Post by Peter gross on Jan 14, 2010 6:09:10 GMT -5
Ok, guess I'm still steaming about the selection of Alexandra Wozniak as the winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada's athlete of the year. This rant of mine is not meant to demean Wozniak. She's very much a bright light in the darkness that has been women's tennis in this country, but in 2009, she did not win a tournament. So the voters gloried a woman who did 'pretty good', but virtually ignored Chantal Sutherland who had an amazing year, finishing second in Canada in wins with 139. Earlier this week, Wozniak lost a second round match to a woman ranked 80th in the world, this in a tournament in Hobart, Australia, where Wozniak was the 6th seed.
During the same time frame, Sutherland showed her courage and guts. In the last race Sunday, January 10, she was on a longshot, Nana Beach and as the field turned into the stretch, Nana Beach was losing touch. instead of making a left turn to follow the field, the filly, perhaps smelling the hot dogs under the stands, went straight to the outside rail. At the last moment, Sutherland avoided disaster by throwing herself off the horse and landing ingloriously in a heap on the track. Three days later as racing resumed at Santa Anita, Sutherland was back in the saddle ( or what passes for a saddle for a jockey) and she rallied The Town Lady from last in the six-horse field to victory at odds of 2.90 in the mile and a sixteenth starter's allowance. This is Sutherland's third victory of the Santa Anita meet and - not to be cruel - three more wins than Wozniak has in the last 13 months.
The Ontario Racing commission dealt recently with a couple of harness driving infractions and had a different response to each case. Both Jody Jamieson and Doug McNair had been punished with fines and suspensions for violating the same rule that restricts what a driver is allowed to do with his whip. Jamieson, who ran up 15 whipping violations in 2009 was originally fined $1000 and suspended 10 days for his work in the stretch on Lucky Terror at Georgian Downs on August 20. The ORC ruled that Jamieson "did use his whip in an excessive manner during the stretch drive." At the time, Jamieson appealed the penalty and was granted a stay of the penalties. Since JJ was chasing down the Canadian record for victories, it was pretty obvious that he wanted to stay on track and this decision did not come down until December 30, at which point, Jamieson's 796 wins were already in the bag. At the appeal, the ORC viewed the tape of the race which indicates that Jamieson used the whip on Lucky Terror as many as 19 times ( Jamieson claims it was just 14). The panel deciding Jamieson's fate actually agreed with the driver that the action was just 'tippy taps' and that no brutality was involved; however, under the new rules, 14-19 uses of the whip without a break is a clear violation. The ORC decision makes the point that not only has been Jamieson been a multiple offender, but he actually sat on the board which hammered out the new rules. It's interesting that in his defence, Jamieson pointed out that he has participated in more than 3000 races in the last year, so 15 whip violations isn't really that much. The new whip rule has almost polarized the industry and puts drivers in a difficult situation - i.e. should they break the rule to ensure their horses win? Just speculating here, but perhaps Jamieson is playing a little harness driving politics here - do what he has to do to win and pay the price later.
The other decision came down hard on 19 year-old Doug McNair for his whip abuse on OK Commander in the 6th race at Mohawk on August 16. At the time, McNair was fined $500 and suspended five days because he " did use his whip in an indiscriminate manner during the stretch drive." McNair appealed the penalty, but here's where it got ugly. Apparently he changed his mind about the appeal and left a phone message the night before the hearing at 10:15 advising the panel that he was abandoning his case. To this, the ORC wrote,
"Mr. McNair's conduct, in respect to the due process system as so enshrined to protect the rights of all licensees, is despicable."
Now that's a bit harsh, don't you think. Despicable?The guy is just a kid, a teenager. He's been called to the principal's office and he's probably a little scared. At first, he thinks, 'oh I'll just stand up to them and declare my innocence,' but as the date drew closer, he probably got cold feet, understanding he had little chance of winning.
The ORC was clearly pissed that he scheduled the hearing, then stiffed them. Because of this, McNair's fine was doubled to $1000 and his suspension extended to 7 days. McNair has also been fined an additional $1500 for 'frivolous appeal." This would be McNair's 11th whipping violation in 17 months
So what do we learn from this? The ORC is trying to protect the horses and make racing look gentler and kinder. Jody Jamieson gets off easier than Doug McNair because he knows how to play the game a little better. Even so, the new whipping rules aren't sitting comfortably with either the horsemen or the fans. There are different applications in every jurisdictions. For example, fans betting on the races at the Meadowlands are likely to see the drivers being much more aggressive with the whip than their Ontario counterparts.
New whip rules also exist for the thoroughbreds and that could create a very disastrous outcome. Imagine a French or British jockey winning the Patisson International on a world champion, but doing so with an extra flick of the whip (only three allowed, then a break). Would the stewards risk an International conflagration by DQ-ing the winner?
Discuss amongst yourselves
During the same time frame, Sutherland showed her courage and guts. In the last race Sunday, January 10, she was on a longshot, Nana Beach and as the field turned into the stretch, Nana Beach was losing touch. instead of making a left turn to follow the field, the filly, perhaps smelling the hot dogs under the stands, went straight to the outside rail. At the last moment, Sutherland avoided disaster by throwing herself off the horse and landing ingloriously in a heap on the track. Three days later as racing resumed at Santa Anita, Sutherland was back in the saddle ( or what passes for a saddle for a jockey) and she rallied The Town Lady from last in the six-horse field to victory at odds of 2.90 in the mile and a sixteenth starter's allowance. This is Sutherland's third victory of the Santa Anita meet and - not to be cruel - three more wins than Wozniak has in the last 13 months.
The Ontario Racing commission dealt recently with a couple of harness driving infractions and had a different response to each case. Both Jody Jamieson and Doug McNair had been punished with fines and suspensions for violating the same rule that restricts what a driver is allowed to do with his whip. Jamieson, who ran up 15 whipping violations in 2009 was originally fined $1000 and suspended 10 days for his work in the stretch on Lucky Terror at Georgian Downs on August 20. The ORC ruled that Jamieson "did use his whip in an excessive manner during the stretch drive." At the time, Jamieson appealed the penalty and was granted a stay of the penalties. Since JJ was chasing down the Canadian record for victories, it was pretty obvious that he wanted to stay on track and this decision did not come down until December 30, at which point, Jamieson's 796 wins were already in the bag. At the appeal, the ORC viewed the tape of the race which indicates that Jamieson used the whip on Lucky Terror as many as 19 times ( Jamieson claims it was just 14). The panel deciding Jamieson's fate actually agreed with the driver that the action was just 'tippy taps' and that no brutality was involved; however, under the new rules, 14-19 uses of the whip without a break is a clear violation. The ORC decision makes the point that not only has been Jamieson been a multiple offender, but he actually sat on the board which hammered out the new rules. It's interesting that in his defence, Jamieson pointed out that he has participated in more than 3000 races in the last year, so 15 whip violations isn't really that much. The new whip rule has almost polarized the industry and puts drivers in a difficult situation - i.e. should they break the rule to ensure their horses win? Just speculating here, but perhaps Jamieson is playing a little harness driving politics here - do what he has to do to win and pay the price later.
The other decision came down hard on 19 year-old Doug McNair for his whip abuse on OK Commander in the 6th race at Mohawk on August 16. At the time, McNair was fined $500 and suspended five days because he " did use his whip in an indiscriminate manner during the stretch drive." McNair appealed the penalty, but here's where it got ugly. Apparently he changed his mind about the appeal and left a phone message the night before the hearing at 10:15 advising the panel that he was abandoning his case. To this, the ORC wrote,
"Mr. McNair's conduct, in respect to the due process system as so enshrined to protect the rights of all licensees, is despicable."
Now that's a bit harsh, don't you think. Despicable?The guy is just a kid, a teenager. He's been called to the principal's office and he's probably a little scared. At first, he thinks, 'oh I'll just stand up to them and declare my innocence,' but as the date drew closer, he probably got cold feet, understanding he had little chance of winning.
The ORC was clearly pissed that he scheduled the hearing, then stiffed them. Because of this, McNair's fine was doubled to $1000 and his suspension extended to 7 days. McNair has also been fined an additional $1500 for 'frivolous appeal." This would be McNair's 11th whipping violation in 17 months
So what do we learn from this? The ORC is trying to protect the horses and make racing look gentler and kinder. Jody Jamieson gets off easier than Doug McNair because he knows how to play the game a little better. Even so, the new whipping rules aren't sitting comfortably with either the horsemen or the fans. There are different applications in every jurisdictions. For example, fans betting on the races at the Meadowlands are likely to see the drivers being much more aggressive with the whip than their Ontario counterparts.
New whip rules also exist for the thoroughbreds and that could create a very disastrous outcome. Imagine a French or British jockey winning the Patisson International on a world champion, but doing so with an extra flick of the whip (only three allowed, then a break). Would the stewards risk an International conflagration by DQ-ing the winner?
Discuss amongst yourselves
