Week in Review: Don’t Let Friday ‘News Dumps’ Overshadow a Terrific Triple Crown

[Wandering Eyes]

We're now two legs deep into a Triple Crown season that has yielded two formful and exciting finishes in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness Stakes, and the stage is being set for one of the more intriguing and evenly matched renewals of the GI Belmont Stakes in quite a few years.

Yet, it's a sign of the times-not only for our sport but as a reflection of society in general-that controversy continues to swirl over the adjudication of both the Derby and Preakness long after each race has gone official.

In last Tuesday's news we learned that jockey Junior Alvarado-to no one's surprise-will be appealing his fine of $62,000 and two-day suspension for allegedly whipping Sovereignty (Into Mischief) two times over the six-strike limit when achieving his narrow, hard-earned victory over Journalism (Curlin) in the May 3 Derby.

Then on Friday, word came down from the Pimlico stewards that no action will be taken against either Umberto Rispoli or Flavien Prat for their rides aboard Journalism and 'TDN Rising Star' Goal Oriented (Not This Time), who finished first and fourth, respectively, in the roughly run stretch fight of the dramatic May 17 Preakness.

Let's put aside for the moment whether or not you agree with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) rule about the six-strike whipping limit, or the separate HISA regulation that mandates a doubling of standard penalties because Alvarado had a previous crop infraction on his record within the previous six months.

Churchill Downs stewards Barbara Borden, Brooks “Butch” Becraft and Tyler Picklesimer were merely doing their jobs by counting whip hits and meting out the fine and suspension that they believe applied to that purported violation. (The terms “allegedly” and “purportedly” are appropriate because Alvarado has maintained that several of his actions with the whip were instances of him fanning the colt without making contact, which, if proven true at his HISA hearing, won't count against him as strikes.)

And while it's certainly the right of racing fans everywhere to engage in spirited debate about whether or not there should have been a disqualification in the Preakness, or if any subsequent sanctions should have been handed down in the aftermath of the bump-and-grind stretch jostling, there's also a refreshing element to the “less is more” style of officiating reflected in the non-calls by Adam Campola, Ross Pearce and Russell Derderian in the Pimlico stewards' stand.

As chronicled in this column two weeks ago, the outsized stature of the Derby has, in recent runnings, been burdened by a series of lawsuits related to the outcomes that are starting to give America's most important and historic horse race the unfortunate reputation of being the most litigated two minutes in sports.

And while this year's slam-bang Preakness certainly did warrant an inquiry into the stretch run, the let-them-play end result of the officiating was (in my opinion), a welcome contrast to the trend of over-adjudication in United States racing that at times feels heavy-handed and too often detracts from the action on the track.

But here's where I will take umbrage with the decision-making process: In both instances this month, the stewards at Churchill and Pimlico took six full days before going public with their final word on the Derby and the Preakness.

And then, when the stewards did come out with Alvarado's whipping penalty and the decision not to take any action against Rispoli or Prat, those news nuggets both took the form of online postings made on the Friday after each race that were more or less buried on the websites of the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation and Maryland Racing Commission.

Whether or not escaping broad scrutiny was the specific intent of the stewards or their agencies, both decisions had the look and feel of what we in the reporting biz call “Friday news dumps.”

That term refers to the practice-usually by corporate or government entities-of releasing controversial news very late in the work week with the hope that journalists either won't notice or will have a difficult time contacting off-the-clock officials to ask relevant follow-up questions.

The later on a Friday that this is accomplished seems to be the goal of the news dumpers, and if the offloading of a press release can be accomplished on the Friday of a long holiday weekend (like this one), all the better for those who would rather not have their decisions dissected.

But racing wouldn't have to deal with any form of delayed blowback if the officials making the Triple Crown calls were mandated with issuing rulings and reports in a more timely manner.

Are we to believe that the stewards in Kentucky and Maryland really required the better part of a week to review the race replays and speak to the jockeys involved in each instance?

And during the six days between the horses crossing the finish wire and the issuance of any ruling (or notice of a non-ruling in the case of the Preakness) does it behoove the sport to have its officials be subjected to the inevitable speculation that might sway their judgment one way or the other? It's not exactly like stewards are placed in a vacuum where they are immune from public opinions until they render a decision.

There is traditionally no racing at both Churchill and Pimlico on the Sundays immediately following the Saturdays of the Derby and the Preakness. Isn't the status of those two Triple Crown races important enough for the stewards to be tasked with expediting their decisions so that any sanctions are made public and explained in full within 24 hours of each race going official?

Our sport has evolved in such a way that the Triple Crown races are at the pinnacle of the pyramid. The time frame and level of detail under which they are adjudicated much match that level of prestige.

An “Oh, by the way…” posting to the website of a public agency before the last racing commission staffer calls it quits for the weekend doesn't quite cut it.

In the meantime, we're on the cusp of being treated to a Belmont Stakes that is shaping up as a showdown among the first three finishers in the Derby while additionally serving up a juicy rematch of the winners of both the Derby and the Preakness.

Let's put the perceived news dumps in the rear-view mirror and floor it to Saratoga for the third leg of the Triple Crown.

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