Horse Racing Fantasy Community

I found this video and explanation from fellow Horse Racing Fantasy member andtheyreoff (visit his YouTube channel here) and, like him, I found it quite humorous to watch. After watching this, I tried duplicating it in our game with the famous gelding John Henry (click here to ride him yourself), one of the most competitive thoroughbreds ever. I ran him in the 1+3/8th's Man o' War on the turf, and just about halfway through the race, ole John shot out to a gigantic lead, about 16 lengths! However, like what you are about to see, our game mirrors real life when you as a jockey make a bonehead mistake like that. The following description is a direct quote from andtheyreoff:

For some reason I find oddities like this May 16, 2004 race very entertaining. The Hasta la Vista Handicap at Turf Paradise in Arizona is run at what today is an unusually long distance of 1 7/8 miles. This requires two full circuits of the course, rather than the usual one time around in most races. Unfortunately for jockey Jorge Carreno, he forgets that minor detail, creating a very unusual sitation. On a personal note, in the early 1980s, I recall Hall of Fame jockey Jorge Velasquez falling victim to the same mental lapse in the 2 1/4 mile Display Handicap at Aqueduct. My father and I got a big kick out of the fans watching the replay cheering "come on Georgie" the first time around, as he was furiously whipping and driving despite having a mile left to run.

When I found this video I noticed that a major argument developed over whether or not it was cruel for jockey Carreno to be driving and going to the whip the way he did. My take on that is an unqualified no; Carreno simply made an error, and after he realized what happened it's plainly evident that he pulled his horse up into a leisurely cooldown. It would have been cruel to keep pushing him after the wire, but he didn't. That's just my opinion. If any of you have another opinion, feel free to let us know in the comment section.

I can tell you that just last week I tried a 2 mile race on dirt right here in our fantastic online racing game, and I myself asked my horse for everything he had coming under the wire for the first time. I realized my mistake quite quickly, but it sure was a privately embarrassing moment, I can tell you that. Oh well, I guess it happens every once in awhile if you run enough races!