Cigar,Woodward,Clark are now Grade 2

[Brisk Urging]

Anyone know the criteria how these races are upgraded or downgraded?

Foster regains its G1

[BarchCapper]

Originally Posted by Brisk Urging

Anyone know the criteria how these races are upgraded or downgraded?

Foster regains its G1

It's all right here (how useful the criteria are is subject to interpretation):

https://toba.org/graded-stakes/

[Sheffwed]

Foster Grade 1, Woodward Grade 2?

Is the DelCap still not a Grade 1? Cmon

[Brisk Urging]

How can it be possible the SA CAP is still a G1..

The race has been brutal

[PaceAdvantage]

west coast bias...lulz

[ronsmac]

Originally Posted by Brisk Urging

How can it be possible the SA CAP is still a G1..

The race has been brutal

They downgraded so many California races that they probably felt sorry for them and kept the Big cap as a grade 1 for another year or two. With no casino money California racing is on it’s last legs.

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by Sheffwed

Foster Grade 1, Woodward Grade 2?

Brilliant!

The first year it is moved on the calendar, the historic Woodward is won by one of the top rated horses in the past 2 years and gets downgraded.

Meanwhile, the Foster is won by a horse who conspicuously lacked a Grade 1 victory at the time and who beats two horses whose claim to fame are winning 2 other races that the committee saw fit to downgrade from Grade 1 to Grade 2, Americanrevolution (Cigar Mile) and Proxy (Clark).

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by Brisk Urging

How can it be possible the SA CAP is still a G1..

The race has been brutal

The Big Cap can only be a Grade 1 in a world where the Gold Cup at Santa Anita is still a Grade 1.

Either that or the guy on the committee tasked with west coast races thinks that the ranking system is on an ascending scale from the low Grade 1 to the high Grade 3.

[dilanesp]

The Woodward deserves its downgrade, and the SAH/HGC should be downgraded as well.

Very few older male races are G1 quality anymore.

[BarchCapper]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

Very few older male races are G1 quality anymore.

We wind up with fewer and fewer quality older males. This is why I encourage rooting for every gelding on the Triple Crown trail!

[classhandicapper]

This year’s Cigar was a bit suspect, but IMO that’s a terrible downgrade. You have to look at multiple years and take scheduling, injuries, and other things into consideration.

[ClockersCorner]

I don’t have a problem with historic races at major tracks carrying grade one status. Maybe draw in the occasional shipper willing to take a shot.

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by BarchCapper

We wind up with fewer and fewer quality older males. This is why I encourage rooting for every gelding on the Triple Crown trail!

I don't know about the East Coast but CA's older horse division is stacked leading into 2023.

Defunded, Azul Coast, Kiss Today Goodbye, Heywoods Beach, Country Grammer, and Stilleto Boy. There Goes Harvard just started working again, too.

Not sure if Express Train, Tizamagician, and Royal Ship will return to provide an embarrassment of riches.

And don't get me started on the 3yos turning 4. I'm sure Taiba--with his high intensity campaign in the spring this year and an eye towards Saudi Arabia--is going to see out a full 2023 season. I'm sure any of Messier, Newgrange, and Forbidden Kingdom can fill his shoes quite nicely if I'm proved wrong.

Tell you what, it would've been a mean 2023 Pomona Invitational if Fairplex was still around. Might even get the Graded Stakes Committee's attention if they were feeling carefree with their "Listed" rank...

[cj]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

This year’s Cigar was a bit suspect, but IMO that’s a terrible downgrade. You have to look at multiple years and take scheduling, injuries, and other things into consideration.

The problem is by their own grading system, it wasn't suspect. It had four G1 winners in it. How many other G1s for older males could match that this year?

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by BarchCapper

We wind up with fewer and fewer quality older males. This is why I encourage rooting for every gelding on the Triple Crown trail!

I do too. I so wanted Funny Cide to win the TC.