I guess I'm still the rare horse player that doesn't like to watch true dirt milers get outrun at 6F or tire at 10F.
The Sprint purse is 2 million dollars.
The Classic purse is 6 million dollars with much greater prestige.
If you have a major contender equally adept at 6F and 8F or 8F and 10F it's usually an easy call.
If he's not of a caliber to win the tougher more prestigious race or not versatile enough to run outside his best distance, he runs for 1 million in the Mile.
The only problem I've seen is the type of horse that has handled 9F easily dropping back to the Mile where he looks like a huge favorite to avoid a much tougher confrontation at 10F in the Classic. The most obvious was Liam's Map. That was a "weak" move.
But it's not like I am complaining every year about some horse that could have won the Sprint or Classic running for less money and prestige in the Dirt Mile. I accept I'm on an island with this. Everyone hates the Dirt Mile except me and the winner who probably would have gotten nothing in the Sprint or Classic.
