We usually have a thread ::)
Who won.
Not the race....amongst the punters :D
I got a third....which went a third of the way to me breaking even on the day. :(
Seems it's taken a sad turn with the favourite collapsing and dying after the race and Araldo being spooked by a spectator and breaking a bone in his leg.
http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8925920
Sounds like it was a fun day at the races.
A bit of the Good (Protectionist), The Bad (Admire Rakti/Araldo)...........and the Ugly ;D
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/features/spring-racing-carnival/melbourne-cup-2014-geoffrey-edelsten-proposes-to-gabi-grecko/story-fnjpkgxg-1227112111170
Edelston didn't? Really! Well, that was something you don't see every day.
I just got back from flemington
I picked the winner C:-)
Damn those Germans. :))
So sad what happened with Admire Rakti. I had it going for a small fortune in Caulfield/Melbourne Cup doubles but concerned for my money I am not. Poor thing must've had a distressful last few minutes. Araldo is also fighting for his life as we speak after getting spooked by a flag and kicking out and fracturing his leg.
It will be interesting to learn the results of the autopsy. Hopefully it was just a freak accident and nothing sinister has been at play here.
It was funny (peculiar) in retrospect....but the horse played up just before it went into the barrier and then as they were leading it up it stopped "dead"...... it was as if it didn't want to run.
Happens all the time.. but with the benefit of hindsight!
Looks like Araldo has gone too.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-04/admire-rakti-collapses-and-dies-after-melbourne-cup/5865932
Apparently those fools were warned about waving the flag around the horses. Fking pissed idiots and now the horse is gone.
Personally as an animal lover and foster carer of racing Greyhounds, I'm heartbroken by today's deaths. Whilst I cannot lay blame with surety at this stage there is a clear indication that these deaths should have been avoided.
I'm with you JK..not a real fan of horse racing and in particular jumps racing should be banned.
2 miles in the heat with someone onboard whipping your Ar$e or getting close to it near the finish line isnt my idea of an animal enjoying him/herself.
My brother in law owned and trained pacers and racing is to corruption as the Essendon Football club is to performance enhancing drugs, he had to get out of it because it was so fixed.....the punter never wins because the industry is bent and the animals are just used up...but because its an Industry that turns over a lot of money it will never change.
I am sure I will be howled down but why do we have a public holiday for a horse race? The AFL grand final means more to people I think than a horse race but no holiday for that.
Money is the route of all evil, no doubt.
It looks like there will a bit of a debate over "animal mistreatment" in the next few days.
Some of the "animal rights" organisations have taken up the call already.
While I appreciate and respect the views of those who believe the Sport can be a bit cruel and dodgy as EB points out.... it is also a pretty substantial contributor to the economy of the various states through tourism and gambling revenue, provides many jobs and is governed by fairly strict rules regarding the health and vetting of the participants.
It's not going anywhere.
The Araldo situation appears to have had nothing to do with horse mistreatment but rather a bit of "costly"stupidity on the part of spectators, and an autopsy will determine whether Admire Rakti had a pre-existing condition or something more sinister.
This situation, with two horses succumbing, isn't the norm.....but rather the exception.
I'll fall for the trap ;D
Is that because it's on a Saturday? ;)
Ask the Queen how she views the industry of horses in racing and how they deal with the issue.
Simple explanation but spot on.
It is called the race that stops the nation and I dare say there's a fair few more watching it than the GF. BTW it's only a holiday in Melbourne as well.
Not everybody in horse racing is crooked or cruel, we would not judge all of the AFL by EFC actions, and we shouldn't judge horse racing by these events. It's tragedy written in the faces of the stable hands and racing animal welfare people, most of them love horses which is how they got involved in the industry.
I agree with EB1 about the whip, it's use is banned or restricted in several locations around the globe, and that ban has had zero impact on the welfare of the jockeys. So there is no good reason for it not to happen here, it's inevitable so get on with it.
Racing two and three year olds is too much, I would be interested to see the stats for the horse deaths after endurance races going back to post war years. I suspect a lot of participants were older and more durable, so yesterday's event might be even rarer, but I admit doping and lack of detection methods may have been a bigger issue back then.
As for the other incident, letting crowds near million dollar horses is a recipe of disaster and it's proven to be the case yet again. That is a needless death, putting horse, jockey and handlers at risk, that just should not happen in something "professional"! If a factory put workers at risk in that unnecessary manner the directors would be jail bound at the first proof of an incident!
Finally, if I recall vets were not happy with Admire Rakti just a few weeks back, perhaps yesterday could have been avoided if vets and officials had less accountability to owners, punters or clubs and sole accountability to the animals.
That was Bande they were unhappy with LP and it was a joke. The horse has a weird gait and they wouldn't let it run in the Caulfield Cup because they said it was injured. Moron stewards.
I think the Opposition here in Vic have flagged a public holiday for the Friday before the GF. Maybe that's what Sir SPF was referring to.
For the record, it was a young boy who was waving the flag, not a pissed idiot.
Not what I heard mate. The bloke was told to stop his wife from waving the flag in front of the horses. This person went and had a go at the bloke and he had this stupid smug smile on his face. Of course he was drinking. Who else does dumb sht like wave a flag in the horses face after repeatedly being told to stop? What else could drive this person to have a smug look of satisfaction on their face after the incident? Typical nobhead VB behaviour. I mean why bring a flag to the races anyway FFS. Only someone who is blind drunk could see the funny side of the horse getting spooked and snapping it's leg on a fence.
(http://www.racenet.com.au/breeding/news_images/araldo_1.jpg)
(http://www.racenet.com.au/breeding/news_images/araldo_2.jpg)
(http://www.racenet.com.au/breeding/news_images/araldo_3.jpg)
That is not a kid she has an ear ring and tits for starters. Just a bogan pisshead that would be better off in a pub. Save that stupid drunken sht for the local.
Would do wonders for the economy that one.
Its an unfortunate accident in both cases.
Mind you, statistically I would assume that incidence of death would not be that great (race to death ratio).
I heard a different report on SEN this morning. They were speaking to some racing commentator (forgot his name) and he said it was a young boy (implying pre drinking age) who would be feeling pretty horrible and sick today over the incident. Mixed reports I guess. If it was a drunk yahoo, agree they dont belong at the track and more controls need to be put in place.
Spot on bro.
Yup, we get Adelaide Cup public holiday earlier in the year though.
Can't stand horse racing. But love having the day off.
Anyone remember Show day?
Hey yeah good point! WTF happened to Show Day??
Don't get these protesters. Horse Racing is not dangerous. Bringing a horse back to the stables is though.
hope no Essendon players run into a fence when those IN's get waved around
NEW footage has emerged of racegoers slamming the man who spooked Araldo, ultimately leading to the Melbourne Cup horse’s death.
Mark Schneider and his partner were identified by Channel 7 as the culprits, with footage showing Schneider and another man holding a woman up on a fence as she waved a large Australian flag.
The incident caused Araldo to stir on the way back to the mounting yard, breaking his leg after getting caught in a fence.
The horse was later euthanised, marking the second death in a tragic aftermath to Australia’s most famous race following favourite Admire Rakti succumbing to acute heart failure.
(http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2014/11/06/1227114/535067-55b095f2-654e-11e4-a310-49154a12f97b.jpg)
(http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2014/11/06/1227114/535093-9defd032-646b-11e4-a360-a5bf402bfb8e.jpg)
Video captured on a mobile phone and obtained by Channel 7 shows a man angrily confronting Schneider, suggesting he found the Araldo situation amusing.
“A horse just got hurt and you thought it was funny,” the man says to Schneider.
“You just put it (the flag) up again.”
“We held it here,” Schneider responded, pointing down.
“You go tell the owners of Araldo, who’ve got a million dollar horse, that’s going to get the vet now saving its life because of you. But you think it’s funny,” the man added.
“We’re here to celebrate,” Scheider said.
The man ended the conversation, saying: “You laughed at security when he came up to you.”
Another witness told Channel 7: “A few people told him off. I don’t think he really cared until he found out the horse was injured.”
Schneider said later: “ ... as owners ourselves we are shattered at the events of yesterday ... (and) regretting what unfolded and are deeply shaken.”
Schneider told Channel 7 he was a regular Melbourne Cup attendee and that this was certainly not the first time he had waved a flag close to horses.
What a forkwit.
Why would you take an Australian flag to the races anyway? Were we playing a 20/20 game in the middle of the track?
Mind boggling stupidity.