marty I would love to see you in a drivers seat instead of the bar stool or couch in front of the tv, I think you would soon change you mind on how the COT rule works and what you can and cant do once you have stated you will be going further back or forwards or whatever, you can do all the form you want on paper but once you are out there with 2 ribbons of pvc covered webbing controlling half a tonne of horse flesh with a mind of its own, you use your brain and your experience to get the job done to the best of your horses ability, the only thing change of tactics does is make you think twice about taking an opportunity that presents itself because its not what you said you would do, a good driver gives their horses every chance every start we certainly cant afford not to, the races are worth peanuts (unless your blessed with a top liner) compared to the feed bills and the only times our owners get something back for the dollars they put in is when you pro punters doubt the ability of their horses and they lob up at big odds and with their miserable $25 each way they take the cash from your odds on favourites, yes racing needs the turn over but not at the cost of fair and smart racing where the horses come first and the punters a long way behind them.
And as for FAR's 1.50 it doesn't matter where he sat in the race he still had to run the time, if he couldn't run it he wouldn't have finished where he did he would have ran the time he was capable of and finished wherever, its the same as you have a horse who can only run 2.00 it doesn't matter where he is in a race if they run 1.58 he cant win it, it up to his driver to rate the race to a time he can win it in, but if you have no common knowledge from being out there and doing it yourself well you cant expect to gain any watching from the comfort of your tv screen wherever it may be
Originally Posted by broncobrad
