Pull the Pocket: I'll Have Another and public perception
Pull the Pocket addresses the scratch of I'll Have Another from the Belmont and how rare an occurrence a scratch is for the type of injury I'll Have Another was diagnosed with.
Pull the Pocket writes: "Today, after the scratch of I'll Have Another, I asked Sid (Fernando): In another time, even recently, if a horse had slight filling, but could run, what percentage of people would run them in a situation like this? Sid answered he thought 100% would run.
Filling, slight bumps, strains, soft tissue injuries and the like, are relatively common, and to race horses with them is common too. I bet there are 100 or more horses in to go today with injuries similar to this; and they'll run, some will win. As Sid pointed out, it's clear in the past horses were raced with much worse."
Pull the Pocket wonders if the scratch could be because of the public perception of racing. After all, mainstream media, especially the article series in the New York Times, and social media have brought the sport into the focus of a spotlight brighter than it’s ever been.
