about the horses.

Yes, justified: Jeremy a talented rider who made an awful decision, borne seemingly out of frustration, with anger swallowing judgment.

What's going on in your personal and maybe professional life as well, Jeremy to trigger this action? Where's the chilly rider? Hope you can get your act back together, my friend. You seem to be on the right path with your prompt stand-up  actions to include apologies to all

Now, don't play any more revisionist history and start with the excuses. The stewards did you a favor with the suspension, pure and simple. Take advantage of it, grow from it, and come back better for it, both as a jock and a person.

Brian in California,

Could you please elaborate on what you mean with this statement:

"start punishing ANY behaviour that can be perceived IN any way as a lack of propriety. This goes for jocks, trainers, owners, grooms, starters, etc." do you mean comments, off track etc?

The Delaware Park stewards made a cowardly decision calculated to keep the pickets away. Meanwhile, a jockey who may have actually saved a horse from injury gets six months for an inadvertent whip to the face. I guess nobody here has ever seen a tired horse lug in and crash through the rail.

The sport is in great danger from an ethics standpoint, and this was certainly not what it needed.  I agree whole-heartedly with the decision of the stewards.  This was a plain case of abuse as I truly believe that it was intentional.  I have been riding horses for my entire life, and have never ever hit a horse in this way out of frustration.  As a professional, I have also always been able to tell their head from their shoulder quite easily while aboard them.  A 5 yo kid could keep from hitting a horse in the face with a crop while riding.  If you can't deal with the pressures of the business, then you shouldn't be involved with horses.  Not only did he put the horse in danger, but he put the other jockeys and horses in danger as well.  Kicking a horse like Victor did while not riding in a race, and hitting a horse in the face while in a race are two completely different circumstances.  I have no respect for Jeremy Rose whatsoever now, and he will never sit on one of my horses.  And I was one of his and Alex's biggest fans.  We should be commending the decisions of the stewards in this case, not second-guessing them.      

This comment is in response to the following comment by "Rider" .."i would love to see all the people who have made comments actually get their butts in a jocks saddle and try and perform in a race. most cant ride a  stick horse"

My comment...Well...... I dont think we need to be jockeys to comment on an incident of animal abuse..as defined and described by the Stewards at the race track. The treatment of horses by jockeys is one of the many problems in this industry. The public doesnt want to see horses whipped. Its particularly offensive when the horse is clearly going to win or is clearly out of the race. I watch TVG and I have heard the announcers, some of whom are former jockeys, make the same comment. I dont believe we can leave the discipling of jockeys to the jockey intelligentsia.And for  that matter we cant let the industry regulate itself.They have had many years and many opportunities to do it and havent. So its time for non horse people to get involved.The industry needs a figure like Judge Landis who cleaned up baseball after the Black Sox incident. He wasnt a baseball man and not all of his rulings were fair, but he saved baseball.

Thanks for the video.  Anyone that rides knows this was no accident.  The only possible justification would have been if this mare was making a left hand turn and getting ready to go over the rail.  This was clearly not the case.  If this happened last year he might have gotten 10 days.  I love the fact that he was ordered to pay the vet bills.  I think a more creative punishment would given him 60 days and order him to do "TB communtity service" at a rescue organization.  I know CANTER has several foster farms in the area.  He could do stalls, rehab and reschool some of the "cheap" horses under saddle.  Maybe he could actually learn to become a horseman.                          

Jeremy Rose needs to be taken by the seat of his pants and brought before a Criminal Court judge, without any unnecessary delay, to answer the charge of animal abuse!

Ridiculous, Irrational, Political.  Every one of those words can describe the punishment Jeremy Rose received.  Sure, he was riding the horse a little rough to begin with.  That happens every day.  In fact, a lot of owners expect it to happen, want it to happen, and command it to happen.  That horse was in contention of winning or placing, and Jeremy was expected to give it everything.  He meant to hit the horse on the shoulder, and because it was lugging in, accidentally hit it in the eye.  To say that he meant to hit it in the eye is ignorant and only out of compassion, not reason.  If you were a jockey in contention to win or place in a race, would you actually attempt to hit a horse in the eye, surely resulting in a loss (as it did), a suspension (as it did) and a severely damaged reputation?? (as it did!)  The severe punishment was political.  It was only an effort by the racetrack to show compassionate, but uninformed viewers (i.e. PETA) that racing can combat "cruelty".  Unfortunately, their aim was skewed.

Some jocks will attempt to hurt the horse they just rode. I saw Tyler Baze, in to ride at the Fairgrounds during a stakes race, take the handle of a whip, and hit his horse in the neck, directly after a race.

The horse just ran its heart out, and gets smacked in the neck. Probably was given a bad ride anyway.

I have been on the race track for over 20 years, and I have seen grooms kick, punch, and stab horses that were being difficult. Just recently at Churchill Downs, and horse for Robert Holthus was stabbed with a pitch fork several times.

Jeremy Rose should have been suspended longer.

Yes, to the six months.  As others have said, whether he meant to or not, he could have injured that horse permanently, and sometimes you don't change your ways unless you really have to suffer yourself.  

Absolutely impossible to believe that Jeremy Rose intended to hit the mare in the shoulder but instead nearly took her eye out! If his eye hand coordination is that bad then he is a danger to every horse and rider on the track and he shouldn't be riding at all!

If you watched the race, it is evident that it was intentional. He shouldnt be allowed to ride the rest of the year anywhere. If horse racing wants to repair and fix its reputation, and start taken better care of their stars(The Horse), this is the action thats going to have to be taken. They are headed in the right direction, and need to stay the course. We are under the microscope, and its only going to make the sport better, and most of all safer. Theres no excuse for Roses behavior. He can make as many of excuses as he want, but everyone that saw the incident, know the truth.

I do think the suspension was justified.  He said it was an accident but from the tape, it looks like he obviously was angry. I wish the whip would be eliminated altogether.

I will say that "No" I am not a jockey.But I have been around horses my whole life.I own,ride,train,break horses as well.

My thoughts on this. Anyone who rides horses knows not to strike a horse anywhere near the head,let alone do it going at speeds of 35+ mph.This jockey clearly lifts his arm up and then strikes the horse.Then for good measure hits her two more times.This filly changed direction right after she was hit in the eye,so why did he feel the need to hit her two more times? By doing so he put her in a situation that could have caused a bad accident for everyone else around him.

I agree with others that have stated a skilled jock would not release the reins to hit a horse on the shoulder,its just a flick of the wrist,a tap to get your horse to change direction.Not a full arm swing.This is a 2 year old filly,not a seasoned race horse.Has this jock never tried right sided rein pressure?

Horse racing is a great sport.And needs rules and regulations just like any other sport.I think the punishment is just. Take one for the team J.R. Maybe next time you will think before you stike.

This is for Draynay:

I'm not sure what is the point of mentioning homeless people in a racing blog.  Probably some of us care deeply about the homeless, while others may tend to believe they are lazy substance abusers who often reject offers of help because they're happy the way they are.

But if you don't care that one of these wonderful horses, claimer or champion, might have lost her eye, through no fault of her own, while trying her best to perform for humans' enjoyment and satisfaction, then you are no racing fan.  You're just a gambler.

I agree with the stewards!  Right on in this decision!!!

I don't believe that this accessive use of the whip, especially in the area of the mare's face was an accident at all.  There is a big difference between a horse's head and his/her flank, or perhaps Jeremy doesn't know that.

In light of the scrutiny of the media and public of late, this incident and its consequences is fair.

Bravo for the stewards in standing up for the welware of the horse!!!

Just wish Rose could have ridden Mr Prime Minister on the So Cal circuit - Striking him was like asking for a death sentence. Either ravaging, bracing or hurling him over the rail would have occurred.  Funny seeing Chris McCarron once ride him and start "to go to the whip", only to realize that he wasn't carrying one, and then have to show him his hand.

Having seen far too many Mark Hanna types whip wire to wire and even Pincay leaving welts on horses, I say, get rid of the whips - Only good useage I have ever seen, was Vicky Aragon standing up at the 3/8ths pole to strike Victor Mercado with her whip as he tried to whip her. "Epees" on horseback.

Wish I could recall how many days were given to a jock on the west coast, a few years back, for striking his mount repeatedly on the top of the head.  Anyone recall?  Hope it was far more than the time given to Pat V and Pedroza for wide whipping.  Last year at DM, Jon Court wide whipped and was not even taken down.

To any bloggers on here who are defending Rose, because they themselves are riders, and can see how you can (cough) *accidently* hit a horse in the head with a whip. Please STOP riding. You are obviously not very good at it. Also, J.Shandler, love your blogs, but completely disagree that Rose was "acting on a split-second" decision. It was a Temper Tantrum, not a decision!

This was no accident, not only once but hit her again. He is a disgrace and I know Jeremy well! When things dont go his way this is how he acts.He was fined for hitting a horse in Arkanas in the head( Jolies Thunder) When are people going to wake up and see this has been a pattern for a long time Why are people saying this is out of Character,believe me its not! Jeremy has BROKEN and Bent whips on his horse`s hides,just watch his races!

In my opinion, the suspension was way too harsh.  It was clearly a reaction to the current bad publicity surrounding horse racing.  I have seen jockeys do far worse and receive little or no punishment.  Does anyone remember the 2006(?) Preakness, where Jeremy Rose himself was almost taken out by another horse coming around the far turn?  That horse was whipped so harshly by his rider (I remember the jockey practically wound up like a pitcher before hitting the horse), that the horse bolted into the path of the on-coming Afleet Alex.  That was clearly intentionally hitting the horse with way too much force, and it's a miracle it did not cause injury or death to Afleet Alex or Jeremy Rose.  Punishment of that jockey was never even mentioned...

Jeremy Rose should be banned from the sport---it was intentual.  Howard Wolfendale should give up training for making light of the situation.  This has nothing to do with all of the PETA protests or Eight Belles, this by itself- is abuse and should be dealt with harshly!  Wolfendale knows what happened he is just trying to kiss-up to what he thinks is a name rider.  Pick your friends more wisely Howie!  Jeremy has no business around true horsemen or more importantly their horses.

Time to lose the whips and the drugs. 6 mos may have been too harsh but it's time to clean up this sport.  

The suspension was more than justified.  I have watched the video over and over again and it is clear that Mr. Rose aimed at Appeal to the City's face.  If you look at the video objectively you will see first that the lead horse moved to the lane to its right in front of Appeal.  The lead horse was in the clear and did not interfer with Appeal.  Rose moved  Appeal to the rail lane; Appeal did not lunge toward the rail as claimed by Rose.  As the lead horse begins to move ahead it then that Rose hits Appeal in the face.  As Appeal reacts to this by jerking her head Rose then hits her twice on the left shoulder causing her to bolt to her right.  When Appeals bolts to the right she goes in front of several horses and you can see Rose turning his head to see what happens to those horses.  Not only did Rose's actions cause injury to Appeal, but his actions could have caused injury or worse to the horses that were trailing Appeal.  

As to the vet bills, Mr. Rose did not offer to pick up the cost, he was order by the stewards to pay the cost of Appeal's care.

I believe that the whip is a useful & necessary tool and should not be banned, however the proper use of the whip needs to be clearly defined, guidelines need to be set, and rules need to be adhered to. The whip is not meant for punishment, it is to be used mostly as a tool to guide the horse or to remind one to switch leads. To ban the whip entirely would definitely make racing more dangerous.

berttheclock, I enjoyed your story about Mr. Prime Minister and his reactions to the stick. I never saw that particular horse but I bet he put on quite a show.

Like all tools, a whip can be misused.  Everyone who has been around horses has seen it and those of us who love horses and love racing cringe when they see abuse.  

That said, I'm not handing my whip over, I just make sure I use it judiciously and appropriately.  I've come off enough horses at full gallop to know the kind of damage it causes... taking the whip away denies jocks a tool to help maintain order on the track and race more safely.  

Should we rewrite the rules on whips vs crops and use?  It's definitely worth the effort.  Should we take away a jock's ability to maintain order?  I don't think so.  Do we put mares in jail when they kick their foals to teach them lessons?  Do we take cars away from everyone because some people drive drunk or speed?

I love my horses, but I respect that they outweigh me by a thousand pounds, that they are moving fast, and that periodically a sharp smack to an appropriate part of the body is how they communicate to each other and is necessary to keep order.  

To Cynthia's comment.....What are you nuts? Did you see the head on? Not only was it intentional, he whipped the horse poorly before the one where he whipped the eye. Now, do I think he meant to whip her in the eye, Im not sure, I know he meant to whip her in the face because he was pissed off, and this can not be tolerated. Molina's kicking deserved just as much, but they dropped the ball, so you cant say oh well then Jeremy Rose doesnt deserve 6 months. Its the appropriate call, one to send a message, that people are fed up with this stuff. Jeremy Rose, an avg jockey who was a noone until he rode a beast of a horse named Afleet Alex. This was blatant and if you heard comments of the owner's daughter and the owner himself after they saw the head on, they changed their tune and admitted they too think it was intentional. This hopefully makes a statement and sets a standard that all jockeys, owners, trainers, etc need to follow.

This is awful but, in my mind, it doesn't come close to what Victor Carrero did to Saltaat. The punishment most certainly did not fit that "crime".

yes the punishment fit the crime. This was no mistake it is obvious that it was a purposeful act. Now he lies and says it was an accident. He could have injured another rider or horse in the race, very dangerous riding!

The sentence plus paying the vet bills was justified.  I had a filly in a race, was the favorite but the race came up muddy.  Well my filly didn't like the mud but the jockey beat her so much for losing that she had welts on her flanks. Why? That filly never ran the same and was retired. YOU CAN'T BEAT A HORSE TO WIN IT IS ALL HEART.  

My only problem is that the jockey that kicked the horse was ever allowed to ride again. I feel if the wanted to do real justice, they should have let the horse kick him back, so he could seen how it felt.  These are animals with feelings just like us.  If you hit them, they hurt.  Jeremy may be a good jockey and a very nice person, but to hit a horse in the eye was no accident. I feel he used the whip as a form of release of his frustration, and decided to punish the horse for it.  It was plain to see, it hurt the horse, and when you purposely hurt something, your deserve to be punished.  If you ask me, they should take the whip out of horseracing all together.  If you have to beat an animal to win, then that animal should not be there in the first place, and you are just abusing them. It is cruel and inhumane, and although I love horeracing, the whip needs to go. Six months is not an excessive punishment for Mr. Rose's actions, he should be hit in the eye with the whip to see how it felt.  

I am very sad to see this happen. There is just no valid reason to hit a horse anywhere around the head with a whip. So Jeremy, as much as I used to like you because of the way you protected Afleet Alex, you are now on what I like to call my "Victor Carrero" LIST. A list of riders that will NEVER be up on my race horses. You, Carrera, and Molina should be banned from horse racing forever. It is a priviledge to ride these magnificent animals, not a right.

To Berttheclock,that cracked me up! I knew Vicki in the 80's before she married.I can totally see her doing that cause she is one tough cookie. if you see her hi from Wanda in Canada. I will take the middle ground here and say I think 6 months is too much. 60 days would have been better. If you are self employed and can't earn a living in your chosen field for 2 months that will school you more than anything.He may just have to get out of racing altogether with a 6 month ban. Saying that, he should take an anger management course and pay the vet bills and hopefully this will turn things around for him.Please don't think for a minute I'm downplaying the incident I'm not,but everyone deserves a second chance whether your a jockey or a  regular Joe on the street.

It should have been at least a year, although I would have no quarrel with him having been set down for life. That was no accident, and there is no excuse. The horse could have been blinded. A jock could have been killed. Had one been, would 6 months then seem appropriate?

Absolutely YES!!!! That was a bunch of unprofessional riding if I ever saw it. What possible legit reason did he have to whip a horse in the head and endanger other horses and riders when his mount veered out (to get away from that nasty unpleasant whipping feeling)? Or does the horse racing industry just like feeding into PETA's claims of cruelty? Maybe too bad he's the fall guy for bad jockey skills so how about the industry get some mandatory ban times for any sort of jockey mistreatment of the horses from the minute they step onto the track until the moment they dismount. Otherwise, this industry will keep feeding PETA generous helpings that bolster support for them.

J.Rose was warned in the past about his abuse of the whip and if you believe his statement that it was accidental and Wolfendale`s defense of him , then you will believe anything these clowns put out there.Money and a little fame has taken a front seat.The horse rides in the trunk.

This could go both ways I suppose, if he was acting out on being upset and frustrated and hit her, irregardless shoulder or eye, there should be punishment, on the same note, I have MANY times accidently hit a horse with something, whether it be a lead rope I was tossing over my shoulder and one of my goof balls happened to be "stalking' me and got it in the face or if I was riding and was going to slap behind my leg with the stick and accidently got their stifle or sensitive areas, it was not intentional, I love my horses and I know Jeremy loves horses in general and wouldn't intentionally hurt one, sometimes when riding at speed and controling a young horse with just reins and a stick, we make bad judgment calls or make the right ones but execute them improperly, its not as easy as 1,2,3. If everyone galloped horses or raced for a living, they would understand, unfourtinatley, they don't. But! If he was doing it because he was mad at the filly, that needs to be addressed with firm punishment no doubt.

Oh and Arazie44......if im such a bad rider for accidently hitting a horse, I suggest you personally try and gallop 35 mph or jump a course of 16 jumps full speed set at 5'3" high and let me know...if I'm a bad rider....heck...maybe we should go back to lead line...us bad riders and jockeys...again don't speak if you havnt been in the position.

Anyone who'd hit a horse--or any animal--in the face is a pig.  End of story.  

A friend of mine who owns Thoroughbreds tells the jocks who ride her horses to remember that-- what they do to her horse out there during the race--she'll do to them after the race.  A sombering thought.

Perhaps Jeremy would like a beating across the eye with a riding crop.  Let the punishment fit the crime.  So no, six months is not to stern.

My concern is the fact that judgements are made in a variety of climates.  One never predict the verdict due to so many factors.  The judge could be one that is extremely sympathic to animals and impartial to jockeys, or the judge's supporter can sometimes sway the decision.  I am very concerned about the decision makers and how decisions are made regarding "crimes".  

Your question was does the punishment fit the crime? No, I think that the jockey should probably see a counselor or someone regarding his coping skills but 6 months seems too severe.

Obviously this was no accident. In all my years of live and simulcast racing, I have never witnessed such a shocking display of poor sportmanship. I agree with the length of the suspension, maybe the 6 months off will give him time to think about the consequences of his actions. And yes, we all make mistakes even at work, but the severity of this mistake is equivalent to one of us making a severe mistake at work and getting fired for it. At least HE gets to come back and make amends for it.

You know, Jeremy Rose claims he went to whip the shoulder.  First off, why would you whip the shoulder and not the saddle pad?  Secondly, there is this long thing between the shoulder and the head called ... oh what is it now ... Oh yeah ... A NECK!  You don't miss the shoulder by that much without it being deliberate!  

Yes, the punishment is fitting.  If someone ever took a whip to my horse's head, I'd take it to theirs just as quickly.  Jeremy Rose has anger issues and he is a threat to not only his mounts but the other horses & jockeys on the track.  Any number of them could have been hurt when Appeal to the City veered into the others.  It is a blessing that none of them went down.  Until Mr. Rose can control his anger, he has no business riding.

EmpireGiven21-- I am a total dork in the saddle, and when I was "riding" regularly nearly 20 years ago, came off more than I stayed on (no leg), yet even I never managed to hit a horse in the face with the whip on the cross country course. Have never seen an eventer manage the feat in any of the three phases, either, and by shear dent of physics, if anyone going to manage such an accident, it would be the UK eventer extraordinary William Fox-Pitt, who stands probably 6-6, and with his wing span could at least theoretically get the face when "aiming" for the shoulder, I suppose.

In sum, I think your assessment strains credulity in the non-flat racing world at least as much as it does in the case of Jeremy Rose.

Now, if you want to talk abuse, or in the alternate, manifest stupidity in the eventing world, let's talk about how Amy Tyron kicked on  her clearly in peril mount, the late Le Samurai, a beautiful Holsteiner-Thoroughbred cross, at the end of the XC phase at the 2007 KY Rolex Three Day, and how that was white-washed at FEI in order to keep her U.S. Olympic Team status in place. Amy sure ain't no Edgar Prado pulling up Barbaro at the Preakness, that's for sure. RIP, Sparky-- sorry you had an apparently unconscious rider on your back at Rolex.

I'm amazed that so many people can read so much into a really grainy video. I replayed the incident over and over, and I all I can see is a jockey whipping his mount and the horse reacting to one particular strike. I can't condemn or defend from watching that video.

All I know is the reputation of the jockey, which is solid, and the reaction of the horse, which was strong. Personally, I think that 30 days would have been long enough, with a year suspension if it happened again.

Bryce Be Quick, I understand what you may not see how fast things can happen, I was riding a friends horse at HITS last year, while coming down a triple she started to balk out left, applying  my leg she proceeded anyway, I then applied the stick behind my leg, the mare lurched forward, jumped the first jump, bobbled to the second before steadying, she then tried to dip her right shoulder and chip in half down the line, I then tapped her on her shoulder right handed and while doing that she tucked up and tried to run out, resulting in the fact that I DID accidently hit her in her cheekbone because she placed it in the way, now im in no way saying this is ANYWHERE near what Jeremy did but there is always a chance, and in this sick world now days I'd like to give ppl the benifit of the doubt...not saying I do...but yes accidents happen, I'll tell u what, I'm sitting here with a compound fracture of all bones in my right leg, why? Because there was an accident, while galloping a horse out, he caught his clip in a soft part of the sod and fell to his knees, I made a bad judgment call and insted of forcing him forward, jumped off to avoid injuring him and putting his face and spine in the ground, therefore injuring myself, it was a bad call on my part but a good one on his, it could have been the other way around and ppl would say it wasnt an accident because i kicked him up. I AGREE with you on Amy...that was absoultley sick, poor Samurai, and actually, I saw him as a yearling at Devon getting a 3rd in the in-hand prospect class. What a lovely face! Sometimes I think people don't care, and sometimes we do, we just react to quick or the wrong way. But overall I do understand your theory. Heck, I've accidentley crashed my young Dutch Warmblood gelding down on an oxer because he likes to "Hover" and because of the big move he made before it I thought he'd make it over without added leg. Its tough to say unless ur in the situation but you know what I mean.

Oh! And I wasn't aware of him abusing the whip before, if that was the case and the mare did not literally tuck her face in close enough to be hit, then yes it was on purpose and he needs to get in big trouble

six months woke em up...no more slap on the wrist folks...Long Live The King!!!

I guess I'm old and confused but I thought we were talking horse racing here. Warmbloods, cross country, jumpers?  All different than racing, Barrel racing,yes maybe most comparable as far as fast thinking. This thing about legs etc you don't have any of that in racing. What happened was bad, but 6 months when trainers who have had multiple drug positives only get 15 days or maybe 6 months concurrent for multiples in different states but can still have the economic benefit since their assistant takes over for them. Most say it's by accident and one expert agrees. Whoever recommended days, some TB community service, vet bills etc sounds reasonable.

Wow!! I hadn't seen the video before and while I have always liked Jeremy Rose, watching the video I do believe the punishment fits the crime.  Kicking the horse was worse and should have been given a stronger penalty.  Even if Jeremy Rose's first strike was accidental he hit her a couple of more times on the same side as she was shying away from his whip and those did seem to be out of anger.  My daughter shows hunter/jumpers and if she was to hit her horse like that it would be a big deal.  I have no problem with using the crop as a tool (straightening, getting their attention, etc.).  As a side note USEF rules do not allow the rider to hit the horse in front of the rider's leg nor more than three strikes in a row and maybe that is what racing should go to, then there can be no mistake as to where the intent was.

The video is not so grainy that you can't see that (A) he deliberately went for her head and then (B) repeatedly hit her on that side when it became obvious he was not going to win.  There is ABSOLUTELY no reason to EVER take the whip near her face.  You do NOT whip a horse on the shoulder.  You whip the horse on his flank or on the saddle pad.  You can brush the whip near the shoulder, but as has been stated by others there is this long thing between the shoulder and the head called a NECK.  Jeremy was pissy because he was losing the race and took his anger on his mount.  Bear in mind that Rose's suspension, however, so far is ONLY in effect in Delaware and he can still ride elsewhere if any owners or trainers will allow him.  Plus, you need to keep Appeal to the City in your thoughts as you defend Mr. Rose, since she has severe hemorraghing in her eye as a DIRECT result to him whipping her in it.  

Jeremy Rose, unless he can control his temper, has no business being on the back of ANY horse, much less a racehorse.

I'm a retired horse trainer,ex.jockey,been around horses for 60 years,and I have seen so much abuse by people that make a good living with horses and they can be so cruel to those beatiful,smart and noble animals that give you all,just to please us.I saw the video,and that was not accident.They should not just suspend JR for six months,also fine him for at least $ 10.000,there is a shame for someone that makes a million dollars or more a year becuase of the horses and treat them like that.  

I believe the fact that it may have been an accident that the whip struck the horse in the eye instead of the nose.  But Mr. Rose has done this before with no punishment, so maybe when you are repeat offender you need to be sat down. Like a timeout for a naughty kid.  It's unfortunate but in regards to a Mr. Molinas incident last year a foot to the gut will not damage the horses gift of sight I didn't hear or read about that horse going to New Bolton Center or having a vet bill.  The only thing is 6 months may be a little too harsh I think more like 90 days to 60 days would have been more suitable.

After watching the video a few times, I think it was totally justified. As for the argument that we all do things in our jobs that we later regret, and therefore the punishment is too severe: all I can say is that if I hit one of my coworkers in the face with a whip, I wouldn't be suspended for 6 months, I'd be fired.

Atthebarn2-- apologies for the apparent digression with my new-found friend, EmpireGiven21. This I will allow-- think how many more off-the-track T-breds would be meeting sad fates if there were not these second careers ahead of them? My 30-start guy at 19 still squeals with delight coming out of the starting box in the cross country phase of eventing, and typically throws in a happy buck after clearing the first gallopy fence. This industry needs to do MUCH better in taking care of its four-legged athletes once their racing careers over.

As for jockeys not having leg, you ARE kidding, right? Just for fun, I have hiked up my leathers and balanced on the irons and I can report you better have leg to stay on. What do you do, hang on their mouth? Did that once by accident and ended being ejected straight over my mount's head, rolling down a hill and ending up in a corn field in Monkton, MD, not far from the farm of late ABC Wide World of Sports host, Jim McKay, and where talented trainer Helen Pitts grew up.

Also, as I think EmpireGiven21 has made clear, fast processing and split second decisions also required of rider and horse in these other riding disciplines-- what would you propose to do when your horse on the cross country course spots out of the corner of his eye a flapping tarp failing to cover a pile of bluestone and in response, decides to take-off early as you approach a four foot high and equally wide roll top jump? Pulling up not an option :-)

My non-riding has only deepened my appreciation and admiration for what these jockeys and exercise riders do for a living.

Not only did he hit her in the face, intentionally or not, when she swerved, she could have colided with any of the horses, which may have caused a much worse incident.  Know your horse.

Does anyone know if the meetings to hear Dutrows, Asmussen, and Roses appeals are open to the public?

I'm wondering how much it matters how long he's suspended-First of all, I can't believe that any owner would allow him on their horses again (or for that matter any trainer) and secondly, he's been warned about his use of the whip before, so I'm sure it will happen again!

tallulah13 - those of us who saw the stewards head on view at Delaware Park were not looking at a grainy video and it was obvious that the strike to her eye caused the horse extreme distress.  The damage to her eye was visible to the track vet and to the vets at New Bolton, so no wonder the reaction of the horse was "strong".  And Jeremy Rose does not have an unblemished reputation to those very familiar with MidAtlantic racing - he is a hothead who abuses the whip in races and in behind the scenes in the morning.  This appeared to be an intentional act and the punishment is not severe enough.  The fact that other abusive and disgusting treatment of horses by jockeys or trainers were not given suitable punishments should not be a factor in the Delaware stewards decision.

I'm just thinking the stewards have been watching JR for awhile now for this suspension to be so severe.

As far as accidently hitting the horse in the face when going for the shoulder, that's a hard one for me as I have used a whip many, many times and have never come close to the face.  

When I was a younger rider, it was easy to lose my temper.  JR does not have his bug anymore and has spent enough time horseback to have grown past this.

A 6 month suspension? I've seen Jerry Bailey and Robby Albarado go crazy with the whip and get days, not months which leads me to my intro--that the stewards must have had their eyes on JR for awhile now.

Thank you tallulah13!  I was seriously starting to think maybe I hit the wrong link for the video.  Are you people serious?  I mean, if you want to condemn Rose for whatever reason you can conjure up, that's your right, but to say that the video is your evidence?  All I can say is that you all must be eating some type of super carrots.  I have 20/20 vision, and I all I see is a jockey whipping his mount repeatedly(as most do), and the mount reacting to one particular hit.  I can't even actually tell that the whip hit the face.  Heck, I can barely see the whip!  This is clearly a case of mind over matter.  People read the stories and comments, then watch the video, and all of a sudden they can tell exactly what is going on and what the jockey is thinking.

On a positive note regarding whip usage, I thought Rudy Rodriguez did a nice job of showing how a whip can be handled responsibly in the Suburban.  He used his whip at the top of the stretch, but once the horse responded, he just waved it.  Funny thing, when he was waving it next to the horse's head, it looked to me completely possible that the whip could've accidently hit the horse in the eye.  After all, when a jockey waves his whip, he puts it where the horse can see it, next to the eye.  I'm not saying this is what happened, but it's a thought for those who swear that accidentally hitting a racehorse in the eye is impossible.

After watching the video it is clear to me that the head strike was done in anger and intentional. There were only two strides left to the finish line and no change in finish position was possible at the time of the hit.

Pam, I totally agree, the USEF regulates with their own stewards on how many times is appropriate to strike a horse with a crop, and they actually do allow more than 3 if the situation would become dangerous without direction, however this was not the case with jeremy and we should regulate that to and there should be no striking on the shoulders unless for directional purposes, horses move away from pressure not into it.

I do not care what the horse was doing, hovering, lugging in, whatever; when you hit them in the face it does not solve anything, it makes things worse.  This is a perfect example of why these whips need to go.  This jockey used it as a weapon against the horse.  If he was having a problem with the horse lugging in, or whatever it was, how could he possibly think that a whack in the face at 30 mph will help.  He could have freaked the horse out by doing that and caused an accident involving others.  I can think of a couple of scenerios that could have happened in reaction to being hit in the face that would have been catastrophic.  He's darn lucky that horse didn't decide to go over the rail to escape being hit in the face again. Horses will do very dangerous things to get away from an unpleasant situation. Anyone who owns horses knows what I mean.

R Dorsey,

First you don't hit a horse on the flank unless you want to get dumped on your butt, what saddle pad are you talking about? It's so small and fits right under the jock saddle that I don't know how you could do that, maybe you mean the saddle cloth or number cloth, whatever you choose to call it. you hit them on the butt and on the shoulder, that's where the majority of muscle is and has the least traumatic effect. You can't really kick them, you really don't have any steering power and you see how much it takes to stop one with a running d or snaffle in their mouth there's not much whoa on them instead they try to take the bit and run. Hand pumping, vocalization help them run but don't control what they're doing. I don't condone what Jeremy did, but a beating? One blow doesn't constitute a beating. Mistake, or maybe even an intentional misguided action. Have any of you ever yelled at your kid (or worse) and then regretted it? Should I have banned the mare who bit her way too old to still be nursing weanling from ever having another foal? Let's have some feeling for our fellow man and see that he gets counseling if he needs it, days to mull it over and work with some race horse rescue places but don't lock him up and throw the key away when you let murderers walk away after a few months or nothing at all.

Someone asked the question how would you feel if you got hit in the face when running. I ran track back in the day and once was in a sprint race where a piece of the track was ripped out from the runner in the lane next to me. It was a very sizeable chunk that  hit me directly below my right eye missing my eye by less than an inch. I did end up with a black eye from the incident. It pissed me off enough that I won the race. Depends on ones makeup whether or not it would bother you.

On the topic of whips, get rid of them.

It's not my place to judge whether or not Rose did it intentionally so I'll leave it up to the racing gods. I will say however that as long as there are whips there are going to be questionable incidents. Getting rid of them all together maintains a level playing field so what's the holdup?

Atthebarn2:  

I meant the saddle cloth.  There is a difference between yelling and spanking a child and causing deliberate harm to them.  Rose may claim it was an accident but there was no need to whip that close to the finish line.  And when you watch the good, professional jockeys, they don't whip on the shoulder majority of the time, they wave it near the shoulder so the horse feels the breeze but not the sting.  I was an assistant trainer for racehorses and we NEVER let a jockey bring a whip down on the shoulder, neck or head.  If they used the whip it was on the butt, flank and saddle cloth.  They could breeze it past the shoulder but anything in front of the shoulder was off limits completely.

The point you need to remember is this is NOT the first time Rose has whipped a horse in anger.  The horse was also injured by his actions and the other horses & jockeys in the race could've been severely injured as well.  There is NO EXCUSE for what Rose did.  However, unfortunately, he is ONLY suspended at Delaware and can still ride elsewhere, unless the other states & tracks suspend him as well.  He may find it difficult to get a mount, though, since he does have a history of abusing the whip.  

And comparing your horse who bit her foal to a human who should know better than to whip a horse in the face is like comparing apples to oranges.  The horse was communicating to the foal either not to nurse or whatever the foal was doing at the time.  Rose hit his mount in the face in anger, endangering not only Appeal to the City and himself, but every other horse & jockey in that race.  There is NO excuse for it.  If it had been a first offense, then the sentence should have been less, but it wasn't his first and most likely won't be his last.

Is his suspension N.A. wide? Or just that racing jurisdiction? I sure hope he can't just skip to next track one state over, and keep going. EmpireGiven....sorry, my previous comment was more for people who would use such disgusting tactics for the sake of "training", not actual legitimate accidents. Didn't mean to offend. As for the "grainy" video...are you guys kidding? It's clear as day...plus the stewards aren't looking on youtube like we are.

R Dorsey

I was making a point with sarcasm.If you were an assistant trainer with someone, why did you talk about the saddle pad? And the deal with the flank, unless your talking about the hip, the flank is one of the ouchiest places on a horse. Also as a trainer, I don't like the whip in particular but there are times when a colt/filly might be lugging in or out causing imminent danger to the rest of the field or him/herself and the only way to control it is with a tap to the shoulder. Since I'm not on the back of the animal going 45 miles an hour in tight quarters, risking my safety and my fellow riders and since I can't control every moment of a ride I can't really say what to do, only make a decision if I thought it was unnecessary force or blatant abuse. If it was anything other than a control mechanism I wouldn't ride the jock again.  I for one can't read Jeremy's mind and what have his other suspensions or fines been for excessive or inappropriate use of the whip been? I don't keep up with jocks I've never named on a horse.I agree with a bunch of folks that the jock who kicked his mount deserved far and away more punishment than Jeremy. I've seen jocks whip the daylights out of a horse just trying to place in the money and I wanted to take them to the woodshed myself even though they weren't riding for me and those guys only received minor days. I knew a great quarter horse trainer Walter Merrick and he believed you never whipped a horse, I supported that to some extent. I'm just saying this is probably going to turn into a legal battle and a fast fair punishment of 90 days, working with horse rescue, maybe even a portion of his earnings to that and counseling would make more of an impact. 6 months is a lifetime to these guys who fight weight and injury issues all the time. I do not condone what he did, but I also don't condone a lot of other things that go on with less punishment than he's going to receive.

R Dorsey, One other thing if you were an assistant trainer I'd like to know where you were stabled and what trainer you worked for that would ever tell a jock to hit the horse on the flank. I tried to gently suggest that you don't do it to give you a chance to retract it and support your claim as to your connection to racing but here's the actual rule the NYRA and most of the major tracks have: you can only strike a horse on the hind quarters and shoulder and no use of whip on flanks or face/head. That rule has been in effect since around 97-98 if I recall correctly. The Jockey club just came out with this:

THE JOCKEY CLUB

THOROUGHBRED SAFETY COMMITTEE

RECOMMENDATION

JUNE 17, 2008

"Prohibited use of the whip riding crop includes striking a horse:

i. on the head, flanks or on any other part of its body other than the shoulders or hind quarters except when necessary to control a horse" I've been reading along here for quite some time before posting and have seen you refer to yourself as a horsewoman, but never an assitant trainer. I also saw that you praised Kent for not riding out and injuring the horse. I also saw you defend him and Jason called you out when you erroneously said Larry Jones said people didn't like Kent. If not for the fact of your inexplicable defense of the use of steroids by a known violator of the medication rules, I would have thought you were an animal rights activist.

I wonder if R.Dorsey has seen more than three or four races just by the comments of whipping procedures used.  If you are an avid race fan or gamble on the sport you most likely watch TVG or HRTV, therefore, you see the whip being used to smack the shoulder not just run across it. R. Dorsey also states that the whip is used to strike the horse in the FLANK.... come on, where's your horse sense.  The whip is used to strike the hindquarter area which is behind the sometimes dangerously sensitive FLANK, also to strike and graze the shoulder area as well as to flag the horse's face and head area.  Also what was said about the saddle blanket made even less sense. So this person needs to pay far better attention to what they watch and what they comment on or they'll be made out to sound as foolish as these comments have proclaimed. As for J.R. I hope he can come to grips with his mistake, accident or not, and move on with the rest of his life and career, whenever it may resume, with the blessings of wisdom, reservation, luck and prosperity.  

R Dorsey, assistint trainer, yea right.  I would like to know what horseman whips a horse in their flank.  Come on.  Really.  There is not a person on this blog that buys that you've ever even sat in a saddle let alone ast. trained buy your non-horsemanship comments you've made.  Watch a race, better yet, read a book.  I know, how about Horsemanship for Beginners.

Striking an animal in the face or head is nothing more than an act of punishment. He is extremely fortunate that something much more catastrophic didn't occur as a result of his idiotic and out-of-control actions. It's bad enough that this poor horse now has an injury because of his temper. In my opinion, 6 months is a slap on the wrist. His so-called riding "tactics" truly show a lack of expertise and control, as well as compassion for and understanding of the animal that has been entrusted to his care. What a bum!!

I believe the regulation of the sport should come directly and strictly from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). All other professional sports have their regulatory agency. MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, PGA, ATP, etc., etc. The involvement of federal legislation is embarrassing and clearly demonstrates that our sport is disorganized and lacks leadership. Perceived as that we do not know what we are doing.

This is a very complex matter, but it is very possible with cooperation and good leadership. One set of rules for all racing jurisdictions, like all the other professional sports.

Secretary,

the NTRA isn't a regulatory board as of yet. That's what everyone is pushing for now. I'm not sure how well it'll work because racing entities all have their own agendas and no one can agree on much of anything. We're a sport steeped in tradition and change has been slow. I guess we'll see, maybe someday.

Secretary

The NTRA isn't a regulatory board and from the little I've heard doesn't want to be. Racing is trying to come up with something but we have rules for our rules already, I won't go into the rest of it. Correct me if I'm wrong but Congress is or has held hearings on almost all of those organizations and is even finding people in contempt and bringing them before the grand jury. The NFL commissioner is fighting with the players union over salary caps and they've had more strikes in MLB etc than I can count, sounds like they're in fine shape alright.

If this was accidental he needs to go to Chris McCarrons jockey school for lessons on how to ride.

I think that the suspension is meaningless since it only extends to Delaware and plus this punishment should have been the 30 day suspension and the Philly Park jockey should have been the one suspended for 6 months.

Atthebarn,

All excuses!

That is exactly the kind of attitude that has gotten us to where we are. Lack of leadership. I do not want to!, they do not want to! Believe me, you have no idea what working with the federal government is. NTRA has to be redefined and go from there. Oh! it seems too complicated perhaps. Somebody has to do it! Grand jury?!, every organization will always have criminals and corruption. That is what has to make us different from everybody else.

Believe me that the MLB, NFL, are in way better shape than what horse racing is at the moment. Unless you do not follow the horse racing industry. I would take that any day. "I won't go into the rest of it." The problems are not even similar.

Do you have anything positive to say about the PGA for instance?

Focus on the positive aspects instead, about each organization, and extract the best out of each one that could be applied into the improvement of horse racing.

Bryce Be Quick, you don’t use your legs as a jockey in the traditional sense of riding, you use them for balance and unless you ride with your stirrups a little long , I saw a kid like that the other day, you can’t kick or use leg pressure. How do you stay on? Balance , why do you think they come off so easy when the horse stumbles and in a stock saddle most folks would be able to stay on. It’s hard on the legs and takes a lot of strength  I was just saying that it’s very hard to compare the different types of riding because there are different challenges in each. Jocks even ride different races different ways, ask one about the difference between a Quarter Horse race and even a sprint.  I’m all for rescuing ex race horses and praise be to anyone who does it, I have quite a few of them just standing around, eating, running in the paddocks and enjoying their lives on the farm,or as  saddle horses and even as rodeo horses now. Any one who has an ex race horse will tell you that there’s a wind down period with them and no not because they all receive bad care or were on drugs, if you are a rescuer I'm sure you know the wind down time as well so we know they're high strung and hot blooded. I don’t know too much about event riding but I don’t think there are 14-20 horses running all bunched together between rails, running full out at 45 miles an hour from near start to the finish line and at the tracks like Saratoga, thousands of screaming fans.  If I am wrong then I apologize for making an incorrect comparison for that. Jumping and dressage you have a other issues to deal with but  you are out there by yourself with one highly trained horse and can plan your actions and not have to predict the actions of a bunch of other living beings, human and equine. All of the sports are beautiful in their own right but I don’t think they are easily compared.  AND ONCE AGAIN I DON’T CONDONE the actions of Jeremy but with what’s happening in racing now it compares to executing the guy who hit somebody one time, while sending the murderer to a country club prison for 15 days.

atthebarn and i have some differences of opinion in regard to some horse racing issues, but i am in absolute agreement with him on one point and that is how hunter jumpers, eventers, etc. can think of comparing themselves to the participants in a horse race. it is absurd.

also, i believe that jeremy rose was a flagrant violator in regard to the use of the whip on that mare. it is quite possible that his aim was bad, but i believe that the intent was there for all to see and that he was acting out of anger.

to racefan66, i raised seven thoroughbred foals, which is not many by some standards, but i never once saw my mares kick their foals to reprimand them. one of my mares kicked her foal right between the eyes coming  out of a turn and it was one of the scariest things i had seen, because that baby dropped like she had been shot. her frontal sinus was fractured and if it had been a little higher, she would have died, but the kick was pure carelessness on the mare's part. mare's will nip at their foals or nudge them with their heads to correct them, but how could you expect a foal to stand up to a kick from a mare, for purposes of discipline or otherwise.?

with the jeremy rose incident in the forefront of racing news, does anyone remember an incident at a southern california track some years ago that involved a well known jockey.

if i remember correctly, it was after the race had been run and on the way back to the unsaddling area, the jockey hit the horse in the head with his whip, causing the horse to veer and stumble ,only to break down. i believe that this horse had to be euthanized.

if anyone out there knows, i would like to know what the fine/suspension was for that incident.

Recall Corey Nakatani hit a horse on the neck after passing the finish line said the trainer wanted to work him after the race (?)and was fined $500 but the horse was fine. About 10 years ago. Will ask around if anyone who runs out there knows anything else.

I love racing but I am sick of jockeys who abuse the whip!  The choice of the use of a jockey with "a strong arm" is usually done by a trainer with the same view.  Maybe not in this case, but some need watching by the stewards.  As to

Rose, it is beyond cruel to consider hitting a horse in the eye with a whip. If you have every seen how many race horses get eye injuries and how painful they are, you would be appalled.  Watch how many horses are running blind in one eye, then think about how many were caused by a whip.  Rose is lucky if he gets just a suspension.  In the old days, a trainer might take him behind the barn, and whip him in the eye with his strong arm to teach him a lesson.

If this little whiner is sorry and apologetic, then why is he APPEALING THE SUSPENSION?  He's not sorry, he's just trying to get out of the suspension.  In addition to paying the vet bills on the Mare, he should be required to pay any bills that are related for the life of the mare.  

lance,

 That you would nitpick my example as I have tells me that you really did miss the point that horses are big creatures that communicate roughly with each other... thus supporting that there is a theoretical background to why a whip is a legitimate tool when used appropriately.  Perhaps I should've chosen a better word than "foal" to communicate my message.  Perhaps your mares were a lot gentler than the ones I've seen over the years... I've seen plenty of foals have gotten a solid thunk from mommy for stepping out of line.

As I read through the comments on this blog, I appreciate that so many people are concerned about the welfare of horses, that is good.  But some of the posts, while well intentioned, really do remind me of those folks who pull off the road to lecture me on the cruelty of "blindfolding" my horses to control them (they're flymasks).  These are the same folks who then proceed feed carrots to my rescued laminitic pony through her grazing muzzle (in spite of the "no tresspassing signs") causing her immeasurable suffering... the kind of folks who mistake kindness and love for knowledge.  

 Again, I don't condone abusing horses, but that doesn't mean that I condone folks who think that ignorantly creating a fire and fanning the flames is doing horses anywhere a service.  If you want to do good for horses, learn about what can truly improve their quality of life instead of reacting out of your idealized version of what you think horses are.  The slaughter plants in the US are closed, unwanted horses starve in a field or are shipped to Mexico to suffer a cruel death in a slaughter plant... so even if you don't love horseracing, seek to legitimately improve it in a meaningful way to give good lives to horses.  The alternative is not what you may think it is.

   racefan66,

i don't want to belabor a point or points thereof, but i don't believe that i have an idealized version of anything in this life.

when i stated that i raised seven foals out of four mares who won about 25 races collectively and i state that i never saw any of these mares kick their foals to discipline them, you tell me that i have gentle mares.

i was kicked by one of these "gentle" mares and these "gentle" mares mixed it up frequently. that is what i experienced and that is what i know.

i see that you are a proponent of the slaughterhouse and that puts me at odds with anyone in your camp, because you see it as a means to an end and i see it from where it all starts. indiscriminate breeding of horses and dogs of every breed is rampant in this country and i am sure you know that.

in many, many instances, these animals are dicarded, because they do not meet requirements in some way. they end up on the scrap heap of humanity or in this case, the so called humane alternative called the slaughterhouse.

i know a woman who was very well educated and presumably intelligent. this woman absolutely loved her horses, but that didn't stop her from vanning her old arthritic horse to the slaughterhouse.

on another note, i happened to walk in on a scene where a month old quarterhorse foal was having an area of white hair excised. this person was very well educated and a devout churchgoer as well!

not only was this person exposing a foal to an anesthetic with a potential for complications, but this animal lover and devout churchgoer was committing an illegal act.

in my mind, it all goes back to greed and nothing, but greed.

when that problem can be solved, the plight of unwanted animals will be resolved.

atthebarn,

i remember the incident with corey nakatini differently.

i remember it as i said and that nakatani hit the horse in the face or between it's ears as they were galloping out after the race. this caused the horse to shy and it stumbled, injuring itself.

i would really like to hear more on this, because i don't remember any outrage over the incident and in my recollection, i believe that it was certainly worthy of much more.

Lance,

 Perhaps I lack the literary skills of Atthebarn2 (he is a very good writer) but I think that your biggest issue with my post is that you're reading WAY too much into them.  Nowhere did I say that I'm a fan of slaughter (reread the part about "cruel death in a Mexican slaughterhouse).  I just said that banning it in the US doesn't mean that all horses have a good end to their life.  I AM a fan of responsible horsemanship... just not the extreme version as pushed by PETA and folks whose only experience with horses is from reading "Black Beauty".  From what you tell me, you know horses, so clearly I wasn't talking to you.

Nowhere did I say that you were wrong about how YOUR mares did anything.  YOU said they were always very gentle mommies, I didn't disagree with you about them.  Anyway, just because my experience differs or I disagree with you on something doesn't mean I'm questioning your background.  And it would appear thar you ARE aware that horses communicate with kicks, so I can't figure why you are taking me to task so on this point.  

Seriously, I'm here to talk, no to offend.

Well, you all have swallowed the bait.  Rose is not the maniacal monster he is being portrayed.  The only thing intentially whipped here is the public frenzy--by radicals from PETA and the like.  It was clearly an accident, and things like that happen in a rough sport like this.  Please don't buy into the hype so easily, folks.

DJohson.

If you will note the posts, that's what the big discussion is all about, most of the 'folk' didn't buy into it. A lot of them said they didn't think it was a federal crime and that with a lot of the stuff going on in horse racing right now it was reactionary. You have the few anywhere who are quick to judge on everything and take the most rigid point of view. But there were quite a few here who tried to convince the others to see the voice of reason, not 'all' swallowed the bait. PETA has been cussed and discussed on the blog about medication so your late post is no epiphany to most of the posters.

He got what he deserved and in my opinion is lucky he only got that. Jeremy should know better. I heard Jerry Baily say in an interview that he really doesn't think the whip is necessary at all. I suppose that is a matter of opinion, but under no circumstances should a horse be hit in the face. Shame on you Jeremy.

Karen2,

Well Jerry Bailey says a lot about everything. Every horse he ever rode, how he would ride every horse that ever ran. What every problem with every track, horse, trainer, jockey in America is. Take a poll in a jocks room on how popular he is/was, heck even read it in his own book. He started riding here where I live. He may be a great former jockey but he has way too many 'opinions'.

I saw the race on CALRACING.COM/REPLAYS and I do agree Jeremy Rose needed to be suspended. But 6 months? That's insane. He did'nt intend to do it and he was just trying to get home first. 2 weeks-1 month sounds more reasonable than the rest of the Delaware Park meet.

Lance,

I think this is what Atthebarn was talking about. I remember something about what you said but don't remember who it was.

"In a much cheaper race three years ago, a claiming race at Santa Anita, in fact, Nakatani rode a favorite who did not win, and he was seen hitting the horse on the neck well past the finish line. He said the horse was lugging out, and the trainer wanted to work the horse more after the race. The case became a cause celebre in Los Angeles. Nakatani was fined $500 and suspended for five days."

From the NY Times Published: August 26, 1998

 katsan,

i am a little confused, because you mention an incident involving nakatani three years ago and then there is a comment : "from the ny times published: august 26, 1998."

the incident i am talking about took place approximately ten years ago and i really believe it involved nakatani.