View From The Eighth Pole: If Weight Matters, Take It More Seriously
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We can only guess how much the weight carried in a race affects a horse's performance. All other things being equal, a horse that carries 120 pounds in a race will have an advantage over one carrying 123 pounds. Maybe it's a length, maybe more, maybe less. But it is an advantage.
That's why racing officials everywhere should pay heed to the ruling against Alexander Crispin, the Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey of 2020, for riding under his assigned weight in a mid-January race at Laurel Park in Maryland.