Twenty-Five Excuses For After a Horse Loses a Race

Pop Culture

Every day, thousands of horses lose races around the world. Of course, most losses are accompanied by excuses for why the horse did not perform up to expectations. Here are a handful of our favorite excuses that you will hear around the track from trainers, owners, jockeys and bettors whose horses didn’t win the race.

25. “I wasn’t wearing the same shoes/hat/shirt as I was the last time he won!”

24. “We just had a terrible trip all the way around. If we had a better trip I think we definitely would have been third or second, and who knows maybe we win.”

23. “I should have known to stay off of him when I saw that the trainer wasn’t dressed up!”

OK, IT'S SAFE TO BET

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire

22. “The jockey didn’t have him/her ready when the gate opened and he/she broke too late.”

21. “It was a conveyor belt out there, unless you went right to the front or were right there with the pace, you had no shot.”

20. “Early speed just wasn’t holding up today, if you were anywhere near the front you had no chance.

19. “The crowd around the paddock was too loud, it got him/her too worked up and this race was over for us before it started.” 

18. “We got stopped dead in our tracks just when we were starting to make our move.”

17. “Someone was in my lucky spot when the race went off!”

YOU'RE IN MY LUCKY SPOT

By Achim Hering/Wikimedia Commons

16. “The others jocks just let the winner walk along out front; I don’t know what they were thinking. After that, I knew we were just running for second.”

15. “I don’t know what [insert opposing jockey] was thinking. If he runs the race to try to win instead of worrying about us, I think we have a different outcome.” 

14. “The jockey moved too soon. This horse needs a target when he hits the stretch, when he’s all alone in front he gets to goofing around and loses his focus.” 

13. “It was his fourth race in six months so he’s tired. We’ll be turning him out for the rest of the year.” 

12. “The jockey never saw him coming.”

THAT DIDN'T REALLY HAPPEN TO THIS RIDER ... BUT THE PHOTO FITS!

Photo courtesy of Eclipse Sportswire

11. “The racetrack was too [insert sandy, cuppy, muddy, sloppy, dry, firm, soft] and he just never looked comfortable.”

10. “What are you going to do when you’re the big favorite? You have a big target on your back and you saw today what happens when they gang up on you.” 

9. “His mind was on the mare in front of him in the paddock.”

8. “There’s a little something going around the barn. We thought he/she had gotten lucky and avoided it, but we’ll have him/her scoped and I wouldn’t be surprised if he/she has a cough tomorrow.”

7. “He’s not a speed horse, but he can’t be that far back either. I don’t know what [insert jockey name] was thinking.”

DOH!

By Hobvias Sudoneighm/Wikimedia Commons

6. “I thought he/she ran well. You know this race was never the main target. We circled [insert future race] on the calendar months ago and this should set him/her up perfectly for our main goal.” 

5. “He/she missed a few works because of weather/illness and we came up a little bit short.” 

4. “The trainer said that he just needed the experience since he’s only made [insert number] of starts.”

3. “He ran huge in his last race and I thought he might regress a little bit, but he was training so well …”

2. “He really needs a race with a little more distance. This was just a bit too short for him; he galloped out in front.”

1. “We lost to a better horse today; I don’t make excuses but [insert extensive list of excuses] … “

What are some of your favorite excuses to hear after a horse loses a race?

 

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