THE DECLINE AND THE FALL
Sept 30, 2017 9:53:21 GMT -5
Post by Evelyn on Sept 30, 2017 9:53:21 GMT -5
I'm not a fan of the BC these days. And I agree - for once - with Finley! The BC has definitely hurt Fall racing - especially what were great races like the Jockey Gold Cup.
Thoughts?
OP/ED: THE DECLINE AND THE FALL
TDN
Bill Finley
There are stakes races galore being run at Belmont and Santa
Anita this weekend, the unofficial beginning of prep season for
the Breeders' Cup. The fall months have traditionally been great
timesfor the sport. There are events with everything, history,
big purses, famous venues. Everything, this year, that is, but
racing's biggest stars.
Eight Grade I races will be contested Saturday, three at
Belmont, five at Santa Anita. Across North America, 18 graded
stakes races will be run this weekend. There's a lot of money out
there and that's a lot of stakes races, yet not one horse currently
ranked among the top 10 in the NTRA's weekly poll will be
racing this weekend. To find a horse on the NTRA list that will be
competing, you have to go all the way down to No. 18, Oscar
Performance (Kitten's Joy), a starter in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf
Classic at Belmont.
The historic GI Jockey Club Gold Cup will highlight the Oct. 7
card at Belmont. It looks like it's going to be a small field, with
only one Grade I winner taking part, Keen Ice (Curlin).
There's no need to explain what is happening here, but here
goes: The Breeders' Cup has become such an important goal for
owners, trainers and breedersthat races like the GI Beldame,
the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the GI Awesome Again, the Joe Hirsch
and so many others have become almost meaningless.
.....................
The pattern has been developing for years, yet it has gone to a
new level in 2017. Very few trainers are willing to run their top
horses in the Breeders' Cup without giving them several weeks
off beforehand. Should this year's assemblage of "layoff horses"
dominate the Breeders' Cup it will only encourage more people
to sit out the major fall events. The fall preps are falling apart.
That's a shame. These are great races and none more so than
the Jockey Club Gold Cup, which was the Breeders' Cup Classic
before there was a Breeders' Cup Classic. October, once one of
the most exciting months of the year in the sport, is turning into
just another page on the calendar.
full article @ TDN
Thoughts?
OP/ED: THE DECLINE AND THE FALL
TDN
Bill Finley
There are stakes races galore being run at Belmont and Santa
Anita this weekend, the unofficial beginning of prep season for
the Breeders' Cup. The fall months have traditionally been great
timesfor the sport. There are events with everything, history,
big purses, famous venues. Everything, this year, that is, but
racing's biggest stars.
Eight Grade I races will be contested Saturday, three at
Belmont, five at Santa Anita. Across North America, 18 graded
stakes races will be run this weekend. There's a lot of money out
there and that's a lot of stakes races, yet not one horse currently
ranked among the top 10 in the NTRA's weekly poll will be
racing this weekend. To find a horse on the NTRA list that will be
competing, you have to go all the way down to No. 18, Oscar
Performance (Kitten's Joy), a starter in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf
Classic at Belmont.
The historic GI Jockey Club Gold Cup will highlight the Oct. 7
card at Belmont. It looks like it's going to be a small field, with
only one Grade I winner taking part, Keen Ice (Curlin).
There's no need to explain what is happening here, but here
goes: The Breeders' Cup has become such an important goal for
owners, trainers and breedersthat races like the GI Beldame,
the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the GI Awesome Again, the Joe Hirsch
and so many others have become almost meaningless.
.....................
The pattern has been developing for years, yet it has gone to a
new level in 2017. Very few trainers are willing to run their top
horses in the Breeders' Cup without giving them several weeks
off beforehand. Should this year's assemblage of "layoff horses"
dominate the Breeders' Cup it will only encourage more people
to sit out the major fall events. The fall preps are falling apart.
That's a shame. These are great races and none more so than
the Jockey Club Gold Cup, which was the Breeders' Cup Classic
before there was a Breeders' Cup Classic. October, once one of
the most exciting months of the year in the sport, is turning into
just another page on the calendar.
full article @ TDN
