JC / Railbird

The Sport Archive

So Much for the Horses

“People may not identify with a good horse, but they do know a good time” (ESPN).

Posted in The Sport on August 21, 2007

Or, all that’s wrong with racing: “Steve Asmussen, the trainer of Curlin, was even more blunt. ‘Realistically, these aren’t racehorses,’ he said. ‘They’re breeding stock, and someone lets you run them for a little while’” (NY Times). Perhaps Steven Crist’s fantastical vision of “stallions-in-training sales” isn’t so far off (DRF).

Posted in The Sport on August 19, 2007

Working Backwards

Asmussen, Pletcher, Nafzger — they’ve all made mention recently of working backwards from the Breeders’ Cup in plotting out racing schedules for their talented charges. Sherry Ross writes in the NY Daily News that the approach comes with a cost:

The Breeders’ Cup, designed to keep top horses in racing deeper into the calendar year, has accomplished that goal. But now it is doing it to the detriment of other quality stakes races in the months leading up to the main event.

Why isn’t Rags to Riches running in the Alabama on Saturday, or Curlin or Any Given Saturday in next week’s Travers? Because their trainers are eyeballing the schedule and figuring out the least taxing way to get their charges to the Breeders’ Cup.

It’s not only for the purse money, but for the emphasis — some would say, over-emphasis — that many Eclipse Award voters place on the Breeders’ Cup results, often ignoring year-long achievements.

Yes. So, what is to be done? Standings, a revamped “Win and You’re In,” bonuses — the emphasis needs to be on encouraging competition through the year, not just one day.

Posted in The Sport on August 15, 2007

Sporting Greatness

Eight were inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame on Monday, including recently retired Funny Cide jockey Jose Santos, who got three standing ovations during the ceremony (DRF), and Boston-connected Triple Tiara winner Mom’s Command (Herald). With 11 victories in 16 starts, the champion filly’s place in the Hall of Fame is well deserved, but Bill Finley raises a good question about future equine honorees in his ESPN column:

Do the stars of the modern era, a period in racing’s history where the majority of top horses have had very limited campaigns — deserve to be enshrined alongside the true greats and warriors of the game?

It hardly matters. Hall of Fame rules stipulate one horse, one human inductee from each category every year. So, what will future voters do with Horse of the Year Invasor, one of the best racehorses in recent years, retired with an injury after only seven starts outside Uruguay? Or Rags to Riches, who will skip the Alabama to start in the Ruffian or Gazelle this September and then run in the Breeders’ Cup (DRF)? She’ll almost certainly enter the Hall of Fame on the basis of her historic Belmont win, even if her career ends after two more starts.

Posted in HOF/Awards, The Sport on August 7, 2007

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The Sport Archive

So Much for the Horses

Bred to Breed, Not to Race

Working Backwards

Sporting Greatness