you've always had to be an 'iron horse' to win. people wanting changes are completely ignoring the history of the tc.
were there changes made between citation and secretariat?

if it's not rare, and not special-why bother trying for it.

the guy isn't trying to make winning the tc doable, he thinks his track is getting less attention. he may be right, but i don't think it's due to the schedule. md racing has been taking hits for some time, it's not because of the dates. it's because of purses and offerings.

First of all, it's not as if they've been doing it this way for 100 years. They've changed the schedule several times over the years.

I think it would still be special and relatively rare to have a TC winner if they added an extra week between races. Maybe they would get a TC winner every 5-10 years. I think that would still be a pretty big deal.

yes, i know it's changed several times. i know that it would have been inpossible at one point to do, because of when they were run.
but no changes have occurred in a very, very long time.
i simply disagree that it needs changing. we have horses who run a week back (like bayern may well have done) from the trial to the derby, or two weeks from the lexington to the derby.
pimlico thinks they are getting short shrift because of the schedule. i think it's because of it being pimlico. md racing has been in decline for some time, changing the preakness date won't change the decision to run there for most. you have to entice the horsemen. no better way than to give them what they want.

There is no reason to believe that added time would create more Triple Crown winners. As a matter of fact a TC winner wont have any lasting impact on racing anyway.

Chuckas is looking out for Pimlico which is what he is supposed to do but changing the dates wont help the TC and might very well do the opposite.

Now the best argument for changing the TC dates would be if the tracks got together and created a TC of sorts for the other divisions/undercard races as well which with a little creativity and common sense could be continued throughout the rest of the summer and fall leading up to the Breeders Cup.

Just changing the TC and randomly hoping it works is a far more likely scenario though

Don't understand why they don't have a Triple Crown for Fillies running the Friday before the Triple Crown Race. I'm sure that NBCSN can market that...

You don't think the current spacing of those races is one of the things that makes it so difficult to win the TC?

I don't think spacing had anything to do with the last ten horses vying for the TC after winning the first two races, failing to complete the sweep.

Just off the top of my head...

Alysheba got beat by a mile due to having a dumb ride, plus he got beat by a horse that also ran in all three races.

Sunday Silence got trounced by a Belmont track freak, whom also ran in all three races.

Silver Charm got beat by a better horse (at least in my eyes, he had more ability) that was unlucky to lose to Silver Charm in the Preakness.

Real Quiet made that crazy early move, and lost to a horse that also ran in all three races.

Charismatic, possibly, but he was trained by Lukas.

Funny Cide was fortunate to win the Derby, and got beat in the Belmont by a horse of considerably better quality.

Smarty Jones got Bailey'd in the Belmont.

War Emblem had that bad start in the Belmont, but who knows.

Big Brown, he looked like a horse in bad trouble towards the end of the Preakness. Would he have benefited from another week or two, maybe!

I'll Have Another???

no.

was it the current spacing that cost everyone for 25 years between cy and secretariat?

was it spacing that cost real quiet, smarty, spectacular bid, sunday silence for starters?

you could put them three months apart, doesn't mean more horses would win it.
chuckas needs to focus on his tracks product, instead of an 'easy' fix for what ails him.
he doesn't want a tc winner, he wants more receipts this weekend.

:tro:

NY used to have their own TC for fillies the Acorn, Mother Goose and Coaching Club all which were far bigger races than the Black Eyed Susan.

The spacing makes the Preakness easier to win for the Derby winner and the 1 1/2 distance is an x factor regardless of time between races. Put it this way the leading trainer in the country who has by far the best young stock year after year doesnt even bother trying to win the preakness now.

You are being a little harsh on Tommy boy. From HIS vantage point, yeah the 2 week turn around hurts HIS product, especially the undercard races. However the rest of us are looking at the timing from a different vantage point and our jobs arent being impacted

Exactly, the derby winner is in peak form and extra time between the derby and preakness would open the door for late developers to knock them off.

I never claimed that the spacing was the only thing that makes it so tough to win the TC. I do believe it is one of the toughest things but not the only thing. Most trainers would agree with that. If you asked guys like Pletcher and Baffert, I guarantee you that they would tell you that the spacing is one of the most challenging things and that it makes it all that much tougher to win all three. It's not rocket science to know that it's asking a lot of a 3 year old (or even an older horse) to run 3 times in 5 weeks, including a 1 1/2 mile race.

Most would? Show me.

If most wanted it changed,it would. Look at poly going away for example. And of course its tough, else anyone could do it.

I don't think I am being harsh. If you want business you offer a good product. And if it weren't for the tc tradition he wouldn't draw anyone.

Does anyone know when the last change was made in either the spacing or the length of the races? I tried to track it down, but for once Google failed me.

Good thread, btw. I particularly liked Indian Charlie's rundown of the Belmont 'fails'. And I totally agree with Cannon's "As a matter of fact a TC winner wont have any lasting impact on racing anyway."

My own opinion on whether the spacing should be changed is obvious from my avatar.

--Dunbar