Quote:
Originally Posted by cj
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It shouldn't be taken for granted that spacing the race 4 weeks from the Derby will make things "safer".
For one, would this year's race have been "safer" if a horse like Forte (or any of the other Derby scratches) was able to get shoe horned off the Veterinarian's List in time to start?
But more importantly, do they really think horsemen are going to use the extended spacing to afford their horses "more time to recover"? Probably not. It just means the horses will have at least 2 more workouts ahead of the race instead of one or none. Races aren't the only times horses undergo physical stress on their bodies. In fact, most of the damage or wear & tear comes from overtraining.
Of course, the reality is this move has little to do with safety & everything to do with trying to avoid the dreadful renditions of the Preakness we've seen over the past couple of decades, this year's being amongst the worst.
As a resounding F U in response to this silly way of going about it, NYRA should keep the Belmont on the normal day & simply change the race to 10 or maybe even 9 furlongs.
If horsemen need at least 4 weeks between starts, 5's got to be even better, right?
