Last week, Toby’s Corner won the Wood Memorial and stamped his ticket to the Kentucky Derby.
Beyond the surprise of many fans that Uncle Mo had been defeated for the first time in his career, a few other folks were shocked when Toby’s Corner won the race. Namely, the connections surrounding the winning colt.
After the Wood, Trainer Graham Motion commented that he hadn’t expected Toby’s Corner to beat Uncle Mo in the race. In fact, Motion stated that he had never even discussed the idea of Toby’s Corner starting in the Kentucky Derby with Dianne Cotter, Owner and Breeder of the colt.
The trainer was unsure if the Cotters even knew that he had nominated Toby’s Corner to the Triple Crown.
Yet, in a few golden seconds, Toby’s Corner delivered a victory that would provide him with the necessary graded earnings to start in the upcoming Kentucky Derby. And, in the same moment, the home-bred colt also gave Cotter and Motion the opportunity to point toward a highly-elusive prize, namely, a win in the Kentucky Derby.
Many onlookers completely missed the beauty of the victory for Toby’s Corner and his connections.
Instead, as Toby’s Corner made his way to the winner’s circle after the Wood Memorial, many fans fixed their eyes on Uncle Mo as he passed the stands in a third-place finish. The colt garnered more attention through his lone defeat than the actual winner of the race received in his spirited victory.
And, since the Wood, Uncle Mo has been subject to scrutiny that falls nothing short of brutal. The bulk of the news stories from the Wood Memorial don’t focus on the victory of Toby’s Corner, but rather, the fact that Uncle Mo finished third in the race.
Further, many racing fans are relishing in the loss of Uncle Mo in comment threads from related articles and blog posts. A lot of the opinions focus on highlighting any flaw they can find on the colt. In some cases, the comments are downright mean-spirited and hateful, not only to Uncle Mo, but to the spirit of racing itself.
There is no value in tearing down Uncle Mo, or any other horse, for competing in a race and losing it.
And conversely, there is no respect for the achievement of Toby’s Corner, or any other winning horse, if we fail to celebrate the victory.
I am fan of horse racing. As a fan of horse racing, I am a fan of horses. Being a fan of horses, I respect the achievements of Uncle Mo and Toby’s Corner in their own right, without comparison or criticism to the other athlete.
Whether a horse wins or loses a race, the equine athletes in our sport deserve respect during and after every outing.
This isn’t just racing. It’s horse racing. And, respect for the horses should remain the first priority above the outcome in a race.
