Comments on: ALEX BROWN: DON’T MAKE QUALITY ROAD A POSTER CHILD

By: Margaret

Margaret — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:10:14 +0000

Alex I went and rewatched this video. Granted it was horrible to watch. And scary to this day if one stops to think about what could have happened had that gateman not grabbed QR. As Jerry Bailey was saying something about needing to back him out–QR was bucking like crazy. Geez how scary for everyone. I know from the main site that this happened before (an outrider said this) but I just never had seen something quite so dramatic.

That isn’t a reason to stop horse racing or say shame on these people. The people at the gate did the best they could in a time intense moment.

What’s important now is the horse. He is with a starter that knows natural horsemanship and will take the time to really listen to QR. I hope that they can get this horse back to the track so he can prove he truly great he is.

By: Danelle Gomez

Danelle Gomez — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:01:30 +0000

This from the guy who’s site slaughters owners and trainers daily. FOB whackos united, bad mouthing anyone who races an older horse or doesn’t play by their approved rules. Clean out your own house first.

By: Karen Line

Karen Line — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:11:11 +0000

Well done, Alex.

Well stated, as usual, with a fair and wizened perspective.

I too look forward to Quality Road’s return to the races with a strong mind and the brilliant talent that he is!

By: Malcer

Malcer — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:05:46 +0000

@Stacy: A top jockey isn’t necessarily very familiar with the horse they’re riding because they usually aren’t the workout riders of those specific horses.
Aside from whether it would be advisable to replace the every-day gate crew with a number of talented individuals who have never worked with each other before, it’s hardly practicable, and I doubt it would lead to a considerable increase in quality. Gate crews in North American racing are generally very capable and fully professional (watch a European provincial track amateur crew load up a field of 12 and you’ll be able to appreciate the difference).

By: Alison McDougall

Alison McDougall — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:33:40 +0000

I’ve read many of the comments and rewatched the incident and I’m glad Alex has mentioned how dangerous the gate crews job is. People mention the use of the buggy whip and yet don’t understand that the whip when used as the tool that it is, an extension of a persons arm, can be very effective when used properly. I didn’t see any abuse of the whip, I saw a gate crew, under a lot of pressure to load one of the favorites in a multi-million dollar race, putting there lives at risk, as this horse tried to kick their heads in, while they were trying to do their job. Yes the animal’s safety is important, but the crew’s safety is more important. The buggy whip allows a person to keep a safe distance while still encouraging the horse to move forward. The blindfold can be an effective tool too. I’ve seen it work on many horses. Opening the front gates is not always a safe option, a keyed up horse may go forward but then run right through the front of the gate, over top of the person that has to try and close the gate once the horse is in, and subsequently the horse could get loose. Making the decision to scratch a horse becasue it won’t load is a tough one, if they hadn’t tried the blindfold the crew might have then been accused of not doing enough to try and load the horse, would they then have been favoring one horse over another? There are no easy answers to this problem and hindsight is 20/20. I think the gate crew tried to do the right thing, and unfortunately it didn’t work. Luckily nobody was seriously injured.

By: Jennifer Cook

Jennifer Cook — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:25:42 +0000

I didn’t realize how close they were to disaster until I watched this again. The fella just grabbed QR’s reigns in the nick of time. Shudders. I agree he deserves much recognition.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:02:24 +0000

ANimal rights people should stay out! HOWEVER, I would like to state that the jockey told the gate crew to just open the front…he will pause and walk into the gate. When the gate crew decided to blindfold and crack the whip instead of doing what the jockey requested…thats where it went wrong. Come on HORSEPEOPLE…..who better than the person that ACTUALLY knows the horse?!?

ALso, my suggestion is that they have an “all-star” gate crew to be the ones at the BC. The trainers and jocks should get a vote at each meet and, as a reward, the special “all-star” gate crew gets rewarded by being the crew for the BC each year! Kind of like they give “the best groomed” award to grooms on special days at the track. Just my suggestion!

By: Draynay

Draynay — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:22:30 +0000

Very big horse in a very tight space. Not a good combination.

By: MJ Wilson

MJ Wilson — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:26:26 +0000

Please don’t put all “animal rights” people in the same arena, we’re not all out to end horse racing. I consider myself an “animal advocate” and work towards laws to end atrocities, yes some are related to horse racing, I’m sure you would all agree that some things need to change for horse racing to survive. Today’s economy also has something to do with the decline. Being an animal advocate and horsewoman of 50 years, 25 years as a farrier, I knew that the gate men were’nt out of line when they did their job. So please know there are some of us out here with some horse savy but that we are still for laws to stop animal abuse committed when money is involved.

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:07:10 +0000

Considering everything that race horses are put through, it is stunning how well most of them deal with life at the track, training and racing without going postal.