Are these type of horses any more likely to run in the Preakness if the spacing was longer. Don't you think it is to be expected that a stronger mile and a half horse chooses not to cut back in distance (if coming form the Derby) for the Preakness?
The idea that spreading out the races will improve the fields is also quite dangerous. Increasing the gap between the races may knock horses off the TC path earlier, as they may continue to choose to rest before targeting the lesser Derbies around the fall, much as many runners do now.
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