I have mixed feelings about this proposed change but in the end I am against it. It seems to me to just water down the competition making every race even more specialized. I always like the quesiton for horsemen of where to put the inbetween horse for say the sprint to mile turf to classic, now everybody has there own type of race so these horses won't be running against each other anymore. As others have mentioned, we won't see the Very Subtles, Safely Kepts, and Xtra Heats anymore going against the best at good odds, now they will be odds on in their new all filly and mare race.
I always liked a horse like Precisionist, who won the Sprint and was also competitive in the Classic now I assume a horse like him goes in the mile exclusively and goes off 3-5 there instead of what 3-1 or 4-1 in the sprint and higher when he ran in the Classic plus we lose the challenge of seeing if a horse like him can stretch to a mile and a quarter or run with the fastest horses in the world at 6F.
What will winning the Mile dirt prove for year end awards as well? Does the Sprint winner get the higher push toward an Eclispe or the Mile dirt winner? If you are adding a mile dirt race fine, just don't put it on the same level as the Classic and Sprint, make it a $250,000 race like the others indicated on the Friday card so the true champions can compete in the established races not this new one.
We get what over 300 days or more of watered down racing over the course of the year at least in stakes races, the biggies always avoiding each other, so now with this BC expansion horsemen are given more races to not compete their best against each other. I predict field size in specific races will also drop with this dilution and make for less betting opportunities. The horsemen and tracks wanted it I assume and got it but I don't think it does much for fans of racing - at least this fan. Just my two cents.
