How about this.......
 

Simply put, if it came down to Graded Earnings instead of some bs nomination fee, there would be no controversy here.

I haven't seen this much hatred involving a Preakness since the war of words between Woody Stephens and Gene Klein/Gary Stevens in 1988. Stephens called Gary a "stupid boy." Klein said Stephens belonged in the "Hall of Shame." Woody responded by calling Klein "crying Klein." DWL kept his mouth shut.

I know many here will not share this sentiment, but isn't it their job to give their horse the best chance of winning the race? Wouldnt doing whats better for the horse to win the 2nd jewel of the Triple Crown trump doing whats best for the sport/spectator? If entering a hopeless horse (Indy Express) to prevent the main threat (Rachel ALexander) from getting to the gate gives the horse the best chance to win the Preakness, they'd be idiots to not at least entertain the thought. Chicken$hit move or not, it certainly lies within the bounds of legality. (entering another horse to prevent another talent-superior horse from getting to the gate)

Is this move that different from entering a rabbit? I understand that rabbits, for the most part, dont prevent other win-eligible horses from entering, that they just throw a curveball into the race via pace scenarios.

The name of the game is to win the big races and to give your horse the best possible chance to win ced big races. If you rob the spectators/fans of the best possible matchup in doing so, so be it. I'm sure the fans would understand the dilemna a whole lot better if they were in Allen's shoes.

disclaimer:: I don't necessarily think that it's the right move from a sportsmanship standpoint, but I certainly would mull the idea over. Being that you have a healthy and talented enough horse to get the job done, the idea is to win the race by any legal means necessary, riiiight?.

May not be any super colts (or 'roid-fueled freaks like Curlin or Big Brownroid) in this year's Preakness field ... but it's still gunna be a big class jump for the filly.

BIG difference going from smallish fields of overmatched fillies to a full field of males ... and in a longer contest, no less.

Not sayin she doesn't have a shot to win the race ... just that there could be a big jump in injury risk too.



By the way, the last filly to run in the Preakness, Baffy's Excellent Meeting in '99, pulled up and didn't finish the contest...


http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/colum...sportCat=horse

A good horse can overcome a pace scenario, but if owners conspire to keep a horse out by abusing the rules...

As EA sports would say, "If it's in the game, it's IN the game". Are they breaking the rules? or just abusing them?

He's run 9 times and has 1 second and 1 third.

The 2nd place finish was at Remington Park.

people enter rabbits to ensure a quick pace, not to keep a horse from even entering a race. apples vs oranges imo. if they think they have the best horse, run him and let's see. but this cowardly crap of entering a horse just to scratch, with no intention of running him? if it works, and RA doesn't run-then i would call a win by MTB not only a second miracle, but a hollow victory. not a sportsmanlike move at all. big difference between helping your own horse run his race and not letting another run at all.

so? that's one horse. now tell me how every other filly who entered over the years did? fillies run past 1 3/16 fairly often. i doubt rachel will fold like a cheap tent when/if she makes the attempt.
i just want to see her get to try. if she can't do it, we'll know.

lol
they need to re-do the entry rules up there. only three horses currently on the preakness list have a win in their last start-and now they're going to run this guy rather than a gr 1 winner? this is sick.

Allen told the NY Times tonight that he is not going to run Indy anymore.

good!
i wonder if some members of the md jockey club called him and asked him to knock it off? they can't have been thrilled at the prospect of having a maiden rather than a top notch filly who's thought by many to be the best 3 yo currently running.

I don't think any of them said they would enter a horse and then scratch it. Declan's Harbor's post I agree with, it IS like entering a rabbit, which obviously excludes others even if it's not the stated purpose. I personally don't like the use of rabbits anywhere, it's unfair to the rabbit, if nothing else.

i was assuming they would enter other horses just to keep her out of the gate, but not run them-surely they weren't actually going to run another horse vs mine that bird? lol that would have been a kick in the pants if their add-in beat the prospective tc winner!!

i'd think for the most part, entering a rabbit won't necessarily oversubscribe a race. and yes, it can hurt a sure front-runner-but the horses all still have a shot rather than what would have happened here, a horse not even able to enter.

This is ridiculous.
If they do conspire to keep her out, I hope Mine that bird and POTN both run up the track along with the other pigs they enter.
I'm no fan of Jess Jackson, but the horse deserves to run.

The way NBC is hyping the race, they sure want her to run.

My $ is on her being in the gate come Saturday

Who knows, but perhaps Allen is starting to realize his 10 minutes of fame would have been better spent trying to get his horse's face on a bottle of beer.

Last 3 beyers: 62 71 63......Of course we know know that Beyers mean nothing. :rolleyes: A horse with a lifetime top of 81 just won the Derby.:wf

What? Like missing Guadalcanal try to break his maiden??

I think it's funny how they already have RA as the main attraction in the Preakness for their commercial...... I know she will be the main attraction, but wait til we see if she makes it or not.

On another note, I'm already trying to get an idea of my bets for the preakness and I'm between placing a nice size win bet on RA, or playing a bunch of exotics and use her in 2nd and 3rd.