Respect for all.
This is the new name given to the owner of the gelding Uncle Mo, Lawrence Roman, who claimed $ 25,000 in the first race on Friday at the Aqueduct race track in Ozone Park, NY
Created by Southern Equine Stables LLC, the 3-year-old won the race, his debut, under the name of Grape Soda, to owner Cypress Creek Equine and trainer Eric Guillot.
After the race, an outcry on social media referred to a previous tweet from Guillot, showing that he gave the horse its original name – which can be interpreted as an offensive racial stereotype – in “tribute” to a TVG analyst that he since then he admitted to being Ken Rudulph, who is black. The Tweet included a black fist emoji.
Guillot falsely claimed on Twitter after the race that he named the horse “my favorite drink when I was a boy”.
By this time, Rudulph had already called Guillot on Twitter, saying: “The winner of race # 1 at the Aqueduct is the perfect example of my problem with horse racing. The winning coach is a disgusting and racist man. But, if you want to make money in this game, you must be able to ignore these things. I can not do this. But keep your $ 11. “
Guillot has posted biased or racist comments in the past, including a tweet in August 2020 saying he named another horse “Uncle Ken’s Shack”, an obvious reference to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel about slavery. When asked, Guillot said he did not remember the Tweet.
On Saturday morning, the Jockey Club issued the following statement: “The Jockey Club was notified yesterday that the name Grape Soda, which was approved for a 2018 gelding, was potentially offensive. After review, we confirm that the name is not eligible under Rule 6.F.11. of Main rules and requirements of The American Stud Book, and we started the name change process in consultation with the current owner, which should be completed as soon as possible. “
In the early afternoon, the new owner of the horse, Roman, said Daily race formDavid Grening said the name Respect for All has been approved by The Jockey Club and will donate 10% of the gelding horse’s future earnings to the Backstretch Employee Service Team on the New York Racing Association tracks. Within hours, the name change was reflected in Equibase, the industry’s official database.
But the ripple effects have just begun.
David O’Rourke, president and CEO of the New York Racing Association, issued the following statement: “Racism is completely unacceptable in all ways. The NYRA rejects Eric Guillot’s toxic words and divisive behavior in the strongest terms. At this time, he will no longer be allowed to ride horses on any NYRA track, nor will he be allocated to stalls on NYRA premises. In addition, we will review what additional steps may be available to us. Our running community is diverse and we advocate inclusion ”.
Rudulph’s employer, TVG, took his Guillot ban a step further, saying he would not televise any race that Guillot is participating in.
“TVG commends the NYRA for acting quickly on the matter involving Eric Guillot,” said a company statement. “There is simply no place for racism in society and we condemn his behavior, a deliberate attempt to slander one of our employees, in the strongest terms. Our network will no longer broadcast races in which he has an entry. We also praise the new owner, Larry Roman, for changing the horse’s name. We will continue to work to make racing more inclusive and attract a new generation of fans to the sport ”.
The Stronach Group and 1 / ST Racing’s chief operating officer, Aidan Butler, also said that Guillot would not be welcome on the company’s tracks in California, Maryland or Florida.
“1 / ST Racing is firmly against trainer Eric Guillot’s unforgivable actions,” said Butler. “There is no place in the sport of the thoroughbred race for racism in any form. Our company will not tolerate the use of hateful or divisive language or behavior.
“1 / ST Racing fully agrees with the New York Racing Association’s decision to ban Mr. Guillot from competing and will do the same,” added Butler. “Sir. Guillot is no longer welcome on any 1 / ST RACING track.”
Guillot, who debuted with nine runners in 2020 and 19 in the previous year, posted a video on Twitter on Saturday saying he has retired from training. Licensed since 1991, Guillot has won 259 races in 2,348 games. He won 19 graduated stakes, the most recent coming in 2016 with Laoban at Jim Dandy G2 Stakes in Saratoga.
When contacted by the Paulick Report, Guillot said the whole matter was exaggerated, saying that nothing would have happened if the horse had finished second in Friday’s race.
“I did nothing wrong,” said Guillot, who insisted that he is not racist.
When asked why he gave the horse that specific name and said it was “in honor” of TVG’s Rudulph, Guillot said: “I was just playing with him. It was not done in a harmful way.
“I didn’t do anything wrong, but to be a regular comedian, and my skin is a little too pale to play about grape sodas, that’s all,” said Guillot. “If Chris Rock or David Chappelle had said that, it would be fine.”
Guillot started to blame Rudulph for starting a feud with him, calling him “pompous” and “the most privileged black man I know. … He plays the 180 degree Black Lives Matter racist card and is as condescending as you can imagine. It has nothing to do with me being racist. This is what he wanted; I just fed the fire, that’s what I did. “
Rudulph declined to comment.
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