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HOF Rider Jerry Bailey Talks Jim Dandy And More On Writers’ Room

It was a good week to have a Hall of Fame jockey on the TDN Writers' Room, presented by Keeneland, as the Green Group Guest of the Week and especially to have that jockey be Jerry Bailey, who knows a thing or two about analyzing a race for an audience. Bailey pulled no punches when asked about whether or not he felt Forte (Violence) should have been disqualified in the Jim Dandy Saturday at Saratoga.

“I thought it was a bad call,” said Bailey. “I thought he was the best horse in the race, but I thought he should have come down. The rules of racing state that even if you are not clear of somebody and you change paths and you interfere with their progress, which you clearly did, then you should be disqualified. I mean, if you look at the chart, even the chart says he forced his way out. I'm paraphrasing here, `repeatedly bumping with the outside horse.' And then he came back in and it was negligent. So, yeah, I thought he should have come down.”

Bailey said that the danger went beyond this one race. “Look, you want a safer product out on the track as you can possibly get for both horse and rider. And I'll tell you from experience, I went through it myself. I won't name the riders, but there were two or three in New York that the stewards let get carried away and go over the line repeatedly, and then the line gets farther and farther away and it gets more severe. And what happens is the riders take it into their own hands. If the stewards are not policing the riders and enforcing the rules, then the riders are left to police themselves. And that is not a good situation.”

Bailey also relived his exploits on Cigar, his Derby wins on Sea Hero and Grindstone, and told tales about his days in the jocks' room.

Elsewhere on the Writers' Room, also sponsored by Stonestreet, NYRA Bets, Lane's End Farm, XBTV, WinStar Farm, West Point Thoroughbreds, and the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders, Randy Moss, Zoe Cadman and T.D. Thornton discussed (what else?) the Jim Dandy non-DQ, and the other big races of the weekend, previewed the upcoming Test, Whitney, and Saratoga Derby at Saratoga as well as the Clement L. Hirsch at Del Mar, and discussed the top news stories. Those included Jason Servis's four-year prison sentence, Santa Anita's decisions on improvement expenditures in light of the closing of Golden Gate, and HISA's policy change on provisional suspensions.

To watch the Writers' Room, click here. To view the show as a podcast, click here.

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Juarez: Lopez Has `No Regard’ For His Fellow Riders

Though admitting that he deserved his eight-day suspension after being the aggressor in an altercation with Paco Lopez following a July 1 race at Monmouth, Nik Juarez has some choice words for his fellow jockey, calling him “careless and someone who has no regard for his fellow riders.”

Lopez was suspended five days for his ride aboard Midnight Diva (Midnight Lute) in that day's third race. Juarez was suspended for eight days and fined $500 for “initiating a physical confrontation with another jockey.”

According to the footnote of the race, Midnight Diva came out midway on the far turn and impeded Juarez's mount, La Costa (Archarcharch). La Costa clipped heels with Midnight Diva, stumbled badly and was pulled up by Juarez. Midnight Diva crossed the wire third but was disqualified and placed last.

A New Jersey Racing Commission ruling issued July 13 noted that, “Mr. Lopez came out changing paths without sufficient clearance, causing #5 LA COSTA to clip heels and stumble badly, losing all chance.”

Lopez has been suspended numerous times in recent years for careless or rough riding, and Juarez is not the first rider to accuse Lopez of often riding in a reckless manner. The TDN was unable to reach Lopez for comment by deadline for this story.

The fight took place after the race when both riders were at the scales to weigh out.

Juarez had traveled back and forth to Sweden to be there for the birth of his daughter and rushed back to New Jersey to fulfill his riding obligations. He said the travel was difficult and he was frazzled.

“I had, literally, spent 31 hours on planes,” he said. “My daughter was born the day before the incident. My wife is still stuck in Sweden. It was a whirlwind week. Flight cancellations, delays, they lost my bag. It was a nightmare.”

He said his newborn daughter was on his mind when Lopez cut him off.

“He was smirking at me,” Juarez said. “I had just held my baby girl the day before and he just did something that could have cost me my life. He knows what he did and he's done it before. He has no remorse. He never called Romero Maragh in the hospital after he dropped him and the kid broke his neck. I know he would never do anything for me. To know you're riding out there every day with someone like that, it's touchy.”

Juarez said riding against someone like Lopez is like driving on the same road with a dangerous driver.

“Imagine if you are diving to work every day and are driving with the same eight, nine guys every day,” he said. “Just the same people. But you know one guy doesn't give a [expletive]. One day he's going to cut you off, one day he's not. Would you feel safe driving?

Despite his feelings toward Lopez, Juarez said he got what he deserved from the stewards.

“With me, they sent the right message because I deserve my punishment,” Juarez said. “I took things into my own hands and if I did that out on the street there would be repercussions with the authorities. I have to let the authorities do their job. On my end, I think they were fair. I am ashamed of how I acted. What they do with him is out of my control.”

Earlier this year, Lopez was handed a 14-day suspension by the Gulfstream stewards for his ride aboard In Due Time (Not This Time) in the GII Fountain of Youth S., in which two horses fell. In 2019, the Gulfstream stewards hit Lopez with a 30-day suspension for careless riding and causing a spill that resulted in Maragh undergoing surgery for two broken vertebrae and Carlos Montalvo suffering a fractured ankle. In 2021, Lopez got into an altercation with Irad Ortiz Jr. after a roughly run race at Gulfstream. Ortiz was fined $1,000 and both riders were put on probation.

Lopez tops the Monmouth standings with 48 wins. Juarez is in eighth place with 10 wins.

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Casse Will Appeal Herecomesthebride DQ

After Spanish Loveaffair (Karakontie {Jpn}) was disqualified for causing interference in the $100,000 GIII Herecomesthebride S. Saturday at Gulfstream, trainer Mark Casse said he would appeal the decision.

“I have the paperwork right here and I am filling it out,” he said just a few minutes after the race.

On the far turn, Spanish Loveaffair got tangled up with I Get It (Get Stormy) and the two appeared to clip heels, which caused I Get It to bounce off the inner rail. It was not exactly clear whether or not I Get It's rider Miguel Vasquez went for a hole that was not there. The stewards reviewed the race for about 10 minutes before making their call.

Tyler Gaffalione was aboard Spanish Loveaffair, who crossed the wire 2 3/4 lengths in front. I Get It crossed the wire fourth, but was elevated to third because of the disqualification. Spanish Loveaffair was placed fourth.

“I've been through a lot of DQ's in my life and have appealed a few. But it's been about 10 years since I've done that,” Casse said. “I don't want to be a crybaby and I take my lickings. But I thought Vasquez moved into a spot he probably shouldn't have been in. There's no question that they clipped heels, but he initiated the contact. Our opinion is that she should not have been DQ'ed.”

Spanish Loveaffair is a half-sister to GI American Oaks winner Spanish Queen (Tribal Rule).

“Do you know what this race meant to her value as a broodmare?” Casse said. “If they hadn't taken her down she would be a half-sister to a Grade I winner who is a Grade III winner herself at Gulfstream Park. The DQ cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

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Gosden Feels ‘Let Down’ By BHA After Positive Test Leads To Disqualification

British trainer John Gosden is feeling let down by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) after his disqualification from the Group 2 British Champions Long Distance Cup in October. The BHA ordered the disqualification following the discovery of the anti-inflammatory Triamcinolone Acetonide (TCA) in a pre-race sample of Royal Line, according to the Racing Post, which led to the horse being stripped of his third place finish in the race.

There is a mandatory 14-day stand-down period for TCA, but the BHA has warned that that stand-down period may be shorter than the actual withdrawal period. Gosden's Royal Line received 15 milligrams of Adcortyl, containing TCA, in both hind fetlocks to reduce inflammation 17 days prior to the race, which was confirmed by vet reports. Gosden accepted the results of the positive test, but wanted to make it clear there was no foul play involved.

“I'm very conservative with my use of any medication and the horse's welfare is paramount,” Gosden told racingpost.com. “I followed all guidelines and advice and the negative publicity from this matter reflects badly on the trainer, the highly respected Newmarket Equine Hospital practice and inevitably damages the image of racing. I feel exceptionally let down by this process.”

Gosden proposed that the BHA give more help on the matter and attempt to educate other horsemen to avoid more situations such as this one. He was fined £1,000 (about US$1,200) and his horse was disqualified.