Time now for the Triple Crown to be changed

[loveracing]

I will probably take heat for this, but the Triple Crown needs a change. When the triple crown first started it was not under the format of two weeks between the derby and preakness and three weeks between the preakness and belmont. My opinion is this, run the races on the first saturday in may, june and july. This way you have the winning derby horse fresh and ready to challenge the new comers in the next legs of the triple crown. Horses are animals and not machines they need rest to race at their best. People will say this change will take luster away from the triple crown, on the contrary the derby and preakness winner will be much more ready for the belmont and the new fresh challengers he may face. Easier to beat a tired derby and preakness winning horse in the belmont than a fresh one. I love the distances of each race that I would not change, so no one can say I am changing anything else.

[ryesteve]

Originally Posted by loveracing

When the triple crown first started it was not under the format of two weeks between the derby and preakness and three weeks between the preakness and belmont.

You're right. The races used to be closer together.

[cj]

The current format is what makes it so tough. No way it should be changed.

Wasn't it Citation that won the Jersey Derby as a tuneup for the Belmont after winning the first two legs?

[boomman]

Originally Posted by loveracing

I will probably take heat for this, but the Triple Crown needs a change. When the triple crown first started it was not under the format of two weeks between the derby and preakness and three weeks between the preakness and belmont. My opinion is this, run the races on the first saturday in may, june and july. This way you have the winning derby horse fresh and ready to challenge the new comers in the next legs of the triple crown. Horses are animals and not machines they need rest to race at their best. People will say this change will take luster away from the triple crown, on the contrary the derby and preakness winner will be much more ready for the belmont and the new fresh challengers he may face. Easier to beat a tired derby and preakness winning horse in the belmont than a fresh one. I love the distances of each race that I would not change, so no one can say I am changing anything else.

The time between races is definitely too short (given the fragility of today's breed), especially with just 2 weeks between the Derby and Preakness. My concern though is that if you move it to too many weeks between it takes the luster away from the crown and folks would want to put an asterisk in front of any future Triple Crown Winner. So my suggestion would be to move the Preakness and Belmont back one week each so you would have 3 weeks between the Derby and Preakness and 4 weeks between the Preakness and Belmont. It is an honored tradition and I respect it immensely, but the time has DEFINITELY come for change. The bad thing is, I'm not even sure a change in format will assist in crowning another Triple Crown winner in my lifetime.

Boomer

[DJofSD]

Go ahead. Change it.

Just don't call it a Triple Crown any more. Call it the former series of races that used to mean something and set a standard of excellence but since we've gotten away from the breeding of stout horses and are now only running speed horses we'll name the series of races the Triple Frown.

It's grading on the curve. You'd rather have a TC winner under different rules than to wait until a truly great horse comes around. Typical, you can not win the game so change the rules.

[Moyers Pond]

The TC is only for great horses. There is an average of 1 per decade. That is the way it should be.

Point Given could have easily won the TC. He just didn't have luck. There are horses capable of doing it with a little luck. Big Brown simply wasn't good enough. A horse like PG was. So was a horse like Sunday Silence or Easy Goer. Plenty had the talent, just not the luck.

Spreading out the time between races doesn't give horses the luck they need. It takes a great horse with a little luck, especially in the derby.

[WinterTriangle]

Originally Posted by loveracing

When the triple crown first started it was not under the format of two weeks between the derby and preakness and three weeks between the preakness and belmont.

That would require an actual attention span.

Breeding may have changed in horses, but the public has gotten more fickle over the years, too. And their attention spans have dwindled significantly.

[loveracing]

My main focus is a horse needs some rest to be at his best. I would rather see a rested derby and preakness winner trying to win the belmont at full strength rather than a tired one faced fresh challengers.

[DJofSD]

And their attention spans have dwindled significantly.

And I consider that to be an understatement!

[loveracing]

A fresher horse with luck is better than a tired one.

[cj]

Originally Posted by loveracing

My main focus is a horse needs some rest to be at his best. I would rather see a rested derby and preakness winner trying to win the belmont at full strength rather than a tired one faced fresh challengers.

That is generally a myth. Most horses in good form do better when they continue to race. Horses in bad form do better with a layoff.

[DJofSD]

My main focus is a horse needs some rest to be at his best. I would rather see a rested derby and preakness winner trying to win the belmont at full strength rather than a tired one faced fresh challengers.

Let me ask the obvious quesiton here: have you every trained a horse in any discipline? What period of time would constitute a rest?

Have you ever looked at the race records of great horses in the past to see what a good horse can do?

[magwell]

Originally Posted by loveracing

I will probably take heat for this, but the Triple Crown needs a change. When the triple crown first started it was not under the format of two weeks between the derby and preakness and three weeks between the preakness and belmont. My opinion is this, run the races on the first saturday in may, june and july. This way you have the winning derby horse fresh and ready to challenge the new comers in the next legs of the triple crown. Horses are animals and not machines they need rest to race at their best. People will say this change will take luster away from the triple crown, on the contrary the derby and preakness winner will be much more ready for the belmont and the new fresh challengers he may face. Easier to beat a tired derby and preakness winning horse in the belmont than a fresh one. I love the distances of each race that I would not change, so no one can say I am changing anything else.

[loveracing]

Racing 3 times in 5 weeks can make a horse go off form

[loveracing]

Your statement shows you must think a horse is a machine that doesn't need any rest to run at its best.