POST-RACE footage of shock Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike biting a man and rival horse has been defended by the 80-1 hero’s trainer.
Eric Reed said Rich Strike was still in ‘killer mode’ when he tried to eat outrider Greg Blasi and his horse.
Rich Strike chomping leg. pic.twitter.com/uZIuBUT9yf
— gordon keith (@gordonkeith) May 9, 2022
Rich Strike was seen trying to bite a lead-up pony before the race as well
The three-year-old colt was filmed mauling Blasi’s leg and trying to take a chunk out of the other horse moments after victory.
Blasi’s job was to get Rich Strike to calm down so winning jockey Sonny Leon could do TV interviews while still in the saddle.
But he was shown having an almighty tussle with the Derby winner, who repeatedly tried to bite the pony Blasi was riding.
Reed has defended Blasi’s forthright actions after they were met with some criticism on social media.
And he insisted Churchill Downs’ most senior outrider actually stopped his horse from getting injured in the chaos of victory.
Addressing the shocking post-race incident, Reed said: “I want to clear that up.
“The outrider’s job at the end of the race is to help get the leading horse slowed down, and take him around and let him do the interviews.
“Well, Richie, he was in ‘killer mode,’ he was gonna outrun every horse on the track.
“He had not had a horse, after the finish line, come over to him.
“So when he saw that pony coming his way, he thought he had another horse to beat and he was trying to run by it.
“The man did his job. He reached out and grabbed hold of the horse and it made the horse mad.
“He didn’t know that he was trying to help him, he thought he was supposed to outrun that horse, and he bit the guy’s leg terribly.
“He bit his arm, a couple really bad bites.
“The horse is not a mean horse, he just was in race mode and he didn’t understand why they were grabbing him to slow him down.
“That man saved my horse from injury, because had he got up in the air and lost my rider, he could have gotten loose.
“I’m sorry for the injuries he sustained.”
Rich Strike was shown relaxing in the calm of his home yard in the days after last Saturday’s miraculous victory.
And in truth, it could have been worse.
Spare a thought for Mattress Mack.
One of the worlds biggest punters, he watched on in horror as his £1.2million bet on favourite Epicenter went up in flames.
The horse came second after Rich Strike’s lightning move through the field secured his place in history and a cheque for £1.3million for his connections.
