A Listless Life at Ten Raises Many Tough Questions

I did not bet a single dollar on Life at Ten, yet I want answers. I can only imagine how the hundreds of thousands of people who wagered money on her feel. As racing fights for every gambling dollar it can find, the last thing the sport needs now is to have an unexplained incident causing a loss of confidence in the betting on our sport. Without integrity, much is lost. I have no financial interest in Life at Ten, yet I feared for her safety moments before the running of the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic. I can only imagine how the owner of Life At Ten may have felt. The safety of both horse and rider must come first in a sport with inherent danger. Clearly the wagering public, and owner, Candy DeBartolo, deserve an investigation complete with a satisfactory explanation, as to why this filly was permitted to run Friday evening. Plain and simple, she needed to be scratched. As the situation stands now it is a black-eye on thoroughbred horse racing. To sweep it under the rug without a proper review and tangible changes implemented, is the worst possible direction for racing to go. By now we’ve all seen, and we’ve all heard, the sequence of events that proceeded the Ladies’ Classic. Life At Ten was a listless horse before stepping on to the track, she was uncomfortable on the racing surface pre-race, and then when the gates opened she was eased almost immediately. Did all of this information come from some serious post-race digging by an industrious journalist? Not exactly … It was announced pre-race to a national viewing audience on ESPN. Analyst Jerry Bailey noticed something was amiss with Life at Ten during her warm-up, and asked her rider John Velazquez about the mare‘s condition. Velazquez stated that she did not feel right. Asked a few minutes later, Velazquez reiterated his belief that Life at Ten was not herself. She was in no condition to run in the Ladies’ Classic now just moments away. It seems like a cut and dry situation, scratch her for the safety of horse, rider, and the other jockeys and horses in the race. Scratch her to protect the bettors who knew that there money was trapped on a horse that had zero chance to win. The scratch of Life at Ten was not the chosen path, however. To tell you the truth, and this may sound a bit callous, my main concern is not what was wrong with Life at Ten on Friday night, but rather, how on earth she was permitted to run. I feel relatively confident, whether it was cramping, or an adverse reaction to Lasix, or whatever may have ailed her, that she thankfully will come out of the incident free of long-term problems. What I do have major concerns with, is whether racing will take adequate steps to make sure something like this can not happen again. Here is what the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission had to say, “From the time Life at Ten was brought to the paddock, saddled, led to the track for the post parade, warmed up and loaded into the starting gate, neither trainer Todd Pletcher nor jockey Johnny Velasquez voiced any concerns they may have had regarding Life at Ten to any racing officials, veterinarians or the outriders prior to the running of the Ladies Classic,” Odd. Do they not get ESPN? So who’s to blame for this fiasco? Did Todd Pletcher ignore clear signs that Life at Ten was not right before sending his horse to the track? If he didn’t realize there was an issue, as he has basically stated, doesn’t he need to be more aware of the condition of every single horse he personally saddles? Did John Velazquez not do enough at the starting gate to make sure the vets there would take action and make her a late scratch? By stepping in the starting gate did he endanger everyone competing in the Ladies Classic? Did the vets at the starting gate ignore what the experienced rider was telling them about the condition of Life at Ten? Were they informed by the stewards what had been said on ESPN? Did the stewards not have enough to go on to either order her scratched, or have her run for purse money only? Randy Moss stated that the information from the broadcast was passed along … did they choose to just ignore this information? Did the money that the track and Breeders’ Cup would have lost from the late scratch have anything to do with the lack of action? In the end, I blame everyone. Most likely this was a case of no one being willing to step up and make a difficult decision in the moments proceeding the big race. That’s a shame. Now is the time to step up. Investigate thoroughly and learn from mistakes ... and this was a major mistake. Everyone who loves this sport deserves an answer.  Nothing short of the integrity of racing lies in the balance.