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  • May 22, 2008 02:09 AM ET

Should a jockey get as much credit for racing a horse to victory as a NASCAR driver does for driving a car?

buckybadger (58-28-8) vs Steveo16220 is a GGTK (150-37-15)
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Ok for starters the horse and trainer for this argument equal the crew and the car. Everyone knows who Big Brown is by this point and the trainer is a hire by someone more rich than we can dream but the funny thing is I just saw some drama clip on ESPN about the jockey and I can't even remember his name. This got me thinking. Why are these athletes, and yes I do consider them athletes, denied the recognition they deserve. I can name several horses that have raced in the past but I can't name one jockey present or past. Are these guys any more or less talented than a NASCAR driver? Don't get me wrong the NASCAR driver is a very skilled individual but why are they so recognized over their crew and car and if you said the jockey took a second seat to the horse it would more than polite. I think the Jockey is more important to winning the race than the NASCAR driver is. Disagree? THROWDOWN!!!!


Interesting..

I see horse racing as: The horse has the muscle, the stamina, the speed, well pretty much all the attributes to win a race...but it only needs direction and discipline from someone to make it use all its abilities... So IMO i'd say its 75% the horse's effort to win the race...

now

NASCAR drivers have a machine....and this machine is capable of doing all the things need be to win races....EXCEPT it NEEDS a driver to do operate all those components (switch gears, take turns, how hard to push the engine, ect) to actually win the race...as to wear the horse will already run, it knows what to do in a race, its runs fast on its own, and has been TRAINED to run races...as to wear a NASCAR... its just a car...it wont operate WITHOUT someone driving it....

So whats more important? someone who needs to operate EVERY aspect of the machine to win a race? or someone to motivate a horse to win...a NASCAR driver is more important to winning than a Jockey is to winning in horse racing. In the end the horse can run on its own, the car wont move without the driver...


First off; Nice, very nice.

The thing is the car is engineered to make the race. The horse is trained too but it's still a living entity and has a mind of its own. Not only does the Jockey have to know how to ride a horse fast; it has to be a horse physiologist. We have seen horses win spectacularly one race and than not want to run the next. The car is created for the sole purpose of racing and has no conscious or does it care about its surroundings.

The Jockey is never giving the respect for directing the raw energy of life. Driving a machine that is engineered to your style and a crew to check up on this machine that as been inspected after every run since its existence is not nearly as impressive to running a horse.

The horse is trained and trained very well in the bigger races just like the crew and car get better but the horse is still a living being. That gives it a much more of a variable than a car. Both have breakdowns but only one is a living being that the driver must control.


I will give the edge to horse racing when it comes to be alive creature...But the big reason they do not get recognition enough is becasue the fact that being a jockey is so demanding....in the aspect that they don't ride the same horse for many races in a row...in fact, there are no contracts set up with jockeys and trainers...just a word of promise...so with this being said Jockeys move from horse to horse and may race only a few times a month if that, and then the chances of winning are slim....on top of race puses being small and only 10% going to the wining jockey


On to Horse vs Car...If your driving the car there are many factors that still effect the out come even though the cars is set up for driver to...well...just drive...
The car needs to hug curves, no which ones to ride on the outside, or the inside, when to pass, drifting from other cars, and pit stops...this is all driver effected...and essential in winning

Popularity...the gods honest truth is no one cares who is riding the horse...and the sport isn't very attractive to most people

The majority of race car driving is driver impacted...horse racing as i mentioned has more impact form the horse rather the Jockey.


Car is far easier to handle than a horse. NASCAR guys are talented but they do something that we do everyday. Its all most like speed walking competitions. We all walk. they just to it longer and faster.

Racing a horse is a skill that takes something that we don't do as an everyday activity. To get a horse to slow down there is no brake or gas pedal. The Jockey has to get to know the horse and adapt himself to him where in racing the car comes custom to the driver. He will get guidelines on the car but he gets a lot of input on how the car will operate. Some horses sprint the whole race, others you hold back and let go at a specific time in the race.

The Jockey also has to be in athletic shape, more so than a NASCAR driver. If the Jockey puts on a few pounds it will affect the horses performance. In NASCAR you probably don't want to be carrying to much weight but its not a big deal if you gain a few pounds. The Jockey also needs to have strength to direct these animals. The Jockeys job is much more physical and they have to be outstanding shape to compete.


As far as the NASCAR being easier to handle i would beg to differ...greatly! That car is traveling at or around 180-190 MPH...have you ever gone a 100 in a car? It already shakes and with every little bump in the road feels like the car is hovering on the road and the falls back down, being very difficult to control...now add 30 other cars, with speeds of 180 and turns...and normal people dont do this task every day yet alone ever in their life

A horse to control maybe runs at 40 mph...and while it is a bumpy ride, jockeys train for many years to control the ride and horse...just like it takes many years to become a skilled driver

As far as NASCAR drivers being ins shape...your right, they could gain or lose pounds or be a little out of shape and it wont effect the race like a jockey, but at the same time it takes discipline to do it, the sit in cars that reach temperature above 100 degrees for hours...and that takes some sort of conditioning/good health

In the ends, its the HORSES talents, skills endurance and strength that is more important to winning a race rather the jockeys, and in NSCAR it is more driver impacted than car.

Jockey is not more important than a NSCAR driver.

Comments (15) Add A Comment

May 22, 2008  02:15 AM ET
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Good to see you pick it this up. Good Luck

May 22, 2008  02:15 AM ET
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And now I get good guy votes

May 22, 2008  02:29 AM ET
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thanks bucky...this should be good, you too

May 22, 2008  02:59 AM ET
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Need to crash. Finish up tomorrow.

May 22, 2008  03:08 AM ET
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me too

May 22, 2008  03:29 AM ET
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Good arguments both.

Jockey's used to be well known in when horse racing was king. Their name recognition has dwindled with the popularity of their sport - it just got passed up by technology and other sports - it is just not as fun watching an animal as it s to watch a high performance machine or human athlete.

May 22, 2008  03:51 AM ET
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Really like the TD title. Good one.

May 22, 2008  04:32 AM ET
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It's odd, but the last Jockey that I could name off the top of my head was Sandy Hawley. Of course, I haven't seen many horse races in over a decade and only really see Nascar on Sport show wrap ups.
I want to congratulate Buckey for coming up with this title. It is thought provoking and good for debate.
On to the recognition issue at hand.
As far as an actual "athlete," a jockey certainly is more of one than any race car driver!
The actual "race" outcome though, when comparing the two, a driver in fact, drives. Where as a jockey rides & guides.
The horse is the actual athlete and the greatest factor. The cars are all pretty much the same which is why the driver has so much control over the outcome.
A good Jockey is a factor in a horse race but not the major one. A driver is.
As Steveo mentions, albeit in a grammatical faux pas, a horse is in fact..."alive". Therefore the main attraction and only requires, some, direction.
I am leaning to the right, although I think both are providing a good debate on a this subject title.

May 22, 2008  09:09 AM ET
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good **** but i think that a driver is a little more important then a jockey, with that said i dont think just anyone could do either of the jobs. You still have to be very good at what you do.

May 22, 2008  09:35 AM ET
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Got to go with a driver.. he has to have more skills than a jockey. The driver has a much longer course and controls he car. He's wins are based on his talents. The jockey has to push but the horse is trained to lead and run.

May 22, 2008  09:46 AM ET
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Good thoughts. At the moment, a blind jockey would be able to at least finish a race since. A blind Nascar driver, I'm guessing, would not. They have thier similarities, I'll give you that, but the amount of skill involved really makes me lean toward the driver.

May 22, 2008  12:05 PM ET
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Got to be the Driver. Now, the real TD is between the Horse and the Car? That's a TD for you two guys to do.

May 22, 2008  12:05 PM ET
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I'd do it, but I don't wanna be called out for stealing material from you guys....which I would. I just don't wanna be called out.

May 22, 2008  03:55 PM ET
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if that was the case it would be the horse hands down....

 
May 22, 2008  06:55 PM ET
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Actually Steveo...it would be hands sideways...re horse measurement.

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