Hey, the number five horse just allowed number seven to tuck in front of him entering the backstretch run just past the quarter pole. Ok. He probably just wants him to get out of the way and will be out and going soon enough! That doesn’t happen. Ok the five is planning on following the seven to take advantage of his cover once they hit the half. That doesn’t happen, although number seven does eventually pull but sort of dangles as number five moves up where he vacated and is now  at his inside flank. Hmmm, that’s interesting, but before I jump to conclusions I’d best check out a few things. Is there common ownership between these two horses which has become so commonplace in this day and age of multiple trainers and fractional percentage owners?  That alone allows for cumbersome situations as I’d imagine any driver not allowing the owner’s other horse to tuck in will hear about it at one time or another. Perhaps the trainer confided or even instructed, “The horse didn’t warm up that well so just race him easy.” In other words, get what you can without overtaxing the animal. Of course, if he really warmed up poorly he could have and perhaps even should have been scratched.  But in that it was less than a “full field” to start with (and we know how management wants full fields), it becomes a compromising situation knowing the unwritten penalties for questionable scratching. To further compound the situation, that number eight horse made an uncharacteristic break long before the start, marring things even further, as there will be unhappy bettors. Moreover, this driver has driven this horse before, having finished a respectable fourth with a week ago, so he has a better than fair idea of precisely what he’s sitting behind. They approach the half as number five is now in front of number seven who’s dangling on the outside suggesting the choice of allowing that earlier tuck may not have been the most prudent thing to do. He tries to follow number two but lacks the clearance to do so and entering the stretch is boxed in as the announcer bellows “number five needs racing room”. Meanwhile our number seven turns for home seemingly out of it, but in response to a stern whip suggestion changes gears and is now barreling on the far outside. Into the stretch, our number five finds late clearance and passes a horse or two but is no match for the hard-charging number seven who wins handily, setting a new lifetime mark in the process. I still could call the driver of number five and ask why he permitted what at the time seemed an unnecessary tuck, but as it turned out he allowed the right horse in front of him and probably would have followed his cover had that horse not dangled as he did approaching the half. As it was, he passed him on the inside, sensible strategy by the driver in question as he sought to get ahead of the number seven. I know management frowns on drivers giving what at the time may seem an unnecessary tuck, however, this seems a far more complex scenario than it may have at first glance. Fortunately, my chart caller has unknowingly bailed me out here as at the half he has number seven parked out in fifth position with number five parked out sixth, so on paper at least it appears number five’s driver allowed the tuck to eventually benefit from number seven’s cover. I’m not throwing my chart caller under the bus either as given the sometimes vague uniqueness of chart calling, the number five horse may have indeed been off the rail at that point while the numerical placement makes it seem that he was following number seven. However the replay verifies that was not the case. Of course, at the three quarter pole number five is fifth on the inside while number seven is sixth on the outside over two full lengths behind number five, which seems inexplicable according to the printed chart.  Again, it is indicative that number five was never actually covered by number seven. And they expect me to make an instantaneous ruling whether or not the driver of number five allowed what initially and ostensibly appeared an unnecessary tuck after the quarter pole? Sorry guys!  In the stretch, it was obvious both drivers were “all out to win”.  Nobody was “raced easy” and certainly the number five horse belonged on the racetrack as observed by the track veterinarian. Moreover, I doubt there was even a discussion as to how the horse may or may not have warmed up, as what we initially observed was merely a circumstantial judgment situation on the first turn. Good thing we didn’t jump to immediate conclusions and allowed the situation to play itself out.