2012 Breeders' Cup - Can The Streak Continue?

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Thank you.

Now, where was I?

Oh yes; The Breeders' Cup is now just hours away; and while others ponder such questions as "Which juvenile filly will remain undefeated?"; "Can Shackelford handle two turns?"; "How will Animal Kingdom run after an eight and a half month layoff?"; "Will Dullahan smoke the California grass?"; there is just one question on my mind:

"What mess will Johnny V be in the middle of this year?"

Hall of Fame Jockey John Velazquez has had many successes throughout his career, including in Breeders' Cup events; indeed, he has twice won the Bill Shoemaker Award as Outstanding Breeders' Cup jockey.  But over the past several years, Johnny V has managed to find himself a major part of some, shall we say, rather interesting situations during the two days of Breeders' Cup races.

In 2009, Velazquez was on board Quality Road for the Breeders' Cup Classic when the Florida Derby winner became fractious, spending five minutes outside the gate refusing to load.  They finally did get Quality Road loaded, only to have him injure himself inside the gate, thus having to be scratched.

In 2010. Velazquez was the jockey on Life At Ten in the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic.  Velazquez noticed that the winner of the Beldame Stakes was not warming up properly.  So does Velazquez report this information to the racing commission veterinarians? No.  Does he let the Churchill Downs stewards know?  No.  Velazquez does, however, tell former jockey and ESPN analyst Jerry Bailey live on the air that Life At Ten was not ready to race, thus alerting millions of viewers (and off-track bettors) to the fact that the second choice on the board was about to run a subpar effort.  Velazquez would be fined ten grand for his actions, and new policies would be enacted because of what shall forevermore be known as "The Life At Ten Incident."

Last year, 2011, Johnny V wasn't waiting for the Breeders' Cup races to find himself in the midst of a controversy.  In Race 2 on Breeders' Cup Friday at Churchill Downs, Velazquez, using a move some would say perfected by his agent and mentor, Angel Cordero, Jr, whips an opposing horse in the stretch, thus causing his mount, Congo, to be disqualified after crossing the finish line first.

So, can Johnny V keep the streak alive?  And, if so, what mess will he find himself in the middle of this year?

Peace and Love,

Jimbo