Quote:
Originally Posted by dilanesp
No, I think classhandicapper is absolutely right. You are going to see horsemen and breeders push for this and there's a significant danger that the race may eventually be shortened.
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I actually agree with that.
The Belmont has no rational argument to be making a permanent official move away from Belmont Park any time soon.
There is also no rational argument that the Belmont as a Grade 1 Triple Crown race will ever make a permanent official move to be run at ten furlongs at Belmont Park.
However, there is at least some small probability of the Belmont Stakes one day making a planned move to be run at Belmont Park at a distance of One Mile.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dilanesp
They had 11 horses in the 1966 Belmont, which started on the turn at Aqueduct. Amberoid won from post 5 (he was the best horse in the race, infamously bet by a young Andy Beyer who cut class at Harvard to bet him), but Buffle, who finished second, started in post 10 and according to the DRF chart comments, "saved ground".
This notion that we can't do something that was literally done FIVE TIMES in the 1960's and which did not cause any particular trouble for outside horses (because it's a 12 furlong race with a slow pace and jockeys have no problem getting to the rail if they feel they need to) is silly. This is just a massively bad decision by NYRA.
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I think if the last 4 Suburbans were run in the early to mid 1960s they would be fairly likely to have full fields. In 2024 it's a nice surprise if there are more than 5 or 6 horses.
There's nothing that makes it impossible to run a turn-start configuration, it's just a bad idea.
If you believe that running a competitive full field high-handle race or few at 10furlongs up in Saratoga during the renovation somehow 'cheapens' the race, but that running it at a turn-start configuration at Aqueduct would be good for the game, then that's what you believe. You have every right to believe that. Opinions are much of what makes this game good.
