Who is this Clown?

[KingChas]

http://www.drf.com/news/article/65585.html

Sorry to offend people that know this fellow.
I do not know him.(USA?)

What he is saying is akin to;
Prempting the
a) Yanks- Sox playoffs
b) Pats- Eagles Super Bowl...............

With "Heidi"
or worse yet Soccer :sleeping:

This man's off the wall!... :mad: ...IMO

Born in the USA-KC

[kenwoodallpromos]

Something wrong with the way I tried to register. Sorry.

[KingChas]

Let's construct a new series of classic races
By ALAN SHUBACK
NEW YORK - What is the point of the Belmont Stakes?
As the much ballyhooed "Test of the Champion," in which horses bred to get not much farther than a mile are asked to run 1 1/2 miles, it makes little sense.

As the third leg of the Triple Crown it loses much of its luster when a horse does not win both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.

As a Grade 1 race in which horses are asked to go 1 1/2 miles on dirt in June of their 3-year-old season - something they will never again be asked to do - it is an anachronism.

In fact, sad to say, the Belmont Stakes has become irrelevant.

Gone are the days when Count Fleet, Native Dancer, Gallant Man, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed used it as an advertisement for stamina of the highest order. So if the breeding aspect of the Belmont has gone by the boards, why ask 3-year-olds to contest a race that bears no resemblance to anything that older horses in America are asked to do?

With rumors swirling that Pimlico may lose the Preakness, it is time to rethink the Triple Crown. The Preakness itself is little more than a carbon copy of the Derby. Why ask horses to do at Pimlico what they did just two weeks earlier at Churchill Downs? The Triple Crown, which, by the way, is a series of three separate classic races not, as many seem to think, a single event stretched out over five weeks, should be a reflection of the nation's racing program. Only when it is can it produce the sort of horses who will later produce first- class winners at the highest level.

With the distances of races throughout America falling precipitously (the average distance of the 42 races run at Hollywood Park during the week of May 18-22 was a paltry 6.85 furlongs), does the Belmont Stakes have anything to do with what is really going on in American racing? It would make sense if there was a series of races on dirt for 3-year-olds and up between 11 and 14 furlongs, but there is not, and there will not be as long as the American breeding industry continues to produce horses intended primarily for sprints.

A radical rethinking of America's classic races would leave the Derby as is, expunge the copycat Preakness, switch the Belmont to turf, perhaps trimming it to 1 1/4 miles, and make the 1 1/4-mile Travers the third and final leg of a new Triple Crown, one that would be spaced so as not to leave a trail of tired and injured horses in its wake.

Heard that before now he's losing it! .....KC ''''''keep reading below

A better and even more radical reworking would start the American classic season with a one-mile dirt race at Belmont on the first Saturday in May, followed by the Kentucky Derby three weeks later, followed by a 1 1/2-mile turf race four weeks after that at Santa Anita or Hollywood.

A one-mile "American Guineas" would more accurately reflect the abilities of horses running in this country, the Derby would be preserved as is except for the date, and a 12-furlong turf race would reflect the importance of racing on grass in America, just as the Breeders' Stakes does as the third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. By running it on the West Coast, this new race would have the added benefit of bringing California, where the racing is much superior to that in Maryland, into America's classic mix.

There should also be a de-emphasis on the idea of the Triple Crown in favor of the idea of a series of three separate classic races. This is the attitude taken in England and South America. In France and Ireland the concept of a Triple Crown is non-existent.

With Visa having dropped sponsorship of the Preakness and the Belmont, the initial work in this direction has already been done.

At the same time, we should create a series of genuine classics for fillies in this country, one that would reflect the domestic female game by rewarding the best fillies of each generation. The one-mile Acorn the day after the "American Guineas" at Belmont, the 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks the day before the Derby, and Hollywood's in-place 1 1/4-mile American Oaks on turf the day after the 1 1/2-mile turf race for colts would make a perfect series of fillies' classics.

The newly proposed colts and fillies classics would be a much more accurate reflection of American racing than the Triple Crown as presently constituted. They would also put the American classic season in line with the classic seasons in Europe, South America, and Australia, something that would be a boon to a globalized breeding industry.

[KingChas]

I have come to the conclusion nothing is sacred in this country anymore!

If this ever takes effect I will have an exciting day cutting my grass the first Saturday in May.......GMAFB

[Macdiarmadillo]

You sure get excited about a speculative column. Dangerous furriners meddling with God's Own Races with dangerous ideas, hey?

The Triple Crown is nothing but the creation of somebody's marketing department anyway. These races were not strung together throughout their individual histories. Maybe it's been that way in our lifetimes, but that time is a microscopic dot in all of history. And so how do you feel about the Preakness being moved to, say, Laurel (the nearest Magna track), as it truly looks like Pimlico's days are numbered.

Count up the casualties leading up to and coming out of the TC races the last few years and you should come to the conclusion that most of today's horses can't stand the rigors of the schedule nor the rigors of Derby Fever. Therefore the change to something more horses can handle is bad?

And just what does the Belmont Stakes prove in a time where you can't campaign a horse at 12F on the dirt EVER anymore?

And which would you be watching if the BC overlapped the World Series? No fair switching channels when those furrin horses show up in the turf races.

[Tom]

Yeah. Let's have a triple crown winner every year. Great.
That's like saying half of all our 5th graders are failing math, so we make the math easier.
the reason we have so few TC winners is what the whole thing is all about - greatness. I have seen very few great horses in the last 10 years. I have see few really good horses the last few years. So let's make them champions. Let's settle.

[KingChas]

You sure get excited about a speculative column. Dangerous furriners meddling with God's Own Races with dangerous ideas,hey?

And which would you be watching if the BC overlapped the World Series? No fair switching channels when those furrin horses show up in the turf races.

Yea Mac -hitting sore spot.Why do we always have to conform to other countries ways of doing things?

When in Rome/do as the Romans.
When in USA do as the foriegners.

What in my post stated anything about me disliking Furrin(sic) horses?

[Tom]

Mac...I agree to a point, but I would have no problems of having a Derby filed of 7-8-9 horses - ones wtih some semblence of a shot at winning, not just getting thier owners free parking that day.

The whole idea behind the TC it is supposed to reword only champions, and it seems to be working just fine. Maybe too easiy if anything - way too many double winners latetly, and not a one of them worthy of the TC status. Perhaps the Preakness should be moved a week closer to the Derby? Weed out the prenteders? Naw....leave it alone, as is.

[kenwoodallpromos]

This guy think's Classics should be a reflection of American racing? This "journalist" last looked at a dictionary when Webster was alive!
Anything to sell a ragsheet.
" (the average distance of the 42 races run at Hollywood Park during the week of May 18-22 was a paltry 6.85 furlongs), " Glad to see it is still over 6f with the baby races and weather!

[lsbets]

"So if the breeding aspect of the Belmont has gone by the boards"

I'm not sure how accurate that statement is. Look at the winners over the past 20 years of the Belmont, and there are a fair amount of high stud fees on the list. AP Indy, Empire Maker, and Lemon Drop Kid are three good examples. Look at the auctions and what AP Indy and Lemon Drop Kid babies sell for. Success at the Belmont definatly contributes to a horse's desirability in the breeding shed.

[toetoe]

Mac Diarmida is biased in favor of turf marathoners like himself. Agreed that Shuback's plans are drastic, but I'm thinking of a way to let the Southern Hemisphere get some representation. How about some 3-y-o races in December, when the southerners are truly 3yo, and they can try for recognition (and money) they'll never be able to get in the T.C., as it's just too early in life for them?

[GeTydOn]

Why do people feel they need to reinvent the wheel?? The Triple Crown should be left as is. The only part that's not working is that it's been a long time between TC Champs. Fine. This is a difficult task for a reason. They can start looking into shaking it up when they struggle to fill the races. Imagine an American Triple Crown that included a turf race. Yeah! That might go over real well!!
:faint: :faint: :faint: :faint: :faint:

[Lasix1]

Why do people feel they need to reinvent the wheel?? The Triple Crown should be left as is. The only part that's not working is that it's been a long time between TC Champs. Fine. This is a difficult task for a reason. They can start looking into shaking it up when they struggle to fill the races. Imagine an American Triple Crown that included a turf race. Yeah! That might go over real well!!
:faint: :faint: :faint: :faint: :faint:
Yeah, such a revamped Triple Crown would assure no winner for at least another century. Moreover, it would make it impossible to compare past TC winners in any meaningful way. It's supposed to be tough. Leave it alone.....

[46zilzal]

Yeah, such a revamped Triple Crown would assure no winner for at least another century. Moreover, it would make it impossible to compare past TC winners in any meaningful way. It's supposed to be tough. Leave it alone.....
here here

[toetoe]

The Canadians have that very thing, maybe Mexicans and South Americans, too. It is kinda like the Dow/Jones in that changing it destroys the original point of reference.

[Skanoochies]

Toetoe, a way for the southern hem. to get some representation might be for them to stage some 3,4,or 5 million dollar races in Dec. for three year olds and invite some horses from up here. :)

[PaceAdvantage]

Leave the TC alone, and STOP POSTING FULL TEXT COPYRIGHTED ARTICLES.

I may have to start suspending posting privleges to get this point across, because it doesn't seem to be sinking into the brains of the THICK HEADED ONES who CONTINUE TO POST FULL TEXT COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS. :bang:

I'm sorry the DRF requires registration....that doesn't mean you can POST THE FULL TEXT OF ANY ARTICLE FROM THEIR SITE.

You CAN post a SNIPPET or TWO, and a LINK. That's IT!

Again, THANK YOU for your COOPERATION in this MATTER!

[JPinMaryland]

on a legal note, you can probably copy 100 words or so without running afoul of copyright laws. Such a small snippet is probably not infringement.

As for the story. THe authors first suggestion: to drop the PReakness in favor of the Travers is superflous. Plenty of horses skip the Preakness anyway and if you want to promote the Travers as the third jewel..well there is nothing stopping anyone from doing that. It's just a promotional concept, the Travers already exists so you're adding nothing to the mix.

The second suggestion just ignores the realities of racing and that is that trainers are reluctant to ship all the way across the country. You would likely see an entirely different field for the third race.

THe idea of a turf race for the third jewel in the crown is interesting. It can hardly be argued that 12f races are relevant to todays game, so the author has a pt. there. But it has to be in the eastern half of the US, gee whiz, get a clue.