Quote:
Originally Posted by classhandicapper
I know everyone hates the BC Dirt Mile, but these are the graded stakes dirt miles races for males (with a sample of at least 5 races) in recent years. Based on average Beyer figure, the BC Dirt Mile is the 2nd highest quality mile race on dirt behind the Metropolitan (ahead of the Cigar) and the 2nd highest on a computer calculated Class rating that takes into account who was in the field. So it's not like it isn't a high quality race on average.
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Thanks for the work. I don't know about others here, but my only "hate" for the Dirt Mile is that it draws away some possibly interesting horses from the Classic. I respect a good miler - Dr. Fager was a legendary world record holder at a mile, but he admittedly proved his chops at other distances too.
In this day and breeding age, I wonder if the true "Classic" distance is now 1 1/8 miles. Seems like that might be the sweet spot for the top horses to mix it up given modern breeding trends. Not saying it is good or bad - just an acknowledgment of how the sport has changed over the decades.
