Quote:
Originally Posted by classhandicapper
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 fro less money and prestige in the Dirt Mile. |
Liam's Map's choice to run in the Dirt Mile made sense actually.
You had American Pharoah in the BC Classic in which only 8 tried to beat him. In the Sprint you had Runhappy. As it turns out, the 3 older male dirt races turned into free squares with those 3 completing each leg that weekend.
