🎙️ “The Scratch”
- Bruno@Racingwithbruno
- Nov 7
- 2 min read
These keyboard cowboys out here —they don’t care one lick about the horses or the riders,but boy, they sure got a lot to say about a vet scratch.
Yeah, every time a horse gets scratched,they act like it’s some grand conspiracy.Like the Illuminati’s runnin’ the paddock,and ol’ Doc’s out there scratchin’ horses for sport.
(leans forward, mocking voice)“Oh, the vets are ruinin’ the sport!”
Buddy… they’re tryin’ to keep the horse alive,not ruin your Saturday Pick 4.
(shakes head)And I’ll tell ya what — some of these owners ain’t helpin’ either.They’ll go online, puffin’ up their chests,throwin’ shade at the vets for “scratchin’ their horse,”makin’ themselves look like victims of some great injustice.
Then what happens?
That same horse goes on hiatus for six months.‘Cause — guess what — there was somethin’ amiss! Turns out ol’ Doc knew what the hell he was talkin’ about!
They want safety, they want transparency, but the second a vet actually does their job, they lose their damn mind.
“He looked great!” Yeah, yesterday you were a crypto expert,and today you’re a veterinarian.
You either care about the well-being of the horse,or you care about your ticket —but don’t pretend it’s both.
So yeah — maybe next time,instead of lightin’ up social media with your half-baked conspiracy theories,try a little gratitude for the folkswho keep the horses on the track and off the injury list.
Cause if it were up to y’all,we’d be runnin’ horses with three legsand callin’ it “toughness.”
But hey, y’all — that’s social media insanity.
Everybody’s an expert…‘til somethin’ actually needs expertin’.
" Turning Japanese"
Ron Flatter Racing Pod:
Forever Young’s victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic will be celebrated by racing fans in Japan for generations to come. It will be reviewed in America one more time on this week’s Ron Flatter Racing Pod.
Handicapper and workout analyst Bruno De Julio spent nearly two weeks at Del Mar covering the championships from the first morning workout to the final race last weekend. He offers his assessment of the strategy and quality of the standout performances and the biggest disappointments.
There also is a lively debate about the 13 scratches made by veterinarians to remove horses like Sovereignty and White Abarrio from their races. Are the doctors right to err on the side of safety, or have they gone too far with their power?
Co-host Keith Nelson of Fairmount Park offers his perspective, and John Cherwa of the Los Angeles Times interrupts a book project to make a cameo appearance.
The Ron Flatter Racing Pod via Horse Racing Nation is available via free subscription from Apple, Firefox, iHeart and Spotify as well as HorseRacingNation.com. -- Ron Flatter
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