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American Pharoah Overcomes Biology To Win Triple Crown
HughPickens.com writes: There are good reasons it's been 37 years since the last triple-crown winner. As Lexi Pandell writes, post-race recovery is no joke for a thousand-pound animal that can run more than 40 miles per hour. There are two weeks between the Derby and the Preakness, and three weeks between the Preakness and the Belmont. That tight schedule—and the super-specific needs of racehorses—means horses competing in the grueling back-to-back-to-back Triple Crown races have a big disadvantage against fresh horses. First, as a horse races, its muscles produce lactic acid. In humans, glycogen recoup takes about 24 hours. But horses take several days to process lactic acid and restore glycogen reserves. Trainers make sure their charges drink plenty of water and sometimes even use intravenous fluids to aid that repair process. Secondly, in addition to being the last race of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes is also the longest. When a horse runs a tough race (or has a new workout at a longer distance), its muscles break down. Then, during rest, they reknit and adapt. A horse that has skipped the Preakness, however, has the luxury of time. Mubtaahij, who some picked to win the Belmont, had plenty of rest so he could be pushed for hard workouts two weeks prior to the Belmont.
Finally, at different points in its stride, a galloping horse puts all its weight on a single leg. That limb bears three times more weight than usual when galloping on a straightaway and, thanks to centrifugal force, a load five to 10 times greater on turns. This translates to skeletal microdamage. Race a horse during that critical period and you increase the risk of serious injuries mid-race. Two weeks ago, vets were forced to euthanize the promising gray thoroughbred filly, Eight Belles, when she collapsed on the track after completing the race at Churchill Downs, suffering from two shattered ankles in her front legs. A fresh horse won't face any of those problems. Even a horse that ran in the Derby but skipped the Preakness will have five weeks to rest, and plenty of time for normal skeletal damage to repair, before the Belmont. "So, American Pharoah, it'd be awesome if you win the Triple Crown, but you probably won't," concluded Pandell. "It's not your fault. It's science and those pesky fresh horses." Science was wrong.
Finally, at different points in its stride, a galloping horse puts all its weight on a single leg. That limb bears three times more weight than usual when galloping on a straightaway and, thanks to centrifugal force, a load five to 10 times greater on turns. This translates to skeletal microdamage. Race a horse during that critical period and you increase the risk of serious injuries mid-race. Two weeks ago, vets were forced to euthanize the promising gray thoroughbred filly, Eight Belles, when she collapsed on the track after completing the race at Churchill Downs, suffering from two shattered ankles in her front legs. A fresh horse won't face any of those problems. Even a horse that ran in the Derby but skipped the Preakness will have five weeks to rest, and plenty of time for normal skeletal damage to repair, before the Belmont. "So, American Pharoah, it'd be awesome if you win the Triple Crown, but you probably won't," concluded Pandell. "It's not your fault. It's science and those pesky fresh horses." Science was wrong.
Holy shit no. Odds heavily against you isn't zero odds especially when you have previous proof they can be beat.
If I put a red ball in one of one hundred thousand cups, your odds are still low even if you pick the right cup. Your odds didn't change.
Altho since you bring it up.
It's really kind of barbaric what we do to horses for our own amusement now.
Not even 'pets' to most people involved. More like slaves we get to bet on.
if races are so stressful on the horses that sometimes they break and have to be euthanize, doesn't this type of event count as animal abuse?
just a thought.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Dice Incorporated(all the garbage that's fit to post) of course. You didn't think this was still /. did you?
Om, nomnomnom...
...cruelty is OK so long as it's an old tradition!
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
omgponies.com? :)
Science was NOT wrong, you fucking imbecile. Science didn't predict who would win, it described why it's difficult to win all 3 races. It still is, this horse was just up to the unlikely task.
I don't follow horses and I found the article informative. I didn't previously understand how much pain these animals are subjected to for personal glory and profit.
The topic does touch science and current events so it's something I expect to see here.
Mostly, they pump them full of drugs. Even worse than human for-pay athletes, which is a hard one to beat.
Professional sport in general is a disgrace, animal professional sport is even more loathsome.
The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
Have gnu, will travel.
Two weeks ago, vets were forced to euthanize the promising gray thoroughbred filly, Eight Belles, when she collapsed on the track after completing the race at Churchill Downs, suffering from two shattered ankles in her front legs.
That happened in 2008!
At this point it would be better. At least the whole Octavia x Vinyl thing is canon now...
...
website am I on?
Yeah, what the heck. Who cares about an informative look at a high profile part of popular culture that happens to be more interesting once you understand some practical bits of biology? Who cares, when you're a desk-bound pixel pusher, how muscle recovery and performance might differ between equine and primate mammals, anyway? Why would any nerd-ish person be interested when the expected behavior of a complex system, as predicted by well-funded scientists, comes to be out-performed in an instance of that system where its breeding also manifests itself as grit and a powerful, winning competitive personality?
Yeah, boring stuff. Maybe if the runner-up had been called "System-D" or the winner had been named "Edward S" you'd be more interested? Because what's going on, biologically, in a thoroughbred racehorse under pressure is for sure nowhere near as interesting to a well-rounded, informed resident of the 21st century as the fatigue that sets in when the lithium batteries in a Tesla don't get the right treatment following a high-speed amateur race at the track.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
Not only was science not "wrong," but if science was wrong there would be no story. The science says that this was a statistically improbable event. If the science was wrong, this would happen all the time and the fact that it happened again wouldn't be newsworthy. So not only is this the dumb clickbait that we know it to be, but contradictory to the whole premise. No internal logical consistency; complete garbage.
For such a lame site, then, it's amazing what they've done to engineer some incredible new browser-side technology that has forced you to click on, read, and comment on the piece you find so offensively uninteresting. What browser are you running? How did it control you hands and cause you to navigate into this thread? Maybe there's a plugin that you can install that will prevent /. from controlling your hands.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
but, but... Science!
Wherever You Go, There You Are
Yeah, but...
For all of their 'science' and use of terms like centrifugal, their thesis was ultimately flawed, then they go and try and blame 'science' as being flawed when, in fact, it was the author of the article that seems to have failed to understand the variables involved
Sure it is part of popular culture, and certainly it is an awesome accomplishment, but linking to some article where an imbecile demonstrates their complete lack of understanding of the scientific method, or has the gumption to recognize their flawed thesis...
lame
Wherever You Go, There You Are
I agree, it is interesting and I do not see an issue with it been posted on /. If I did not wanr to read it, it would just skip to the next posting.
We can have faster-than-light travel after all! It turns out all we have to do is 'overcome' Special Relativity!
American Pharoah had a difficult trip in the Derby and still pulled it out. He won handily at the Preakness in the mud and still looked like he had something left. Top jockey and trainer. This was the clearly the best horse who'd won both races since the last triple-crown winner. Don't know if he ran against a relatively weak field (didn't check the times). There's also the odd chance he was given a pass to boost the industry. Hollywood Park was demolished recently and the publicity surrounding a triple-crown winner can't hurt. Still an impressive performance.
Good bye! Don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out.
Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
When I was an American in Germany, recovering from an injury, I told a friend that I took ibuprofen on a daily basis.
She said, "What? That's for animals!" Then continued, "In Germany we have a saying, 'ibuprofen makes old horses run fast.'"
The Real Quiet lost by a nose in last race Belmont Stakes. So it is not all that improbable.
What the fuck is wrong with those people? You broke the horse, so you are responsible for her. Then you push her so hard that she brakes both ankles with compound fractures, then kill her, and just move on? Brilliant comment about how she must have tripped over own legs, except for the fact that she had no fluid in her joints, that might possibly have had a lot more to do with it. Useless, sacks of shit.
I art more snarky, and terse than thou. I art Slashdot!
His name is "Fart Rocket" Even if he doesn't win, the commentator's audio track should be fun to listen to. Fart rocket poops a lot! (I considered the name "Sir Poop-a-lot" as well)
But - we should not have to read five sentences past the headline to discover the story is about horse racing.
Could they not have mentioned horses in the title? I thought the CIA must have installed a new puppet dictator in Egypt.
We do not have the good looks either.
Anyhow, I think that all horses that are in the three races should be required to race in all three races. If you pull out and do not race in one of the races you should not be allowed to enter any of the others that follow. Similarly, you should not be allowed to enter a new horse in the middle or last race.
I kind of miss drinking my lunch at the OTB with the bar and grill. It was an excellent place to take clients. During the day the dining areas were quiet and we could discuss business. After that we could drink even more and bet on the ponies. I like chariot racing (sulkies) and even got to bet on the miniature horses pulling sulkies at one point. It was like watching midgets wrestle only nothing like it.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Didn't you say you were done with /. not that long ago in another thread? I, unfortunately, do not bookmark all the people who claim to be leaving so it may not have been you. For all the people claiming to be leaving there seem to be just as many posts. We could debate the quality of the subsequent posts but that is not pertinent to this line of conversation. Can I have your UID?
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Don't be a horse's ass.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
"Triple Crown" was not a large enough indicator? Maybe it is just me but I kind of enjoy being well rounded in my education. Then again, perhaps, it is because I used to drink my lunch at an Off-Track Betting (OTB) facility that was literally just across the parking lot from our rented building.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Yeah but nothing. So journalism is bad? So what? Many of the articles posted here have technical flaws or ignorant authors.
The article has, however opened my eyes to some new things I simply didn't know about. I didn't know humans took an entire day to replenish glycogen reserves and I certainly didn't know it takes horses much longer. I didn't know about galloping stresses either. So either way it was an interesting article and I can go and read more.
Plus of course, 90% of the reason for coming to slashdot is the comments. They usually fill in hte gaps.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
Are you unable to read or just unwilling?
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Approximately 1000 horses a years a euthanized due injuries sustained from this "sport". If people died at a similar rate playing soccer for example, the sport would be banned.
Oh? What did I miss?
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
"Triple Crown" was not a large enough indicator?
No, why should I have heard of a domestic event on the other side of the globe? Only the Kentucky Derby is familiar (one of 3 things I have heard of in that state, the others being bourbon and greasy chicken). The Crown is hardly a big international event like the tennis Grand Slam, or formulae one Grand Prix.
You are roman_mir AICMFP.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
No.
To me it's when one of England, Irateland, Skirtland and Wails twats all the other three at Rugby.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
This shite of an article is the top of the main page.
Oh, so it's the "being at the top of the page" part that causes your hand to be forced to click on it? Still an amazing feat on the programmers' part, right? Or are you just confused about the fact that EVERY article spends at least a few minutes at the top of the page? Yeah, I thought so.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
This kind of science analysis speaks the norm, but it is the abnormal that wins the Triple Crown and anything else "science" gets wrong.
E Proelio Veritas.
What's that? A pickled king who failed at using a spellchecker?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
That's the thing. You can't do that.
The races, are independent business entities. It's just that, over time, they've become the definitive races for the US Triple Crown.
But that doesn't stop each individual race from being open to all qualifiers.
And, because of myriad factors, like recovery, track preference, etc, owners can't guarantee they won't pull an entrant. Indeed, it'd be irresponsible to race a horse that wasn't ready. You can ruin an animal like that.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Some of the most inane shit to taint this site ever; what's next, microeconomics?
Old news. And, as has been said. Horses can't spell.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Seems the Dice boys aren't above throwing around a few modpoints if they think it'll make 'em look a little less incompetent (hint: it doesn't)...
And your clue that the mod points are from any particular source is ...? That your personal social currency is snark, and that you also don't find practical, applied examples of biological sciences at work to be worthy of /. doesn't mean that three other people don't disagree with you.
And what was the incompetent part, exactly? Linking to an article that you find uninteresting? Guess what: I find it uninteresting to read, for the hundredth time, what a bunch of people think about Nvidia video drivers. Is Dice incompetent for posting those articles, or would I be incompetent for clicking on them and wasting my time reading and commenting on them when I think I'm not interested in them? Is this too subtle for you?
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
I think that all horses that are in the three races should be required to race in all three races. If you pull out and do not race in one of the races you should not be allowed to enter any of the others that follow. Similarly, you should not be allowed to enter a new horse in the middle or last race.
Why? These are 3 completely independent races. It's not like this is a tournament and someone is saying "I'm going to skip the quarter finals and just go straight to the semi finals". The races are completely separate. The people who know they have little chance of winning all 3 chose the smart thing to do and focus their effort on training for 1 or 2 of the races. Those who think they have the ability to go all the way risk going for it all. Bigger risk, bigger potential reward. That's all there is to it.
Let's just race all the horses to death. Last one down wins!
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
Almost as repugnant as, say, gymnastics. Or ballet. Or any other "sport" or "performance" where participants are inducted at a young age, then subjected to agonizing and (often) permanently crippling stresses.
Only the Kentucky Derby is familiar
"His name was James Damore."
Good way to send the riff-raff packing. Kudos to you ScentCone.
If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
I've been reading /. since around 2002, and don't see this article as an outlier with regards to subject.
You would have probably been one of the one who bitched when the articles about the World Trade Center attacks were up. Just as back then, you and your fellow whiners can go read the newest article. Right now that is about Apple music. Wow, that's something new and unexplored here on /. .
If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
Bye.
I thought you'd already flounced?
That is what they are doing already. However they could/would/should just pull them out.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Why? Because the winner of all three gets the crown. So even if they are not a tournament they really function as one in that regard.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
No, I can not do that. They can do that. Your other conclusions are pretty well covered in the article. If the horse can't run, pull it out.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
I did not ask where it was, I know where it is. I asked if I could have it. They are not big words.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
That is what it seems like. I think it would be more interesting that way.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
People travel, use bookies, and use OTB, across the globe, to bet on these three races. I do not know but it may have more followers than tennis.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Yes, and the first AC was pointing out where you could get it from.
LOL. This thread is funny as hell! It was obvious right away he's asking to have his UID *instead* of his own. But being that the other guy's is just a tad shy of 700,000, it wouldn't be much of an improvement!
Sheesh! Get over it.
Exactly. I don't come here to read about horses! I'm more interested in Chinese doctors doing head transplants on mice!
Load up slashdot, audio starts playing automatically -- from an ad! I hit the mute button on the ad and it doesn't work! Audio still plays. I was having some decency in not using adblockers so /. still gets the ad revenue. Now I will likely never return. Screw you slashdot. Then, I have to put up with a terrible article that makes no sense. Slashdot died after Dice tookover, sorry.
I agree the ad load can be atrocious. They tend to slow down my chromebook, and once I watched my router for traffic when I loaded up slashdot, and oh boy was it sending a google of requests to dozens of places.
One solution is to log in and maintain excellent karma, that way you may get a neat little check box that says "Disable Ads". Once in awhile they remove it but eventually it comes back. I have no idea what heuristics they use to determine you're eligible. But I don't get why there are so many ACs around. You all aren't slashdotting from work _all the time_ are you?
More likely, somebody's "thesis on impact of biological factors of equine performance" was not as substantial as they may have thought
What is that Scientific Method again? Form hypothesis, test, prove/disprove, reconsider...
I think that they are at the reconsider step in regards to their hypothesis, but the scientific method works just fine as long as nobody assumes that a hypothesis is some unalterable biblical truth
Wherever You Go, There You Are
Can I have your UID?
Have...
This is not difficult. You may want to look up the definitions for the word have.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
"...probably won't," concluded Pandell...Science was wrong.
What a dumb remark. The prediction, that the Triple Crown is an unlikely event, is correct. That this outcome happened to occur in our timeline is neither here nor there.
.: Semper Absurda
The word have is difficult for you, isn't it. I will try to keep my words limited to four letters or less, just for you:
"Have." Look it up.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
The funniest part is that I am the idiot. Well, I am, but not for this.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
The risk is killing the horse and the reward is all the money from studding him out. American Pharaoh will be milked for as much semen as possible and it will be sold off for a high premium.
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
I listened to a radio article on this recently. From the various races won, it's around $4 million.
Not a bad chunk of change, but the good money from now on won't be in racing, but rather in breeding. It's anticipated that the owner could make up to $60m in stud fees. So now that AP has done the hard part, the owner gets to enjoy some cash and the horse gets to enjoy life carousing with a bunch of fillies. Not a bad retirement.
The existence and usage of the term centrifugal depends entirely on your point of view.
Again, that's for the owner and trainer to decide.
Not the race organizers. Their only concern is "did the horse qualify?"
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
I did not say they had to. I said I think they should. At least I am pretty sure that is what I said. It has been so very long and clicking the parent button is so very far away.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
You realize there are triple crowns all over, right? Anyhow, I think they should but I have no way to enforce it nor do I insist they must. I just think that they should.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."