Poll: Change the Triple Crown?

[chrisg]

Would you be in favor of changing the Triple Crown to:

Kentucky Derby 10f

Belmont Stakes 12f

Travers 10f

[kenwoodallpromos]

I said change; but as far as viewership, winning the first 2 and then quick turn around is better to keep fans' attention.

[michiken]

Oddly enough changing the dates of the TC might give us more of a chance to see the young horses develop past the age of 3.

So many horses including AA recently are pressured to fit the TC schedule and end up with career ending injuries...........

[Suff]

They'll change the dates for 2nd and 3rd leg.


Derby on May x (1st sat), Belmont june 2nd , and Travers July 4th weekend at the new extended Saratoga meet.

something like that..

[kingfin66]

Is the Saratoga meet getting extended? Will they start earlier or end later? In other words, who loses racing dates?

[GeTydOn]

HELL NO!! The Triple Crown should NOT be changed!!

Look how Ghostzapper was babied and he only made 10 starts lifetime.

:bang:

[chrisg]

HELL NO!! The Triple Crown should NOT be changed!!

Look how Ghostzapper was babied and he only made 10 starts lifetime.

:bang:


The Preakness can still be run, but that wasn't the question I posed.

[cnollfan]

Belmont gets about 5,000 people a day now, but when there is a Triple Crown chance, the place is stuffed to the gills. Why change the one thing in horse racing that isn't broken?

If the Triple Crown has become too hard to win (and I question that, if a horse like Real Quiet can come within a nose of doing so), that just adds to the wonder.

The one change that would adjust somewhat to the 21st century game without detracting from the Triple Crown mystique would be if the Preakness were three weeks after the Derby instead of two weeks. I don't think that would affect the integrity of the challenge.

[chrisg]

cnollfan, here's what I'm thinking:

I don't like:
the emphasis of speed (Dramatically) over distance
the emphasis of dirt over turf
emphasis on 2yo racing over actually having a career racing
small, crappy fields

What does this have to do with the poll? It seems to me breeders are going to continue breeding for speed & trainers are going to keep racing Graded Stakes horses off layoffs.

If changing the Triple Crown to the above would lead to Quality, full fields, then I'm for it; I want to see the best at their best.

Most of my life I would have never wanted to see the the TC races change, but now I'm in favor of the best product over TC tradition.

[Tom]

How about changing it to 4.5 furlongs, 5.5 furlongs, then the marathon 6.o furlongs grand daddy?


Maybe a few more horses might actually race past July.

[depalma13]

Why would changing the Triple Crown stop breeder's from emphasizing speed over stamina? The commercial breeders don't get paid unless their horses are running early at the sales. The buyers want the quick payoff on their investment. The Triple Crown is secondary.

Why would owners suddenly stop retiring their horses early because the Triple Crown is changed?

You want breeders and owners to change. First, eliminate the graded status of all 2 year-old races. They can run for the purses, but without the graded wins, most wouldn't be running for stud duty. Second, you need to get a series that would draw as much public attention as the Triple Crown, offer a much larger purse, and be done for older horses. Last, you need a weekly national television day that has the same horses running at least every month in longer races for large amounts of money and the purses have bonuses for the breeders.

If you can accomplish all of that, then you may change the thinking of breeders and owners.

[chrisg]

Why would changing the Triple Crown stop breeder's from emphasizing speed over stamina?

I didn't say it would.


Why would owners suddenly stop retiring their horses early because the Triple Crown is changed?

I didn't say it would.

You want breeders and owners to change. First, eliminate the graded status of all 2 year-old races. They can run for the purses, but without the graded wins, most wouldn't be running for stud duty.

Sounds pretty good; I think 2yo's earn too much.

Second, you need to get a series that would draw as much public attention as the Triple Crown, offer a much larger purse, and be done for older horses. Last, you need a weekly national television day that has the same horses running at least every month in longer races for large amounts of money and the purses have bonuses for the breeders.

I'm not trying to save racing by rearranging the Triple Crown. I'm trying to improve the product for enthusiasts taking in to consideration how the game is now played.

And Tom, I don't know if you were being a smart ass or not, so what was that about?

[Tom]

And Tom, I don't know if you were being a smart ass or not, so what was that about?

I was being a samrt ass. :)

Actually I was making a point that today's triple crown horses are closer to garbage than champions. Fragile, erratic, classless for the most part. This year's crops was really pathetic - one or two race wonders. May if we are going to feature Los Alimitos grade horses in the triple crown, we should run their distances.

[Buckeye]

Alex ain't no one race wonder.

He might even (will even) make some noise later this year.

The Triple Crown is still valid and should not be changed.

Even though it looks like Pimlico is "going down"

this has nothing to do with the basic premise.

[joeyspicks]

no no no



NO!

[Buckeye]

Leave it alone and also, leave it alone.

and finally, leave it alone.

[toetoe]

The timing is good, but the Saratoga main track is too peculiar, I think. How about the AP turf race as the 3rd jewel? The Secretariat, I think?

[Bubbles]

The timing is good, but the Saratoga main track is too peculiar, I think. How about the AP turf race as the 3rd jewel? The Secretariat, I think?

How about no? LOL. A TC race on the GRASS? The TC is about tradition, no way do you do something as drastic as changing surfaces as well as dates.

If you change the Triple Crown, you may as well call it something different, end the list of true champions at 11, and move into a new era of racing. No way should it change.

[toetoe]

Understood, but don't forget, it's just something that the press developed, like "The Unabomber," "The American Taliban," etc. Granted, the contrived series, such as the Spend A Buck Triple, whatever it was, which, by the way, led to the ill-fated Visa Challenge; The Final 14, etc., died young and neglected. How about just adding up the Gr. 1's won in a year? More meaningful than some stupid round number being achieved (2,000 wins, 300 homers / 300 stolen bases / 300 groupies, whatever). Which brings me to Pico Central, surprise, surprise. He's no Bluesthestandard, no sir. He's actually EARNED the accolades. We don't lionize him for working 5/8 in 57-flat, as the trainer calls him "better than ever." Don't know how many Gr. 1's Kona Gold won, but the press are still in hyperbolic warp drive regarding KG. It started before he even passed Big Jag in Gr. 1's, and it hasn't stopped yet. Not to forget Speightstown. Why, he must be the fastest thing on four legs. After all, he won the Eclipse Award. He won a Gr. 0, if that's possible. It seems the BC counts for at least twice as much as any other Gr. 1.
Okay, the 3 D's are fulfilled -- digression, diatribe, departure.

[chrisg]

Understood, but don't forget, it's just something that the press developed, like "The Unabomber," "The American Taliban," etc. Granted, the contrived series, such as the Spend A Buck Triple, whatever it was, which, by the way, led to the ill-fated Visa Challenge; The Final 14, etc., died young and neglected. How about just adding up the Gr. 1's won in a year? More meaningful than some stupid round number being achieved (2,000 wins, 300 homers / 300 stolen bases / 300 groupies, whatever). Which brings me to Pico Central, surprise, surprise. He's no Bluesthestandard, no sir. He's actually EARNED the accolades. We don't lionize him for working 5/8 in 57-flat, as the trainer calls him "better than ever." Don't know how many Gr. 1's Kona Gold won, but the press are still in hyperbolic warp drive regarding KG. It started before he even passed Big Jag in Gr. 1's, and it hasn't stopped yet. Not to forget Speightstown. Why, he must be the fastest thing on four legs. After all, he won the Eclipse Award. He won a Gr. 0, if that's possible. It seems the BC counts for at least twice as much as any other Gr. 1.
Okay, the 3 D's are fulfilled -- digression, diatribe, departure.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

We don't need quality; we're America!

Now give us a label so we know what to think! :lol:



:( :( :(

[Zman179]

Do NOT change the Triple Crown. It's special because it's so hard to win. Three races in five weeks is the biggest test that American racing can offer. You win the TC, and you'll be immortalized forever. Certain races should be untouchable:

The Triple Crown
The Aintree Grand National
The Melbourne Cup

You change the Triple Crown and you'll destroy it. It'll just become another set of races.

[NoDayJob]

How about changing it to 4.5 furlongs, 5.5 furlongs, then the marathon 6.o furlongs grand daddy?


Maybe a few more horses might actually race past July.

:lol: At these distances you'd need 50 flights of 20 horses each and they'd fill, for sure. :lol:

NDJ

[GeTydOn]

The Preakness can still be run, but that wasn't the question I posed.

I am disagreeing with the above proposed change to the Triple Crown. My answer fits perfectly. Maybe you should word you questions better so you don't get "wrong" answers.
:rolleyes:

[tzipi]

NO. There's NOTHING wrong with the TC.

[joanied]

I agree the 2 tr. old races need to change...I think waiting until later in the year, maybe early summer, to start 2 yr old stakes graded races would help the youngsters develope a bit more...and the purses should come down...take some of the purse money and toss it into the purses for the older division...keep the 2 million purse for the BC Juvy, but drop the rest down. There is way too much financial incentive for 2 yr olds... the list of 2 yr olds that either never make it back as a 3 yr old, or run very few times as a 3 yr old is long, and would maybe shorten up if these youngsters had more time to develope.

The TC is beyond change, I think...what I think would be a good idea is to move the entire series back a month...start with the Derby in June, followed with the other two legs spaced 2 wks & 3 wks. But I suppose if you do something like that, the entire stakes scheduel would have to change?
It does seem like a colt is never going to win a TC again...but thinking back over the last 10 yrs or so, we have come pretty close a few times...if not for some bad racing luck, we'd have at least two...Real Quiet & Silver Charm.

What really needs done, IMHO...is that purse monies for the 2 & 3 yr olds should come down (except the Classics, BC & Travers)...and the purse monies for the older division should be large enough that owners/trainers believe it's worth while to keep a horse training as a 4 yr old.

Putting the Travers into the TC series won't work at all...it already is a classic on it's own...it's the summer Derby, and really the centerpiece of the Saratoga meet.