NYRA Raises Belmont Purse to 1.5 Million

[Grits]

http://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/belmont-stakes-purse-raised-to-1.5-million/

[Longshot6977]

http://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/belmont-stakes-purse-raised-to-1.5-million/

That link doesn't work, but this one does.
http://www.nyra.com/belmont/belmont-stakes-purse-raised-to-15-million/
It says 15 million in the URL, but it works.

[Grits]

I added the .

So much for 15 mil. Little bit steep.

[dirty moose]

Guess that's where our 5% is going?

[thaskalos]

Once the Preakness purse was raised to $1.5 million, the rise of the Belmont purse was obligatory...IMO.

[Mineshaft]

In 10 years the 3 Triple Crown races will be 3 mill each

[classhandicapper]

I think this a smart short and long term move.

There were a few Belmonts that almost became irrelevant because no one wanted to run 12F. Instead of an elite Grade 1 field, it was more of a glorified Grade 2 field. With an extra 500K on the line, it will at least help keep the race very competitive even if there is no Triple Crown at stake. Plus, if we want to breed stamina back into the horses long term, you have to offer big purses for stamina. We need more 12F races with huge purses.

[nijinski]

We better rush and get some of the route broodmares back from overseas.

[Tom]

Or put in some downhill stretch tracks.

[nijinski]

Or put in some downhill stretch tracks.

:lol: :lol: picture that !

[RacingFan1992]

I think this a smart short and long term move.

There were a few Belmonts that almost became irrelevant because no one wanted to run 12F. Instead of an elite Grade 1 field, it was more of a glorified Grade 2 field. With an extra 500K on the line, it will at least help keep the race very competitive even if there is no Triple Crown at stake. Plus, if we want to breed stamina back into the horses long term, you have to offer big purses for stamina. We need more 12F races with huge purses.

Give me a 2 mile Jockey Club Gold Cup, 1 1/2 Belmont Stakes, 1 3/4 BC Marathon and Valedictory Stakes along with a 1 1/2 Coaching Club American Oaks any day instead of these "races" where horses go 6 furlongs and aren't raced for 3 months because they still hurt. Horses could go 2 miles in a race and a week later would role on home in front of 1 1/2 race and still be fresh for another marathon.

What they should do is have a series of races like they do in the breeders cup but instead it would be called the Stayers Cup Championship. The shortest distance would be 1 1/8 mile while the longest would be 2 1/4 miles. We could have different names like the Stayers Cup Classic at 1 3/4 which would be the equivalent to the BC Classic at 1 1/4 mile. I would watch that on tv instead of the BC Series.

[nijinski]

Give me a 2 mile Jockey Club Gold Cup, 1 1/2 Belmont Stakes, 1 3/4 BC Marathon and Valedictory Stakes along with a 1 1/2 Coaching Club American Oaks any day instead of these "races" where horses go 6 furlongs and aren't raced for 3 months because they still hurt. Horses could go 2 miles in a race and a week later would role on home in front of 1 1/2 race and still be fresh for another marathon.

What they should do is have a series of races like they do in the breeders cup but instead it would be called the Stayers Cup Championship. The shortest distance would be 1 1/8 mile while the longest would be 2 1/4 miles. We could have different names like the Stayers Cup Classic at 1 3/4 which would be the equivalent to the BC Classic at 1 1/4 mile. I would watch that on tv instead of the BC Series.

Two and a quarter miles , no thank you . That's a yawn .

Take it from the a world class trainer , Charlie Whittingham .
He said he came into the BC with a much fresher horse than Easy Goer
was . He was very confident that after the mile and a half JCC , EG
would be easier to beat .
Notice he sent Sunday Silence to the mile and a quarter Super Derby .

With the BC in early November , doubt we will see two mile races
anywhere leading up to that date .

[RacingFan1992]

The Breeders cup is becoming an overrated event because it was established to say determine Eclipse Award honors but it has gotten to be ridiculous. Go back to the original one day of racing with the races that were started in 1984. Also have it move around from place to place instead of the same old :sleeping: Santa Anita. Would it hurt for them to televise it so "normal people" can watch it on local channels.

That is another problem with the Derby. They need to televise all of the prep races for the Oaks and Derby so people can see where these horses stand. NASCAR shows the point standings for their series. It wouldn't hurt to show what horses are leading the polls for the Derby and Oaks. I think more people would watch the Derby if they were more educated of how the point system worked.

[nijinski]

The Breeders cup is becoming an overrated event because it was established to say determine Eclipse Award honors but it has gotten to be ridiculous. Go back to the original one day of racing with the races that were started in 1984. Also have it move around from place to place instead of the same old :sleeping: Santa Anita. Would it hurt for them to televise it so "normal people" can watch it on local channels.

That is another problem with the Derby. They need to televise all of the prep races for the Oaks and Derby so people can see where these horses stand. NASCAR shows the point standings for their series. It wouldn't hurt to show what horses are leading the polls for the Derby and Oaks. I think more people would watch the Derby if they were more educated of how the point system worked.

It certainly would be a boost to televise the preps . Racing need to get a
larger fan base . They would need the ratings .

[JustRalph]

It certainly would be a boost to televise the preps . Racing need to get a
larger fan base . They would need the ratings .

Chicken n Egg problem. Nobody will televise because nobody will watch.

[Grits]

The Breeders cup is becoming an overrated event because it was established to say determine Eclipse Award honors but it has gotten to be ridiculous.

This, I'm sorry, you're mistaken, is not the reason The Breeders' Cup was created by its founder, the late John R.Gaines, Kentuckian and owner of Gainesway Farm.

It wouldn't hurt to show what horses are leading the polls for the Derby and Oaks. I think more people would watch the Derby if they were more educated of how the point system worked.

Its obvious that you're doing a lot of reading on racing's past history. This is a good thing. Its where you may be spending a great amount of your time. But, this sport cannot revert to its past. It cannot compete with other sports, nor can it sustain itself. Its simple to proclaim, we need to go back to "those days". But, this is not as easy to implement as implied. Not anything ever is, actually.

Instead of watching races on tv, go to the track, and bet. This is what benefits racing. It is the only thing that will keep the sport alive. There are other problems that racing, currently, faces--big problems, but those, too, are well known.

I prefer not to compare thoroughbred racing to Nascar. Ever. But, there are standings in each division. They are printed in the DAILY RACING FORM. Purchase and read it while leading up to the Derby and the Oaks--or all year long. The horses and their races are discussed by writers, Mike Watchmaker at DRF, and Steve Haskin at The Blood Horse, along with others.

For decades, writer, Edward Bowen, a fine thoroughbred racing historian, has covered much of the sport's past.

[RacingFan1992]

"The original races were all run for a title, or, at the very least, they all influenced the Eclipse debate."

-Gary West

I found this link regarding the Breeders Cup and how the formation has changed drastically.

http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/story/_/id/9804382/potholes-road-cup

Oh BTW NASCAR was the only one I could think of. Sorry.

[Grits]

Ok, RF, let's read your article a bit more closely. Its better to take 17 paragraphs into full consideration than to pull half of one sentence out of such a piece and deliver it as a conclusion.

Some quotes from the piece. If this had been the plan, it never would have lifted itself off the ground, but would have lumbered and sputtered down the runway until it collapsed under the weight of its own hubris. If this had been what John Gaines proposed back in April of 1982, there never would have been a Breeders' Cup.But, of course, this isn't what he envisioned.

Gaines proposed a series of extravagantly lucrative races, each with a purse of at least $1 million, to be run on a single day and to serve as championship events, all packaged together for a national television audience. Horse racing was to have its Super Bowl. And like the host city of the Super Bowl, the host racetrack for the Breeders' Cup was to change from one year to the next. That was Gaines' vision.

Yes, Gaines had it right. The races should be packaged together on a single day, they should correspond to championships, and the event should move from track to track so that hosting it becomes a privilege and an occurrence worth celebrating.

The original races were all run for a title, or, at the very least, they all influenced the Eclipse debate. But today's Breeders' Cup includes races that have no championship implications whatsoever and couldn't excite a debate over anything more important than who's buying the next round of refreshment, the turf sprint, for example, and the Marathon.

RF, its the voters who have determined its fine to hand Eclipse awards to some winners of one race on one day, quite foolishly, scoffing at other animal's entire campaigns throughout the year. This was not Mr.Gaines' intent. Too, trainers have come to plan their entire year around running their horse's with regard to one big pay day, skipping many fine stakes races. This was not, I don't believe, Mr.Gaines' intent either.

You can learn more about Mr. Gaines, his vision and his contributions here. He was quite an individual.

There's so much history to this sport, but too, we have to dwell in the here and now. Its where we are. ;)

http://www.followhorseracing.com/en/the-latest/blogs/2013/10/14/john-r-gaines-a-visionary-and-a-leader/

[RacingFan1992]

Hey Grits, I think it is a shame that trainers skip other good races just to plan their horses campaign to compete in the BC. I agree with you that this was probably not the intent of Mr. Gaines. BTW I did get kinda heated trying to disprove your argument about what the purpose of the BC was intended for. So I was looking for any and all info just to fire back for my point. Sorry. My Bad.

[Grits]

Hey Grits, I think it is a shame that trainers skip other good races just to plan their horses campaign to compete in the BC. I agree with you that this was probably not the intent of Mr. Gaines. BTW I did get kinda heated trying to disprove your argument about what the purpose of the BC was intended for. So I was looking for any and all info just to fire back for my point. Sorry. My Bad.

Its a real shame what its done to stakes races all over the country!!

Don't get heated, honey, I've done it myself, often enough to know it serves us no real purpose.

[RacingFan1992]

I think the only race, mainstream people are aware of is the Kentucky Derby. If I were to say "Hey, did you see Rachel Alexandra in the Mother Goose? She set a stakes record and won by 19." Most people would look at me and think "What the hell is he talking about?" (Believe me I have been there.) Horse racing is in a cloud world which only has a light shine on it when a bad breakdown occurs or when a horse wins the Triple Crown but when those don't happen it goes on the back burner to baseball, NASCAR, football, and basketball.

[Longshot6977]

Instead of watching races on tv, go to the track, and bet. This is what benefits racing. It is the only thing that will keep the sport alive.

Going TO the races is not what will benefit racing. Some people can't make it to the track. Even betting from home or an OTW will benefit racing. It will grow the handle which benefits racing as a whole. I believe if there were racetracks that did NOT allow horseplayers into their facility, they would be just as happy (maybe more so with less overhead expenses) if they just accepted wagers from offsite. Just my opinion.:)

[acorn54]

what will keep the horseplayer in racing in the future will be if the powers that be in horseracing keep up with the FUTURE
the old business model no longer works
too much competition for the gambling dollar nowadays

[Cratos]

I think this a smart short and long term move.

There were a few Belmonts that almost became irrelevant because no one wanted to run 12F. Instead of an elite Grade 1 field, it was more of a glorified Grade 2 field. With an extra 500K on the line, it will at least help keep the race very competitive even if there is no Triple Crown at stake. Plus, if we want to breed stamina back into the horses long term, you have to offer big purses for stamina. We need more 12F races with huge purses.

I don’t believe the Belmont Stakes ever became “irrelevant” or ever will become “irrelevant” in terms of recognition and especially by breeders because that is their chance to test their horses for stamina.

If you are using field size as your barometer of credence you should review the historical Belmont Stakes charts because the field size is very inconsistent and I think it is because the Belmont Stakes is the last of the Triple Crown series.

Next to the Kentucky Derby and probably the Travers, the Belmont Stakes might be the most relevant race among all races run in North America.

Yes, I understand in this present climate of “speed”; a 1 ½ mile race might seem to be out of place, but NYRA and the history of the Belmont Stakes will always keep it “in place.”

[CincyHorseplayer]

Good news and some good thoughts on here.For me as time goes by my preferred distances keep getting longer and longer coinciding with my obsession with turf racing and the Triple Crown.Getting to understand pedigree and knowing family lines specifically is a natural evolution when you watch these races over the years.I'm perfectly comfortable in the 10-12f range.

[classhandicapper]

I don’t believe the Belmont Stakes ever became “irrelevant” or ever will become “irrelevant” in terms of recognition and especially by breeders because that is their chance to test their horses for stamina.

If you are using field size as your barometer of credence you should review the historical Belmont Stakes charts because the field size is very inconsistent and I think it is because the Belmont Stakes is the last of the Triple Crown series.

Next to the Kentucky Derby and probably the Travers, the Belmont Stakes might be the most relevant race among all races run in North America.

Yes, I understand in this present climate of “speed”; a 1 ½ mile race might seem to be out of place, but NYRA and the history of the Belmont Stakes will always keep it “in place.”

Maybe "irrelevant" was too harsh, but there have been a few where several of the best horses (who were fit) simply skipped the race because they didn't want to run 1 1/2 miles. It was like winning it didn't carry the same significance that it did years ago. So the quality suffered.

The Belmont should be an elite Grade 1 affair that contains all the best runners from the Derby/Preakness (unless there are obvious distance limitations), plus a few late developers that won ran impressively in non Triple Crown races. This purse increase will help temp some of the connections that are on the fence.

[Grits]

Going TO the races is not what will benefit racing. Some people can't make it to the track. Even betting from home or an OTW will benefit racing. It will grow the handle which benefits racing as a whole. I believe if there were racetracks that did NOT allow horseplayers into their facility, they would be just as happy (maybe more so with less overhead expenses) if they just accepted wagers from offsite. Just my opinion.:)

Longshot, still, some of both, on sight, and in one's living room, will be a good thing. Even with fewer tracks, of course, is certainly fine. Most likely, fewer tracks as so many continue to struggle and fall into disrepair.

There's no feeling like attending a fine day of racing. Or several days. JMO