Graded Stakes a joke
 

last 6 graded 1 or 2 stakes at belmont

first flight 5 horses tom fool 6 horses dwyer 5 horses mother goose 4 horses suburban 6 [really 5 and a half] new york 6 horses hollywood not better g1 vanity 4 horses g2 bev hills 5 horses the g1 triple bend had a gaint monster feild of seven. whats going on here ?

And hates when that happens.

There were only 5 in the UN at Monmouth on Saturday.

So it is not limited to NYRA Dirt Tracks.

all the good ones retire bcause they run them too hard too fast and too early.

plus, none of the horsemen want the money, they have enough

The Prioress has been arguably the weakest Grade 1 in North America the past 4 years and had one runner who warranted being in a Grade 1 this year. And they still don't downgrade this should-be Grade 3.

Bobby Frankel

Welcome to racing 2007 style

I agree, I don't know how that race is still a Grade I.

I strongly disagree! Most of those grade 1's that Lava Man ran in were some of the weakest I've ever seen.If any races need to be downgraded,it should be some of those.

At least those horses could run triple digit Beyers. In the past four years, Dream Rush may be the only filly to have entered the Prioress with a triple digit Beyer on her resume. There is NO need for a Grade 1 sprint for 3YO fillies/mares because if a 3YO filly is any good, they are routing.

BTW, the Test was lousy last year. An Illinois bred who was off the board in the Illy bred stake in her last was a neck away from stealing that race last year.

Is there a worse Grade 1 winner than Acey Deucey?

The Breeders Cup has ruined the sport. There's simply not enough quality horses running year round. They're always fukin' training, though. Heaven forbid they're entered in a race because it's risky. Horse could spontaneously combust.

In a game that involves such high levels of risk, there sure are alot of pussies owning and training horses.

So Xtra Heat was no good??

I think that's really erroneous. There are plenty of great filly and mare sprinters. I think the Prioress just sucks, and it didn't help that it was the same weekend as the Princess Rooney this year, either.

yawn, here you go again

you mean like the pacific classic race of 05' that sucked so bad. it only had surf cat and borrego, yes the borrego that walked in the Jockey Club Gold Cup in New York.

Isnt the problem with the Prioress is its too close to the classic filly races so the ones that should be cut back to sprints are still routing, and that the Test seems to be the race where trainers concede they are not routers?

Princess Rooney's for older f&m's, Prioress for straight 3's (still sucks, however)

If you look at some of the competition in some of those races it wasn't all that tough and most people on this board will agree with me.

You're right, my mistake. In that case, it's pretty stupid to have a G-I sprint for three-year-old fillies in July when the Test is less than a month away..

I agree with both points.

Is The Breeder's Cup ruining racing or is the ownership of some of these animals ruining racing? My point is this, those that say that The Breeder's Cup is ruining racing might think different in November when they can't sleep the night before with excitement about the Saturday when the best of the best meet and battle. Maybe the real problem from my novice eyes is the money in the ownership side and their desire to turn a profit versus a true love of the game and the horse? Lets buy this one for a million, race him for a year or a little more and hope to make millions after he snags a couple Graded Stakes and is sent to the farm to make babies. I realize few make money in this game but at times I think some folks let their ego and their wallet drive their decisions versus what some of the blue collar folks do - and that is own and train for the love of the game. I often at times think about a local trainer who holds down a ful time job here in Columbus and drives to River Downs almost every day checking on his stock. Pure love of the game. Last Friday their he was in the paddock still in his suit and tie from work saddling his horse. Pure love of the game.

Graded Stakes
 

There are just too many gaded stakes in racing.

Owners/Breeders are only looking to get black type for the horses to help increase stud fees. Decrease the number of graded stakes run to try and force the connections to race against the better horses running instead of some of the races we've been seeing recently.

You forgot the 3rd Place finisher who led most of the way and had a 112 Beyer in defeat who also now has 7 Grade 1 wins - despite the merchants of venom on this thread.

That's a little bit of a surprising statement. Why wouldn't a horse be able to run in both? For all of this talk it is probably worth recognizing that Dream Rush has run three times at Belmont and as far as I know is heading to the Test. At least they're getting their money's worth on the track with her. I hope she wins the Test.

NT

The sport needs new owners and they need some tax incentives to draw them into the game. More owners mean more horses and more horses mean fuller feilds. The sport seems doomed to less race tracks and racing days.

the whole problem right now is the breeding aspect. it's bigger business than the business it 'feeds'. rather than the best and brightest on the track being a good advertisement for their sire, or farm, they ARE the next big thing. situations such as that with point ashley don't help either! not enough money to be made on the track, it's all in the shed.

How many years ago was that? Yeah, and Safely Kept and Ruffian were great as well.