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[Tom]

I think the Mile has a place in the BC, but not as a CHAMPIONSHIP race, like the Marathon, as a warmup race.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

It was a good list and analysis of what those mile races have produced recently.

I think I'm on an island with the BC mile. I love high quality 1 mile races. A lot of them are great tests because the pace is often extremely challenging, but the race is not so long that it automatically turns into a meltdown. A great horse can set a wicked pace and get a mile. When they do, I love it. The BC Mile has just had a few soft fields so far given it's a BC race.

It's an interesting race to handicap. So is the Met Mile (and it was even more so when it was Memorial Day and it saw more 3 year olds).

But given the purpose of the BC is to decide championships, it's a very bad race to have on the Breeders' Cup card. It's just too tempting as a vessel to duck the Classic.

[classhandicapper]

What makes it a little tricky is that we don't really think in terms of "milers" as a unique category the way they do in Europe on grass. Could anyone imagine eliminating the BC Turf Mile?

[Redboard]

Originally Posted by Tom

I think the Mile has a place in the BC, but not as a CHAMPIONSHIP race, like the Marathon, as a warmup race.

It really isn't a race that has held much stock with the Eclipse award voters. Perfect examples are Liams Map & Knicks Go. It's a grade one race like all the races in the BC. I say leave it in and let the voters decide the champions. They do anyway.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

What makes it a little tricky is that we don't really think in terms of "milers" as a unique category the way they do in Europe on grass. Could anyone imagine eliminating the BC Turf Mile?

One big difference is the Turf is a non-negotiable 1 1/2 miles (the BC will change the distance of other races but not that one). If there were a BC race at 1 1/4 miles on turf, the Mile would cannibalize it.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

One big difference is the Turf is a non-negotiable 1 1/2 miles (the BC will change the distance of other races but not that one). If there were a BC race at 1 1/4 miles on turf, the Mile would cannibalize it.

That's a good point with the regard to the BC races on turf. But they have plenty of prestigious 10f race in Europe and "milers" are still a more significant category.