Never mind that if I’ll Have Another competed and won the Triple Crown here Saturday he would have beaten almost three times the number of rivals Citation did in 1948. Citation? The original “Big Red,” until the “Big Red” of Meadow Stable” came along, was considered the greatest American horse of the modern era.
Never mind that in 1978, Affirmed, notwithstanding his nemesis, Alydar, beat only 17 other rivals to become the last Triple Crown winner of 34 years. Hell, I’ll Have Another beat 19 rivals in this year’s Kentucky Derby alone.
Finally, never mind that all 11 Triple Crown winners ever had to beat more than seven rivals in the Test of the Champion. Had I’ll Have Another run and won, he would have beaten 11 rivals, 40 Triple Crown opponents in all.
All of the above can be construed as logical reasons why today’s Triple Crown series is harder to win than ever; numbers dictate. But there are many more reasons; some subtle, some not, and all worth considering:
Speed-laden commercial pedigrees; inherent unsoundness of popular sire lines; modern training philosophy; the hot-housing of yearlings, increased popularity of speed-crazy breeze-up sales; lack of juvenile foundation for the classics season, etc., ad nauseum.
When concerned individuals suggest that the duration of the series needs lengthening, two arguments heard most often is “five weeks” is what makes the accomplishment so difficult--so special; and that a lengthened series would cheapen the achievement of the predecessors.
A question, then, for all those making the degree of difficulty/historical context argument: Given the above factors, would a victory by I’ll Have Another on Saturday somehow have tarnished the accomplishments of the 11immortals?
Said the apple to the orange, of course not. The time for debating is over. Acknowledging reality and self-serving sanity is what’s needed now.
The tradeoff of stamina for speed has proven to be a mistake for the breed, not for the people who bred and sold them. Consider:
According to recently released Jockey Club statistics, field size in 1980 was approximately nine starters per race; halcyon 1950 levels. This likely reflected the surge in racing’s popularity coming off the Triple Crown binge of the ‘70s. That number dropped to eight last year.
In 1972, the average race horse had a career spanning over 10 lifetime starts. Last year, that number was a bit over six, meaning that despite all the medical and technological breakthroughs, lifetime career expectancy was lower by 40 percent lower, over the past 40 years ago. Coincidence? I think not.
The breed is far less durable; consider Citation’s Triple Crown season: Big Red raced four times in February and thrice in April. He won the Derby Trial on April 27 and the Derby four days later. He won the Preakness on May 15 and the Jersey Stakes two weeks later.
Between the Jersey Stakes on May 29 and the June 12 Belmont, Citation breezed a half-mile, worked a mile three days later and, three days after that six furlongs, one day before the Belmont. He went wire to wire and won by eight.
Citation obviously was a great race horse but also nothing more than flesh, blood and bone, strong bone. Name one American horse that could withstand that kind of training schedule in this era. Can’t think of one? Of course not; that Thoroughbred no longer exists.
Before the ink on the 2012 Belmont Stakes chart was dry, two respected members of the mainstream media used words like change, outlaw, inhumane. Like it or not, his is how the majority of the 85,000 people at Belmont Park Saturday, and the millions viewing on TV, still get their news.
Wrote Bob Ford in the Philadelphia Inquirer: "We see it every year in the Triple Crown chase. Horses break down, or they develop physical issues that lead to their retirement.
“It is too much to ask a 3-year-old, who are "little more than teenagers" in their development to run three hard races in just five weeks… At some point, the sport of horse racing has to make a change. Not because there will never be another Triple Crown winner. Some horse will beat the odds and get it done eventually…
“Enduring the three races in the span of five weeks is one thing. Preparing to do it and trying to recover between the races is just as sapping. As constituted for modern horses, the Triple Crown series is inhumane. It doesn't work."
Sally Jenkins, Washington Post: “It’s a good thing I’ll Have Another is such a celebrity. Otherwise that horse would be working right now. The most scrutinized trainer in thoroughbred racing was forced to withdraw the most famous horse in America from the Belmont.
"This is hardly proof that thoroughbred racing has cured its creeping moral sickness. It only proves that [trainer Doug O’Neill] knows he can’t take another major public scandal at the moment, and neither can his sport…
“We should be grateful that I’ll Have Another won’t be on the track at risk of a public breakdown... But somewhere, on another track, in a less publicized race, a sore-legged horse will run. About 800 horses die racing each year… That rate is intolerably high…
"Thoroughbred racing is at a moral junction, and it's time to decide whether it has any real worth, or needs to be outlawed."
Andrew Cohen Atlantic Monthly /60 Minutes: “In horse racing, everyone has an excuse. Everyone has an explanation. No one accepts responsibility. Regulators don't enforce the rules aggressively enough. And when they do the targets of their investigation whine about how unfair the rules are.
“A few weeks ago, for example, New York regulators suspended a harness racing trainer for nearly 1,700 pre-race medication violations. How did the industry react? Leading trainers were outraged-- at regulators…
“The question now is whether this fire will roar long enough, and generate enough financial and political and regulatory heat, to do any good for the sport. If not, it will be yet another wasted opportunity for the industry, another tragedy for its many purists…”
The industry should defend itself the best way it can, by all means. Believe it or not, this is a bigger issue than who’s right or who’s wrong. It’s not what we think that matters. Racing will live with its problems; has for the four decades I’ve covered the sport.
The ones who can’t live with it, right or wrong, are the public that only get interested a couple of days a year. Why should the industry care? Because it won’t be regulators who will shut the game down. It will be the public, with an assist from mainstream media, that will end it.
The time has come for the practitioners so fond of saying how the top priority is to “do what’s best for the horse,” make a concerted effort to show the general public and its loyal fans and bettors that it will practice what it preaches.
This isn’t like the Raceday Lasix issue replete with serious economic complications. This is an easy fix that will make headlines, the application of pen to calendar. Please, space the series out in a fashion that reflects today’s reality.
Racing is losing favor with Americans while also needing to compete with NBA and NHL championships? Then give the public what it wants and the horses what they need.
Link the Triple Crown series to the holidays and make it part of America’s fabric. Forever, the Kentucky Derby is the first Saturday of May. A little more than four weeks later, a Memorial Day weekend Preakness. Five weeks after that, the Belmont Stakes on the Fourth of July weekend, an event even without a Triple Crown on the line.
The value of good will and added favorable publicity attendant to an elongated schedule is priceless. Racing needs to show people that it truly cares in a big, headline grabbing way. It must show, in terms the public can understand, that it's willing to alter tradition by doing what's best for young, present day Thoroughbreds.
Half measures won't work; it's far too late for that.
11 Jun 2012 at 07:29 pm | #
JP,
Contrarian that I am, I have to take Satuday’s full grandstand as an indication that 3 races in 5 weeks is what the public clearly wants.
So rather than tweak dates, distances, and/or destinations, maybe we should figure out a way to make sure ALL participants in the Preakness and Belmont also raced on Derby and Preakness days, respectively, at the same distances, if not necessarily at the same tracks.
Of course the same eligibility rules would apply, but so would equal rest. They could run the Swaps at its old 10 furlong distance at HOL on KY Derby day and run the Pegaus at 9.5 furlongs at MTH on Preakness day, or perhaps purists would prefer similar undercard events at CD amd PIM.
Of course, they’d also have to bring back the TC bonus as well. Maybe more really is more.
11 Jun 2012 at 10:29 pm | #
I, this is about the overall welfare of the horses and the game’s future if and when the next disaster comes.
Point two, curious to see how many people go to Belmont next Saturday.
Third, the Preakness will always be past up by serious horses more interested in getting the five weeks between starts.
Finally, I thought I was taking a contrarian view. You don’t have to agree but I didn’t take you for a status quo kinda’ guy.
JP
12 Jun 2012 at 03:26 am | #
If you pick up today’s racing form, you will find that most horses run 3 times within 35 days (especially at the lower levels), many of them, more than once in their careers. If the reason you opine we should spread out the Triple Crown races is for the best interest of the horse, you most certainly are correct, but you then must believe that horses should not be permitted to run 3 times within 35 days, which happens all the time. This is obviously because when horses run, they make money; owners and trainers are not impervious to this “throw away society,” and they want to make as much as they can, as fast as they can. Persons who invest in the game would not survive if their horses do not run, as room and board and training fees accrue on a daily basis. So, to do so, for the Triple Crown races, to hoodwink the public, is a sham (forgive me Secretariat). Your heart is in the right place JP. I often ask myself how I can be involved in a sport where men strike animals and cause them pain, and keep them in a stall 23 hours a day, but I am involved, and I love it so. What a dilemma. Would I ban whips if it was within my power; certainly, and rather than the mindless arguments that they are necessary for controlling the animal, there would be iron-clad rules regarding race riding tactics; would I enlarge each stall by a factor of 10, of course, but we all know that is not economically feasible either. I won’t even begin to speak of gelding, although my life perhaps would have been better had this been done to me. So, in closing, perhaps, sadly, it is an inhumane sport that should be banned, and I am in inhumane man for being associated with it. We will all answer to God in the final analysis. This is an open forum, and these are my thoughts, at the risk of once again being attacked and told that what I write is pure drivel. And the drivel goes on....
TTT
12 Jun 2012 at 06:34 am | #
Preach, fellow drivelers and horseracing fans on the roof, you know I love ya!
TRADITION! TRADITION! TRADITION!
TRADITION! TRADITION! TRADITION!
Don’t bring the WRECKING BALL down on our beloved Triple Crown. It’s the only way to measure the great’s of past and present. Winning the TC is supposed to be hard. Remember there was no winner in 25 years before Secretariat.
30 years ago Conquistador Cielo won the Met Mile and 5 days later the Belmont Stakes. Horses can have speed, distance and durability. Just try eliminating LASIX!
In all other countries horses run without lasix. The fields are big and they run more. Lasix use takes it’s toll on the horses ability to recover from a race. Who knows what it does to the genes past along in breeding. Can we see what the results of no lasix this year for 2 year olds in the Breeders Cup can do for next years Triple Crown first?
HAVE I MENTIONED YET THAT THE TOTAL ATTENDANCE RECORD FOR THIS YEARS TRIPLE CROWN WAS SET? DON’T FIX WHAT’S NOT BROKEN!
and the drivel, beat and greatest game ever invented for traditionalist’s goes on…
I was raised out of steel here in the swamps of Jersey, some misty years ago
Through the mud and the beer, and the blood and the cheers, I’ve seen champions come and go
So if you’ve got the guts mister, yeah if you got the balls
If you think it’s your time, then step to the line, and bring on your wrecking ball…
12 Jun 2012 at 08:22 am | #
OK, I’ll try this again. This is about SURVIVAL; horse and game alike.
T, first of all, whips are needed for guiding, for the safety of the horse and rider. Ban the uses; not the whip, or improve the whips vis a vis the animal, as has been done and will continue.
At any venue other than “the good horse circuit,” and even there in many cases, horses often are asked to run 3 times within 35. but not at the highest levels.
Sorry, but economics don’t wash for everthing. I was an active owner for about six months; still have a license. Was fortunate to make a few bucks after expenses but am now on the sidelines because I can’t invest enough money to do it right.
You actually need more than one horse--some leverage--to give you the best chance to survive. I can’t afford that now, so I sit it out until I can. Right now, my best chance to win is leasing--one minute and 10 seconds at a time!
Cat, anyone who knows me knows I’m an old school tradtionalist. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Triple Crown. But I love the animals and the game more. Let’s all try to understand this. The fans--and not even the government--will be the oness that close the whole thing down. It will be people who never heard the name Secretariat who will do it, people who love their dogs and cats and go to church on Sundays, that will do it.
The only thing I’m sure of is that, in this country, it’s perception and politics that rule. In that context, and in a time when American jobs are in roreign countries and one can’t find a live person to answer the phone, tradition is not enough.
Those of us who love the game must think things like this through. We can control our future from within, but not our fate from without.
Thanks all..JP
12 Jun 2012 at 09:40 am | #
Thoroughbred horses are bred because they were BORN TO RUN!
While 99% of them are very well taken cared of during and after their racing life, there will always be the doubters to why we race and breed them. As a supporter, my question is why do we have to inject man made drugs to keep them running? We never did in the past and other countries don’t.
As for spacing the TC to Memorial Day and 4th of July. Memorial Day already has the Indy 500. The 4th of July is a big family vacation week, family barbicue day and fireworks day. You will lose the casual horseracing fan and possible newbies on these holidays. Besides by spacing the TC through 4th of July, when do you run the Haskell and Travers? Proper spacing would now require the Haskell on Labor Day and the Travers on Columbus Day. What happens to the Swaps, Jim Dandy, Ohio Derby, Pennsylvania Derby etc? The whole concept of Saratoga and the mid summer Derby is now lost.
The great Charlie Whittingham once said “horses are like strawberries, they can go bad overnight”. It was unfortunate what happenned to I’ll Have Another, but let’s not tinker with the TC spacing after an exciting series this year. The TV ratings, handle and attendance were up.
How about trying to improve the gene pool and body strength of the horses we care and love for naturally. Instead of dealing with the side effects caused by man made drugs. If we can’t breed them to race on oats, hay, carrots and water only, then stop breeding them for selfish reasons alltogether.
and the beat goes on…
The highways jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive
Everybodys out on the run tonight but there’s no place left to hide....
12 Jun 2012 at 01:07 pm | #
JRP,
The wave crested a couple of years ago on proposals like yours.
The complaint quotes you cited would better be stilled by cutting the breakdown rate for all Thoroughbreds in half. If a horse survives the Derby, their chance of injury in the Preakness or Belmont declines. As Casey used to say, you can look it up.
From the dozen dual winners going into the Belmont since 1978, 5 of them could have won with a tiny turn of fortune (Bid, Pleasant Colony, Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Smarty Jones). And 3 of those were jockey error.
As I said in my most recent column, any of them winning would have been the equine equivalent of Bill Buckner fielding a routine ground ball. The notion winning the Triple Crown has become impossible is silly.
12 Jun 2012 at 01:38 pm | #
JP,
I guess I didn’t make the point clearly enough that since last Saturday was Belmont day, those filling the stands that day were endorsing the scheduling of the 3 TC races within a 5 week period.
Perhaps today’s average TC participant would be better off with more spacing between races, but what about tomorrow’s? I was trying to make the point that the existing spacing is an integral part of the test, and that changes to breeding and medication are preferable to changing the test.
In the meantime, if we can’t make the test less demanding, perhaps we could at least make it fairer. I’m still advocating graded points based eligibility over earnings, smaller Derby fields, and elimination of the rail post position when both starting gates are used.
Adding the requirement that no horse could run in the Preakness without having run against other 3YOs at 10 furlongs two weeks earlier—and the Belmont without similarly competing at 9.5 furlongs three weeks earlier; and 10 furlongs five weeks earlier – would encourage breeding for soundness as well as stamina besides offering additional opportunities for horses possessing such traits.
That’s not what I’d call supporting the status quo, but let’s remember that there’s some good as well as bad to the status quo, and some valued traditions should not be lost – especially the ability to compare the accomplishments of each 3YO crop with those of prior champions without the use of asterisks.
IMO taking away the TC as won by Secretariat would end the game faster than church-going pet-lovers. As the soundness of today’s horses has been reduced, so has the attention span of today’s fans. Maybe doubling the TC’s 5-week duration can maintain fan interest, but I doubt the sport could handle increased scrutiny of contender connections and training regimens. I suspect the real beneficiaries would be those selling clocker reports.
Presumably, we all love the horse and the game, but every time we buy a pari-mutuel or racetrack admissions ticket, we tacitly reinforce the game’s priority.
Reliance on perception rather than reality is gaining practitioners among racing’s supporters as well as its opposition. The way to combat the variance is uniformity, consistency, and transparency through centralized authority; not by extending TC race spacing.
Cat,
Do you have a source for that 99% figure? If it’s accurate, why is horse slaughter returning here?
12 Jun 2012 at 01:59 pm | #
Cat, NASCAR popularity, yes. But Indy cars? And I did say weekends so you can avoid conflicts. And during or after hot dogs and hamburgers and before sundown and fireworks, let’s watch an important American horse race?
Nick, so you think the idea of spacing out the TC is no longer trendy, or just a bad idea? Either noton I personally reject, but that’s what makes a horse race, right?
OK, here’s two stupid examples: In my “Winners Circle” segment on Fox Sports 980 the morning the IHA scratch story broke, a caller wanted to know if it was because all the drugs the trainer had been giving it. On Monday morning, my betting partner was approached by a c-worker who knew he was a racing fan and said she knew the reason why: The FBI is investigating the matter and they called Doug O’Neill and told him not to run his horse.
While the phone caller made the wrong assumption and the co-worker the probable founder of that online conspiracy website, even Tony Kornheiser, a smart and reasonable man who happens to like horse racing and actually knows something about it, also put forth a conspiracy notion on his “Pardon The Interruption” program.
My question is: Am I completely paranoid, or is everyone else in denial?
The racing-freshening windows for IHA since the 2011 Hopeful was 5 months, 2 months, 1 month, two weeks, retirement. As Escalante might say: “Oh, what a surprise.”
Let me repeat, again, and again: This is about the survival of the modern day race horse and the sport; nothing more, nothing less in my view. It’s not just about making the Preakness and Belmont all they can be; although that certainly would be a desirable by-product.
Putting pen to paper is a lot easier than waiting 20 years and longer for stamina and soundness to be bred back into our race horses.
Change is inevitable; it can come proactively or it can come like a thief in the night.
12 Jun 2012 at 02:36 pm | #
JRP,
Your most recent comment illustrates the notion we need to cut the entire breed’s injury rate, as well as stiffen medication rules and penalties.
Those conspiracy theorists didn’t develop them because of the Triple Crown, but because the daily game has been tainted by the status quo.
12 Jun 2012 at 02:42 pm | #
I agree with spacing the races further apart. Besides the added time for horses, it shortens the time gap between the TC and Saratoga.
There’s very little happening between now and then. All the trainers talk about for the next start is either the Haskell or Jim Dandy.
I agree with Cat on getting rid of Lasix. Not only for the horses sake, but, public perception is important if the game is to survive and prosper.
12 Jun 2012 at 03:32 pm | #
Preach, Believe it or not the Indy 500 is bigger than the Daytona 500.
From wiki “The Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is held annually over the Memorial Day weekend, the last full weekend in May, as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered one of the three most significant motorsports events in the world. The official attendance is not disclosed by Speedway management, but the permanent seating capacity is more than 257,000 people, and infield seating raises capacity to an approximate 400,000.”
Indulto, I don’t have a 99% source and have not heard about horse slaughter returning here. I’m just going by what a majority of owners have said in the media. Are there bad apples in the bunch? YES. Would I take good care of a horse that I invested thousands or millions for? Yes.
Denny M.....Tiger fan? Thanks for agreeing with me on lasix. The ultimate SURVIVAL of the game, lies on the health of it’s most important participant, the horses.
12 Jun 2012 at 04:41 pm | #
Indulto writes: “The way to combat the variance is uniformity, consistency, and transparency through centralized authority; not by extending TC race spacing.”
I could not agree more!! The game does need uniformity, consistency and transparency through centralized authority.
Uniformity is a possibility, but would require consensus between tracks, agencies and regulators in 38 states. What are the chances?
Consistency? Doubtful, these are human beings we’re talking about. And regulators, generally state-appointed agents, know little about the sport or the horses. Hard to have confidence, there.
Transparency? Only now is that starting to happen, mostly in New York, and mostly because of its no-nonsense governor. I promise to look for other examples; that shouldn’t take too long.
Centralized authority. The only real chance for centralized authority, given the lack of meaningful cooperation between the 38 aforementioned states, is a federal takeover and the appointment of a modern day Judge Landis.
There is no one in charge, and organizations that could step forward and lead, haven’t. Moving a few dates for the good of the horses and the general public can actually be accomplished a lot easier, given current reality.
Make the Haskell a week later. Same thing with the Travers.
Why shouldn’t the Travers be a Labor Day weekend happening, continuing the theme above? Oh, that’s right, that’s when children and the summer help go back to school. Well, there should be enough unemployed people that would be willing to work the Saratoga meeting. But you’d probably have to pay them a little more than your average teenager.
[As for competition from the Indy 500, I prefer that competition to the NBA & NHL finals].
Tradition? How will everyone react when CHurchill Downs finally decides to run the Derby under the lights? Don’t think that’s coming?
Cat, how about a few bars from Jim Morrison? I’m a changling…
12 Jun 2012 at 07:32 pm | #
Preach, love the Doors, I’m willing to change, change, change the spacing of TC if I thought it would help the game or health of the horses. Hmmmm change? It must be an election year.
Like I said, the spacing like it is, is successful as far as attendance, handle and TV ratings. It may or may not be with change. The spacing that you and others have proposed will have the Travers and Haskell competing against each other for the best horses since you can only run one in the summer with 5 week spacing. I also could see another track trying with a big purse incentive luring the Ky. Derby winner before the Preakness or Belmont, ala Spend A Buck.
Whether we agree or not, is not important. The passion we show for the good of the sports survival is. Keep the discussion going. In a small way we all have to be THE EYES OF THE WORLD!
You either get it, or you don’t, it’s hard to change peoples perspective. What do I know, I’m just a horseracing, sports and music junkie.
Right outside this lazy summer home
you don’t have time to call your soul a critic, no
Right outside the lazy gate of winter’s summer home
wondering where the nut-thatch winters
Wings a mile long just carried the bird away
Wake up to find out
that you are the eyes of the world
but the heart has its beaches
its homeland and thoughts of its own
Wake now, discover that you
are the song that the morning brings
but the heart has its seasons
its evenings and songs of its own
There comes a redeemer
and he slowly too fades away
There follows a wagon behind him
that’s loaded with clay
and the seeds that were silent
all burst into bloom and decay
The night comes so quiet
and it’s close on the heels of the day
Wake up to find out
that you are the eyes of the world
but the heart has its beaches
its homeland and thoughts of its own
Wake now, discover that you
are the song that the morning brings
but the heart has its seasons
its evenings and songs of its own
Sometimes we live no
particular way but our own
Sometimes we visit your country
and live in your home
Sometimes we ride on your horses
Sometimes we walk alone
Sometimes the songs that we hear
are just songs of our own
Wake up to find out
that you are the eyes of the world
but the heart has its beaches
its homeland and thoughts of its own
Wake now, discover that you
are the song that the morning brings
but the heart has its seasons
its evenings and songs of its own…
12 Jun 2012 at 07:43 pm | #
John:
If I may digress, After attending some 30 odd Belmonts over the years, it is still exhilirating to be in the full stands with so many novices. I don’t believe that I have ever seen so many young women wearing dresses and hats in the 3rd floor grandstand. If we’re quoting old songs, there is clearly something happening here but what it is ain’t exactly clear!
New York is and has always been a big event town. Moreover, the mere possibilty of a TC winner enervated a very large segment of the Sporting Crowd. But if we can draw 85,000 without IHA’s participation, there must be a huge reservoir of good will extant somewhere in the non horse racing fan populace. We see it at keeneland, Saratoga, Del mar and on the TC days. Thus, why do we have to change what’s clearly working? I don’t think we do. What we do have to change is the rest of the racing calendar that is an anachronism left from the 20th century. We absolutely need to end the bleak, dreary winter that was created by the introduction of the inner track. I think that Tolstoy himself would not be able to find any redeeming value from the long Aqueduct winter!
Also, its time to really integrate the long TC prep season into the TC events and beyond. Instead of extending the long TC season, why can’t we focus on the other end. I think that the BC Juvenile has done more to harm the TC season than anything else. This current crop was an aberration insofar as the BC contestants returned for semi-succesful 3 yo campaigns. We have to de-emphasize 2 yo racing, especially those races-BC and Delta Jackpot come to mind-that completely skew the 3 yo prep season. For that matter, there are now too many Spring prep races; and their purses are equivalent to the actual TC races. The TC races should have purses commensurate with their exalted status in the Thoroughbred World, and we should have a bonus system in place for both winning the TC and for the most “points” in running in all 3 races. Finally, we need to tie in the TC races with the big Handicap races of the following season. I was shocked to see that Shackleford was the first horse since Carry Back to win the Preakness and the Metropolitan. We have to incentivize the owners to keep their horses in training. For far too long, the Breeders’ money has ruled the roost.
12 Jun 2012 at 11:35 pm | #
Hi, John. No opinion (other than to warn off readers on Jenkins, whose FunnyCide book wouldn’t survive a 10X watered down NYC 3rd grade English exam).
Suggestion: Is it possible for the HRI to send out electronic alerts to us? I keep missing the boat when you and your other contributors post columns, etc.
Thanks!
P.S. Lost all but $14 of my Belmont Stakes dough. Have inexplicably recovered a good chunk of it.
Science is powerless to explain the trend.
Supernatural explanation is looking better and better, especially after the jockey on the fave tonight at Mountaineer came out of the gate and fell off his horse, opening the way for my pick, in turn, to win by - gasp! - ten lengths.
If you’re a Jack Paar fan (or were), dial up New York Social Diary (Google for electronic connection) for the obituary of his daughter, Randy.
It is Pulitzer prize-level writing. And we don’t have to trim an eighth of a mile off it, either.
13 Jun 2012 at 07:32 am | #
Framarco,
This game IS special and the events are what’s saving us. Won’t make any speeches about too much racing, ya-da. But 3rd floor GRANDSTAND. Very impressive that fans and revelers want to treat a day at the Belmont like an important event--even if they don’t show up until Saratoga, or the Breeders’ Cup or…
Don, thanks for the tip. I will send your comment to my webperson and see if we can make something happen along those lines.
Cat,
You’re right. It matters not that we might disagree on spacing but that we’re trying to work toward a greater good. That means macro view, that means long term, not short. And like I said, vis a vis the TC, what happens to tradition when the Derby is run under the lights?
As far as Haskell and Travers are concerned, they always will compete for horses but at 9F, horses can prep in the Haskell for 10F Travers. And the way it goes, and likely always will, is that the Derby/Preakness runners eye the Haskell as the next goal; horses coming out of the Belmont think Travers. It’s all a distance thing.
Moving both races back a week would hurt neither. And I never understood why a Travers weekend didn’t conclude Saratoga and not that buzz-less, energy-less final week.
I plead ignorance on your transcription; please illuminate.
Thanks all!
JP
13 Jun 2012 at 08:43 am | #
With respect to the whip “guiding” horses, the whip has caused more problems than it has helped. One crack of the whip can and does send horses over the rail or caromming off another animal; is that safety? The reason the whip is used is to get the most out of a horse. Horses can and are trained to change leads and direction without the use of a whip. It’s a good cover argument for the animal abuse people, but it does not fly with me.
Same kinds of arguments are used for those who love to drug their horses with anti-bleeding medication. Keeps the publics eye off what really is going on, and why.
Stop the drugs now. Run sound horses; whether it is with 3 days rest or 300; drugging them does not make them healthy; it destroys them.
TTT
13 Jun 2012 at 10:15 am | #
Preach, sorry, allow me to illuminate my take of the Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia lyrics song by the Grateful Dead THE EYES OF THE WORLD as it may relate to horseracing and life itself.
In simple terms it refers to self awareness, change for the better, coming together and openning your eyes to what’s going on around our world.
The horseracing community which includes; owners, trainers, grooms, track employees, media and horseplayers/fans etc. are all responsible for the thoroughbred race horse’s well being. That the horses are well taken care of before, during and after their race careers. That means a home after racing and not the slaughter house. That means tending to injuries properly. That means looking into the harmful effects of lasix or any man made drug for the sole purpose of getting onto a racetrack. It could mean race spacing which you suggested. It could mean overbreeding or too much racing.
It’s all part of the sports survival. Like I said earlier, I believe the majority of horses are very well taken care of. Are there bad apples like what happenned at the Paraneck farm, yes. We just need to keep aware that the sport stays on the right track. We are all the eyes of the world.
13 Jun 2012 at 12:27 pm | #
Charasmatic broke down, Big Brown did not finish, Smarty Jones never raced again, Barbaro didnt make it, I’ll Have Another retired the day before.
If Smarty Jones ramained sound and went on to race in the Pennsylvania Derby, Parx would have had a record crowd. I’ll Have Another could have breathed life into Hollywood Park and Del Mar. These injuries REALLY hurt racing.
I agree with Pricci
13 Jun 2012 at 12:45 pm | #
JP,
While I agree the races could be spaced further apart, the added time probably wouldn’t make much difference with how fast they run.
Union Rags ran in about the same time as Twice A Prince.
I know the track was cuppy (according to Romans) and tiring, but c’mon, these horses today seem to hit a wall after going a mile or more.
The Beyer came up a 96 (Redeemed got 105 the day before) and the track bias did change on Saturday with closers being able to finish well as opposed to the previous 3 days where speed held extremely well.
DM
13 Jun 2012 at 02:04 pm | #
Preach,
I love your idea of making the TC races an American holiday event. For the most part I am a traditionalist, but there comes a time when you have to make changes. The TC races have become hyped up to the point where other Grade 1 races such as FL & Santa Anita Derbys have lost there luster & winning them is almost considered unimportant; getting to the Derby in good shape trumps winning. By adding a month to the schedule it gives today’s horses & trainers a better chance of surviving the gruling demands of the TC. I do not think it’s a good thing for racing to say 34 years & no TC winner. At least the extra month would give us a fighter’s chance of seeing a TC winner as well as having a greater number of 3 year olds compete in all 3 legs. Keep up the good fight.
15 Jun 2012 at 11:52 pm | #
Not only do I not agree with you about tinkering with the triple crown, I regret to inform you that Man O War was the original “Big Red” not Citation(who was a bay not a chestnut). Other than those two small errors it was a good article.....
19 Jun 2012 at 05:36 am | #
Can we agree that we don’t need 20 horses in the gate the 1st Saturday in May? The pretenders only cause the contenders trouble in a race they don’t belong in. As for having a fresh horse to run the TC, I think IHA proved he was fresh and fit, and that was because of his connections plan.