Belmont to be 9 furlongs

[dilanesp]

I don't get why they are doing this, I don't understand why they think 3 year olds can't go 12 furlongs in late June, and any TC winner this year will be cheaper than a paper face mask.

https://mobile.twitter.com/paulickre...76107310419977

[Bigadam119]

All I can say is that’s terrible

[NJDfan1711]

This is odd. With all sports having been postponed for a while now and some starting to resume, you'd think they'd resume in areas that have been the least affected first, and then gradually re-open in all parts of the country...but instead, they decide to resume with the state that's been hit by FAR the hardest and make what's usually the last race, first?!

I don't live in NY anymore, but I still have a ton of family there, and obviously I pay attention to the news, and aren't we only like a few weeks or a month removed from that entire city/state basically being overwhelmed from the virus? How exactly does it make sense to have the Belmont a month from now? I know it's spectator free, but there's still going to be people out at restaurants and bars watching it and betting on it, not to mention probably having some home gatherings and what not.... plus the Derby isn't until September, so why the rush to have the Belmont in June only to have a two and a half month break in between?

I can understand the four major sports having a hard time scheduling things because arenas and stadiums are shared by multiple teams and sports, not to mention concerts and other events, but race tracks aren't used for anything else, so I really just don't get it.

[Rutgers]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

I don't get why they are doing this, I don't understand why they think 3 year olds can't go 12 furlongs in late June, and any TC winner this year will be cheaper than a paper face mask.

https://mobile.twitter.com/paulickre...76107310419977

How many trainers do you think we're prepping their 3 year old dirt horses to run a 12 furlong race in June after racing in NY stopped in March with no announced restart date?

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by NJDfan1711

This is odd. With all sports having been postponed for a while now and some starting to resume, you'd think they'd resume in areas that have been the least affected first, and then gradually re-open in all parts of the country...but instead, they decide to resume with the state that's been hit by FAR the hardest and make what's usually the last race, first?!

I don't live in NY anymore, but I still have a ton of family there, and obviously I pay attention to the news, and aren't we only like a few weeks or a month removed from that entire city/state basically being overwhelmed from the virus? How exactly does it make sense to have the Belmont a month from now? I know it's spectator free, but there's still going to be people out at restaurants and bars watching it and betting on it, not to mention probably having some home gatherings and what not.... plus the Derby isn't until September, so why the rush to have the Belmont in June only to have a two and a half month break in between?

I can understand the four major sports having a hard time scheduling things because arenas and stadiums are shared by multiple teams and sports, not to mention concerts and other events, but race tracks aren't used for anything else, so I really just don't get it.

What's not to get? The racing will be spectator-free.

If restaurants and bars are open, people will be there regardless of whether or not the Belmont Stakes is being run...

People really need to start letting go of the panic, or else we'll be like this forever.

We flattened the curve. That was the whole point. Time to move on.

(I live right in the middle of the "overwhelmed," and quite frankly, I think "overwhelmed" is a media creation...all of the auxiliary healthcare facilities set up to deal with COVID, except one (Javits center), saw basically zero action)

[classhandicapper]

I don't know what the thinking was, but generally the 3yos are slowly stretched out from 8.5F to 9F to 10F and then ultimately 12F. It seems a little unnatural to go from 9F to 12F and then back to 10F for the Derby when a lot of people don't think modern lightly raced young horses can handle 10F and 12F very well to begin with. I have no idea what other scheduling considerations there were (when is the Wood Memorial?), but they are hell bent on Saratoga. So I don't think they'd run the Belmont at Saratoga.

[cj]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

I don't know what the thinking was, but generally the 3yos are slowly stretched out from 8.5F to 9F to 10F and then ultimately 12F. It seems a little unnatural to go from 9F to 12F and then back to 10F for the Derby when a lot of people don't think modern lightly raced young horses can handle 10F and 12F very well to begin with. I have no idea what other scheduling considerations there were (when is the Wood Memorial?), but they are hell bent on Saratoga. So I don't think they'd run the Belmont at Saratoga.

I guess there are no great answers. Nine furlongs will make it a great betting race with little relevance historically. Probably a lot of 2020 will be looked upon that way in all sports.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by Rutgers

How many trainers do you think we're prepping their 3 year old dirt horses to run a 12 furlong race in June after racing in NY stopped in March with no announced restart date?

This notion that you need to "prep" horses a month in advance to run 12 furlongs rather than 10 is something that trainers of older generations would completely mock.

Honestly, how many horses are EVER "prepped" for the Belmont? Most of them come out of other races at shorter distances, including TC races. It isn't like ANY trainer of any 3 year old is circling a Saturday in June on the calendar and saying "I will slowly work my horse up to 1 1/2 miles".

They can run different distances. It isn't some mystical feat of training that they are able to do this. They do it all the time.

The horses could have run 1 1/2 miles in late June. Belmont just caved to some big-name trainers who wanted to make the race easier to win.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

I don't know what the thinking was, but generally the 3yos are slowly stretched out from 8.5F to 9F to 10F and then ultimately 12F. It seems a little unnatural to go from 9F to 12F and then back to 10F for the Derby when a lot of people don't think modern lightly raced young horses can handle 10F and 12F very well to begin with. I have no idea what other scheduling considerations there were (when is the Wood Memorial?), but they are hell bent on Saratoga. So I don't think they'd run the Belmont at Saratoga.

If Belmont had made the race 12 furlongs, they would have gotten entries.

At any rate, here's a modest proposal. Let's make the DERBY 1 1/2 miles. Or the Preakness. Plenty of time to prep.

Or is this just a one way ratchet, where we eventually run a TC race at 5 furlongs on the turf (which my 90 year old mother sarcastically refers to as "the classic American distance").

[NJDfan1711]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

What's not to get? The racing will be spectator-free.

If restaurants and bars are open, people will be there regardless of whether or not the Belmont Stakes is being run...

People really need to start letting go of the panic, or else we'll be like this forever.

We flattened the curve. That was the whole point. Time to move on.

(I live right in the middle of the "overwhelmed," and quite frankly, I think "overwhelmed" is a media creation...all of the auxiliary healthcare facilities set up to deal with COVID, except one (Javits center), saw basically zero action)

Oh I'm not panicking at all - I don't wear a mask, haven't worn one at all. It's not that I'm not taking this seriously, but to me it's pretty easy to practice good hygiene and stay healthy while still maintaining your life and going about your normal business. So I'm with ya.

Frankly I think they could have the race with spectators - just reduce the number, and mandate that people stay spread out. I know it's hard to enforce, so it probably wouldn't be the best idea, but it goes to my point above about just using common sense. When you go to the grocery store, it's not hard to stand far enough away from someone when you're waiting on line. Or when you go to the gas station it's not hard to touch what is certainly a dirty handle/pump, and then just NOT touch your face or pick your nose. Likewise, it shouldn't be hard to attend a large-gathering race event and stay a few feet apart from others in attendance. But alas, that's too much to ask from humanity I suppose.

As I mentioned, I know it's spectator-free, it just still seems odd to me that, for reasons unknown, they'd make the Belmont the first race of the Triple Crown when the NY-area was the hardest hit in the country. I guess I'm just curious as to the logic behind it.

[castaway01]

Originally Posted by NJDfan1711

As I mentioned, I know it's spectator-free, it just still seems odd to me that, for reasons unknown, they'd make the Belmont the first race of the Triple Crown when the NY-area was the hardest hit in the country. I guess I'm just curious as to the logic behind it.

I don't understand why you think Belmont is the first track back racing. They're not the first track back, at all. A few tracks kept running through all of this. A few more are starting racing each week.

Churchill had to pick a date for the Derby that was far enough in advance that (1) it wouldn't get cancelled, (2) people could make travel plans. So they picked September. The Preakness doesn't mean anything if it doesn't follow the Derby, so they picked October.

With the Belmont, if they run 4 weeks later, they're almost exactly the same time as the Breeders Cup. They want to make this a big day of racing with multiple Grade 1 races. Can't do that on Breeders Cup weekend. Can't do it in December with the weather iffy, football in full swing, etc. But you can do it in the summer.

[biggestal99]

The “test of a champion” is reduced to just another race for 3 year olds.

Classic. loL.

Allan

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by cj

I guess there are no great answers. Nine furlongs will make it a great betting race with little relevance historically. Probably a lot of 2020 will be looked upon that way in all sports.

Here's the 64k question.

Are they going to run the Met Mile that day or have they learned what diminishing returns means yet?

I'm still waiting for them to figure out that any 100k-150k listed stake on Belmont day instead would still handle a fortune, have no negative impact on attendance, but save the Met for another day where it could turn another card into a special event day with a larger handle and more attendance.

Who cares whether the Met handles more on Memorial Day or Belmont day when it used to make Memorial Day special, bring in extra people, and increase the handle for the entire card in the old days.

[Spalding No!]

Barclay Tagg, trainer of Tiz The Law, was quoted as saying he'd prefer the Belmont to remain 12 furlongs to maintain its classic status. I'm not shocked by the distance change, but I wonder how much the higher ups at NYRA debated between 9 furlongs and 10 furlongs, since 10 furlongs is considered a "classic distance".

At any rate, where one tradition falls by the wayside (at least for this year), perhaps other more deplorable traditions will fall by the wayside, too. Namely, the ducking and diving and separating of top class horses throughout the year.

The Sackatoga owner guy politicked for this along with moving the Travers up on the calendar. However, he also skipped the Arkansas Derby in part because he didn't want to "face Baffert". Is he now going to backpedal out of a shortened Belmont under the pretense that its classic status is now suspect thereby avoiding Baffert until perhaps the Kentucky Derby?

Meanwhile, will Bob Baffert, who said he would not run in a 12 furlong Belmont...by the way, who cares?...Baffert already doesn't run in the Belmont even in a normal year...he'll only run if he has a TC candidate...that's been clear since he ducked the race with Preakness winner Lookin' At Lucky...outside of Justify (and his lead blocker) and American Pharaoh I think he's run only 2 horses in the Belmont in the past 15 years...anyways, will Baffert run ALL 3 of his top 3yos in the Baffert-approved classic Belmont? Or will he treat it like any other race and send one over and keep one for the Los Alamitos Derby and another for the Ohio Derby?

At any rate, I petition Martin Panza to bring back the Lawrence Realization later this year and also put it back on the dirt where it used to be. That way there's at least one 12 furlong race for 3yos in New York this year.

[jay68802]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

Here's the 64k question.

Are they going to run the Met Mile that day or have they learned what diminishing returns means yet?

I'm still waiting for them to figure out that any 100k-150k listed stake on Belmont day instead would still handle a fortune, have no negative impact on attendance, but save the Met for another day where it could turn another card into a special event day with a larger handle and more attendance.

Who cares whether the Met handles more on Memorial Day or Belmont day when it used to make Memorial Day special, bring in extra people, and increase the handle for the entire card in the old days.

You are confusing what is more important to the industry, handle or fans.