Mage will be the ONLY….

[TracksideTalk]

Mage will be the only horse to start in the Preakness that ran in the Derby.

Once Steve Asmussen entered only Red Route One in the Preakness it assured that Mage would be the only Derby runner left standing or running….

The race is now CRAP

Mage will be 1/5 and then head off to the Belmont where a group of tomatoe cans will try and stand in his way for a Triple Crown bid.

Todays horses are bred for “instant gratification” not a long term career.

Got to blame all the super trainers (Chad,Todd & Bob) & the Breeders.
They only want to win the big races & then go right into the breeding shed

[Inner Dirt]

That has to be a record or tie one. I am sure there have never been zero Derby horses in the Preakness.

[TracksideTalk]

Originally Posted by Inner Dirt

That has to be a record or tie one. I am sure there have never been zero Derby horses in the Preakness.

to the best of my knowledge there’s never been a Preakness with only the Derby runner entered

[The_Turf_Monster]

As always, it will be the best betting opportunity of the year with one underlay and a field of overlays

[trp]

Originally Posted by Inner Dirt

That has to be a record or tie one. I am sure there have never been zero Derby horses in the Preakness.

That's very likely true once the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont were recognized as the Triple Crown.

Going way back, the Derby and Preakness were run on the same day twice (1917 and 1922).

[dilanesp]

This is a first (since the modern alignment of the Derby and Preakness), but is a direction we have been moving towards for some time.

Basically, without the incentive of winning a Triple Crown, we've gotten to the point where nobody will run their horse on 2 weeks rest. Which is absolutely devastating to the longterm health of the sport. Basically you can expect to see tons more careers like Justify and Flightline in the future, and you can't attract fans when notable horses never run and rivalries can never form.

[TracksideTalk]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

This is a first (since the modern alignment of the Derby and Preakness), but is a direction we have been moving towards for some time.

Basically, without the incentive of winning a Triple Crown, we've gotten to the point where nobody will run their horse on 2 weeks rest. Which is absolutely devastating to the longterm health of the sport. Basically you can expect to see tons more careers like Justify and Flightline in the future, and you can't attract fans when notable horses never run and rivalries can never form.

your point is spot on
It’s all about winning a big race & then heading straight to the breeding shed
“Super” Trainers & the greedy Breeders have destroyed the sport just so they can line their pockets

[Inner Dirt]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

This is a first (since the modern alignment of the Derby and Preakness), but is a direction we have been moving towards for some time.

Basically, without the incentive of winning a Triple Crown, we've gotten to the point where nobody will run their horse on 2 weeks rest. Which is absolutely devastating to the longterm health of the sport. Basically you can expect to see tons more careers like Justify and Flightline in the future, and you can't attract fans when notable horses never run and rivalries can never form.

Not knowing a lick about breeding, but using common sense, I would think continually sending horses to the breeding shed after a short career could
end up passing on some infirm bloodlines. I wonder how Flightline would have fared with another trainer?

[azeri98]

I don't understand this. It's a million dollar race, part of the TC and trainers are afraid to run 2 weeks later? Maybe they should spread out the TC more based on the way racing has changed. I still think Baffert would have run at least one if he was allowed in the Derby. If Lukas had any he would run for sure.

[five-eighths]

I would rather see the Triple Crown races spread out.

Push the Preakness out a week to Memorial Day weekend.

Push the Belmont out to 4th of July weekend.

That way there is enough spacing for modern thoroubreds, and more competitive fields for horseplayers.

What does it really mean for Mage to win the Preakness against a Grade 2/3 field? I’m not excited to be betting this field.

Make the Triple Crown races mean something again.

[Inner Dirt]

Kills my usual plan of sitting out the Derby and then betting the horse that with a better trip would have won the Derby but did not giving ok Preakness odds. I liked Two Phil's.

[GMB@BP]

I dont think spreading them out does anything.

Depressing field to say the least.

[classhandicapper]

Personally, I don't understand the thinking. I realize it's not fashionable to come back on 2 weeks rest these days, but the Preakness is for $1.5 million. Given that so many Derby horses wind up passing it, the Preakness would be one of the races I'd have circled on my calendar. You have a chance to run for 1.5 million in a field that's often not particularly deep.

You could always freshen up after that. You don't have to come back quickly again to run 12F in the Belmont against freshened Derby horses and any new late bloomers. You can skip that one.

I guess if the horse comes out of the Derby really tired or you are convinced you have a 12F horse it might make sense to skip the Preakness. But other than that, I'm going to the Preakness.

[$w1fT]

Originally Posted by GMB@BP

I dont think spreading them out does anything.

Depressing field to say the least.

Spreading the races out would kill the Belmont IMO. Why run there in late June or early July when you can wait for a race like the Haskell three weeks later. It’s a grade 1 and isn’t 12f.

[dilanesp]

They should probably consider bringing back the point system with a big enough bonus.