We have all heard this law over the years, “if anything can go wrong it will go wrong.” It was a US Air Force Captain Ed Murphy who coined that statement and some feel he could have been referring to a horse race. You can spend a lot of time studying the jockeys, the form and comparing weights before you pick your choice of horse. You place your bet and sit back waiting for the race and just when you think you have it made, Murhpy’s Law shows us.
Many things can go wrong during a horse race. Horses are creatures of temperment and some have trouble just getting into the starting position. The jockeys have their hands full keeping their ride in place waiting for the bell. There have been horses that just refuse to race which creates many last minute bets if he decides to co-operate.
But it is not just the horse that can have problems as jockeys too can have bad days. A horse can be disqualified for something that the jockey did like when the famous Willie Shoemaker showed in 1957. He thought a track side post was the finishing post and as he stood in his stirrups as a sign of being the winner, he was passed by Iron Liege who was the real winner.