Breeders’ Cup Officials Seeking to Avoid Another Life At Ten Debacle With Enhanced Communications

It has been nearly a year since Life At Ten was eased in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1), outraging horseplayers who thought the filly should have been scratched after jockey John Velazquez stated on ESPN that she, “not warming up like she normally does.”

ESPN producer Amy Zimmerman heard the comments and reportedly called the stewards, but nether Velazquez or her trainer Todd Pletcher or the stewards alerted the track veterinarians, and she was loaded in the gate to run.

She broke poorly, fell far behind and lost contact with the field, finishing a distant 11th and last as the second choice in the race, going off at 7/2 odds.

Pletcher reported the following day that he thought the filly had an allergic reaction to her race day medication Lasix.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission conducted a lengthy investigation and found no intentional wrong doing, but it was blatantly obvious that there was a break down in communications, and the stewards did not do their job of protecting the horse and the betting public.

The KHRC did find Velazquez and chief steward John Veitch had violated rules of racing and the jockey settled by paying a $10,000 fine, while the case against Vetch is still pending and he remains a steward.

I called for the head of Veitch, who in my opinion completely dropped the ball.

It was obvious to me from my office in Florida that there was something amiss with Life At Ten (who incidentally I was already betting against before I saw her on the track), and it was mystifying to me that the stewards and on track veterinarians were so oblivious.

Obviously some of the blame has to lay with Pletcher, who said she was acting quieter than normal in the paddock, and Velazquez, who made his comments in a pre-race interview with former jockey Jerry Bailey to a national television audience.

Vetch’s idea of solving the problem moving forward is a suggestion that jockeys be prohibited from being interviewed on the track before the race, which is ludicrous.

The Breeders’ Cup, KHRC, and Churchill Downs announced protocols to assure there is not another Life At Ten incident this year.

Among the changes:

• Establishment of a Communications Command Center at Churchill Downs, staffed by a KHRC employee who is also an accredited steward. The Communications Command Center will monitor all radio channels used by the veterinary team and track personnel, television broadcasts, simulcast and on-track feeds;

• Designating one of the three stewards to be in the paddock during saddling for each race;

• Instituting easily identifiable uniforms with the words VET TEAM in large block letters for both the KHRC and Breeders' Cup veterinarian team members to aid race participants; and,

• Inclusion of the stewards and representatives of the Jockeys' Guild in a pre-event television production meeting; and,

• Advance meetings with the Jockeys’ Guild regarding on-track veterinary team and pre-race communications protocols.

"The circumstances of last year's Ladies’ Classic were unprecedented and initiated us to work with the KHRC and our hosts at Churchill Downs to take steps needed to make sure all individuals of the on-track safety team have access to the same information in real time," said Craig Fravel, Breeders' Cup President and CEO. "Together with the KHRC, we will also be working with the Guild and meeting with the jockeys to make sure they understand their responsibilities and that the commission veterinarians and the stewards are the final arbiters for deciding whether to scratch a horse."

“Protecting the integrity of horse racing is paramount to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission,” said KHRC Executive Director Lisa Underwood. “The transparency of the report prepared after the Ladies’ Classic and the recommendations presented in the report helped foster this collaborative effort to make improvements regarding the safety and integrity of horse racing. The implementation of these new measures is indicative of the success of that collaboration.”

The horse racing industry dodged a bullet last fall, as a breakdown by Life At Ten would have been disastrous at racing’s championship event.

The incident showed once again that the sport needs new leadership and protocols in place to make sure the betting public and the horses are protected.

The system broke down right before our eyes on national television, and here we are a year later, and except for a slap on the wrist of Velazquez, nobody has been held accountable for the millions of dollars horseplayers lost wagering on Life At Ten, when she should have been scratched at the gate.

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