jockeys mutiny against Michael Gill

[wilf]

Saturday night at Penn National the jockeys refused to ride any more horses owned by Michael Gill after yet another of his horses went down in a race. Is this any surprise? Stop the carnage!

[btcountess]

Glad someone is standing up for the horses!!

[KBEquine]

Saturday night at Penn National the jockeys refused to ride any more horses owned by Michael Gill after yet another of his horses went down in a race. Is this any surprise? Stop the carnage!

(emphasis added)

Wilf, even more than that - the jockey colony refused to ride in any race where Gill had a horse entered. Not just not ride Gill's horses - not ride in races where they were.

Gill scratched several horses entered in races the days after the boycott.

I don't know what the final resolution will be, but I hope jockeys in other colonies follow the lead of the Penn jockeys.

There's an article in the DRF, a Ray Paulick column & a long thread on the Chronicle of the Horse racing forum.

Then again, I live about 45 min. from Penn & own a former Gill horse. I might be a wee bit prejudiced & following it closer than most people.

[Supernova]

Poor Laughing Moon. He ran here at Woodbine and I knew him personally as he was a favorite horse of one of the exercise riders. Very gentle horse. RIP

[BridledObsession]

Poor Laughing Moon. He ran here at Woodbine and I knew him personally as he was a favorite horse of one of the exercise riders. Very gentle horse. RIP

We were there Saturday night. Laughing Moon broke down shortly after the finish line and was still viewable from the Grandstand. He took a hard fall and laid unmoving for at least 5 minutes. I thought perhaps he was already gone. But that horse obviously had heart. He struggled at least 4 times before being able to get up using only 3 legs. He then made it on to the trailer on his own, but never put any weight on his injured leg. It was very moving for all of us to watch his determination, knowing at the same time the way he was holding his leg, that this would not be a happy ending for him.

Everywhere you went after the race people were talking about one thing: Michael Gill and the need to ban him. I'm only glad I was there to see the jockeys take a stand. I know I was not the only person there who was thankful to them and very proud.

[FOS]

hi wilf

Saturday night at Penn National the jockeys refused to ride any more horses owned by Michael Gill after yet another of his horses went down in a race. Is this any surprise? Stop the carnage!

Is the track vet required to inspect each horse entered to run at Penn National...

...and keep notes?

Best to ya.

Respectfully

[Shammy Davis]

FOS: Wilf answered this question on another thread that was related to racing in PA. Not to take away Wilf's thunder but he said that horses did not have a pre-race exam at Penn National.

I think that is totally wrong, but it is probable that the absence of pre-race Vet exams is more common than we would expect. Hopefully, Wilf can clarify what the State Vet's responsibilities are at Penn National.

[winds]

I thought all horses entered have to be checked by the state vet before they run. They even do it at CharlesTown.

winds

[IcouldbeU]

I don't agree with banning M Gill or the jock colony refusing to ride because he has a horse in the race. Gill is not the trainer, he is an owner. Its up to the trainer, vets and the racing officials to ensure the safety of all involved in each race. If because Gill is corrupt, does that mean therefore that he is able to corrupt his trainers, all vets at the track and all racing officials? If that is the case, this needs to be investigated. Wagering takes place and I would think that racing a hurt horse would be no different than racing in a fixed race or playing poker with a marked deck.

[Entry Blank]

I don't agree with banning M Gill or the jock colony refusing to ride because he has a horse in the race. Gill is not the trainer, he is an owner. Its up to the trainer, vets and the racing officials to ensure the safety of all involved in each race. If because Gill is corrupt, does that mean therefore that he is able to corrupt his trainers, all vets at the track and all racing officials? If that is the case, this needs to be investigated. Wagering takes place and I would think that racing a hurt horse would be no different than racing in a fixed race or playing poker with a marked deck.

Its apparent that the powers that be didnt seem to notice or care , so the jocks took it upon themselves to make a statement.

[IcouldbeU]

Gill has alot of horses. Does anyone know the % of his horses that break down? I have a sniggling feeling that it is not out of range of what other owners have but sheer numbers being what they are and because of his checkered past there is more scrutiny on him. I still do not think its up to the jocks to not ride, it is up to the racing officials.

[Entry Blank]

Gill has alot of horses. Does anyone know the % of his horses that break down? I have a sniggling feeling that it is not out of range of what other owners have but sheer numbers being what they are and because of his checkered past there is more scrutiny on him. I still do not think its up to the jocks to not ride, it is up to the racing officials.

Your forgetting something , jockeys dont have to ride any horses that they dont want to ride and if they dont want to ride Gill's horses they dont have to. I have been in the racing business for over 20 years and I have never seen riders stand together and refuse to ride for a certain owner , it is a very profound statement.

[TJ]

I thought all horses entered have to be checked by the state vet before they run. They even do it at CharlesTown.

winds

Hi Winds,
They examine horses shipping in from other tracks or farms....they do not routinely check the horses stabled at Penn. Doesn't make much sense when you consider Penn has low level claiming races for large purses. Every cheap horse around wants to run for that cash, why they don't examine every horse is absurd, they are making plenty money up there so why not run it like every other track and examine every starter. The jockeys should ban together and ask for proper pre race exams, not just jump on one owner. Gil averages about 2000-2500 starts per year, recently his stats have been above average, approx. 14 in a 3+ month period, but that includes broke down, eased, distanced, returned lame.
With todays technology so many break downs can be prevented with a serious effort in a pre race exam.....most tracks don't have the time for a thorough exam as they don't want to spend the money to have additional examining vets on the job. Yet the job gets done (albeit a lick and a prayer) between AM inspections and pre race warm up prior to the race and state vets watching their movement approaching the gate.
What I feel needs to be done to prevent sore horses from running (especially cheap horses running for 3-4 times their value) is to increase examining vets so they can check past performances and those that look suspicious on paper should be given a more thorough pre-race exam, while other vets are checking the sounder ones.
This is a good fight, but it should be directed at Penn's pre-race examining procedures, not just a single controversial owner who runs that many horses yearly......if 1% of his horses break down in a year your talking 20-25 horses....TJ

[Tappiano]

I don't agree with banning M Gill or the jock colony refusing to ride because he has a horse in the race. Gill is not the trainer, he is an owner. Its up to the trainer, vets and the racing officials to ensure the safety of all involved in each race. If because Gill is corrupt, does that mean therefore that he is able to corrupt his trainers, all vets at the track and all racing officials? If that is the case, this needs to be investigated. Wagering takes place and I would think that racing a hurt horse would be no different than racing in a fixed race or playing poker with a marked deck.

Doesn't the owner have an ethical obligation to make sure he is not entering an unsound horse in a race because of the potential to cause injury or death to jockeys or other horses entered?

The buck stops with the owner who has the ultimate accountability for making sure the horses he owns are not a danger to anyone else.

[seahorse]

Laughing Moon broke down shortly after the finish line. It does not state that in the results. 14 of his horses broke down in 3 months that is by reading the results. In a year that makes 56. How many of his broke down after the wire that are not counted ? And how many live to race again ?