NEWS
Some think Yumfecta bonus well-intentioned, not best thing for racing
Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 4:34 PM
by Steve Bailey
Retired Racing Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey minces no words when discussing the new $1-million Yumfecta bonus in effect for this year’s $2.21-million Kentucky Derby (G1).
Yum! Brands, the presenting sponsor of the first leg of the Triple Crown, has offered $1-million to the horse that surpasses Barbaro’s 6 1/2-length winning margin from last year’s Derby.
The bonus would be distributed equally between the winning owner, trainer, and jockey, as well as the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
“Although I’m sure this was developed with good intentions, I can’t imagine this being good for the horses or good for the industry as a whole,” said Bailey, who won the Derby in 1993 on Sea Hero and in ’96 aboard Grindstone. “What this sport needs more than anything is a Triple Crown winner. In order to do that, you have to keep these horses sound.
“To get the bonus, a jockey is probably going to have to ask a horse for more instead of maybe easing up a little, if he’s not in a fight to the finish, to save a little for the next race. I can’t imagine a jockey consciously thinking about that coming down the stretch, but this kind of thing may plant the seed in the back of someone’s mind.”
Mike Smith, another Racing Hall of Fame rider who won the 2005 Derby on Giacomo, said he did not think a jockey would change his strategy in the stretch in order to claim the prize.
“You don’t have time to think about those things during the race, especially a race as tough as the Kentucky Derby,” Smith said.
While many on the Churchill Downs backstretch saw the gimmick as insignificant on Wednesday, a handful of horsemen were not thrilled with the idea.
“There’s been a lot of back and forth about it this week, but there are so many ways to look at something like that,” said trainer John Shirreffs, who campaigned Giacomo and will saddle Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Tiago in this year’s Derby.
“There’s no way a trainer would encourage a jockey to try for that bonus and risk injuring the horse, and I don’t think a jockey, no matter how big a lead he may have in the stretch, is going to be thinking about winning that extra money. I think what they’re looking for is the extra publicity that would come if it were to just happen by chance.”
“I don’t think it’s a particularly great idea, but I can understand the reason behind it,” three-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher said. “I don’t think they want anyone going after the bonus as much as they just want to award it if it does somehow happen.
“I don’t think that any rider that is four in front or ten in front at the sixteenth pole is going to think for one second about that bonus, and I don’t think it will have any effect on how the Kentucky Derby will be run.
However …
“That being said, I’ll love it if my horse wins by 6 3/4 lengths on Saturday, I’ll tell you that,” Pletcher added with a grin.
Steve Bailey is deputy news editor for Thoroughbred Times
