Race Discrimination
 

what gives, 31 graded stakes and 15 grade1's at saratoga

at AP we don't have nearly as many, at del amr they have 5 grade 1's. THis is nothing more than race discrimination !

why can't the grade 1 races be evenly distributed.

i think a system where the tracks bid on graded stakes races to be run at that tracks might be a method to even out the distribution of races nationwide , and at the same time cause the entire country to see all the horses both dirt and turf.

this race discrimintion ony benefits parts of the nation and excludes many others. why is it so lop sided and why doesn't it change.??

Other than one day of the year, Chicago racing is worthless...


How many big stables do you see set up there?

I LOVE your idea of more even distribution of graded stakes. Stop concentrating them at Saratoga, Belmont, Gulfstream and Santa Anita ... spread 'em out for everyone to enjoy .... even out in the boondocks.

Here's what they can do ...

Have two pillboxes ... one with the names of graded stakes ... and one with the names of race tracks. Shake out a "stakes" pill ... then shake out a "track" pill.

"La Cañada" goes to ... Evangeline Downs.
"Mother Goose" goes to ... Fort Erie
"Donn Handicap" goes to ... Prairie Meadows

Yeah ... yeah I like that ... I really think it would work. Great idea !!!

Like that's really going to happen. The heat is getting to everybody.

There were two Grade 3s and 1 Grade 2 on Saturday at AP and all three races were superior in quality to a race like the Prioress, which should never be more than a Grade 3.

The whole grading process is a joke because the committee is incompetant. Good speed figures are a far better indicator of a races quality than some arbitrary rating assigned by a bunch of people who never bet $1 on horse racing.

i think he is being sarcastic, a real hoot !

seriouslt, they should be more evenly ditributed. if tracks had to bid on these races with the procedds going to the NTRA...

hey i might have a good idea here....

The plans are already in the works. Look for the NTRA press conference before the end of the month ...

... and listen for the rattling of those little pills.

The future of thoroughbred racing depends on it.

Yes .. it IS a good idea ... but ...

... it would be even better ... if the proceeds went to me.

i should get a commish...

The problem is the $$$$$. All that are in control will not give up the $$$$.Theb way I understand the grading process, is the grading of a race bassed on the quality of the entrants in prior years. What draws the top horses? The big money. Who has the big money? The big tracks. Even tho it would be nice to see the top horses run at mor diversified locations,Somjewhere wen have to reward the tracks that put the money out there for purses. If we are going to regulate where the races are to be run are we going to regulate how many million dollar horses the Shieks can buy? Liike it or not the process of grading Stakes races has some foundation.

My theory is the races should be graded at the end of the year. I know some will scream the owners would be all upset. But if a race is worth $500,000 and you find out its not a lock to be a Gr. 1, are you going to pass? Probably not. Money still talks.

Well, I'll certainly be anxiously waiting for that graded race to make its way to Charles Town or Penn National sometime soon once they start employing block's method of graded stakes redistribution. It will almost be like the Great Society or New Deal of tb racing!

gee slot have to do some history homework over the weekend ?
or where you forced to sit throuhg an american history movie.

I don't know man, I think it is just fine the way it is. When it comes to alot of these races tradition has to play a role in their location, otherwise they lose, in my opinion, some if not the majority of their prestige. Not too mention if you start moving some of these around attendance would surely be affected, and I would think it would be a loss not a gain at the gate. I know diddly squat about the Graded process, but I do know that when you start moving an event from one place to another and it has been at the same facility for decades, it usually in the long run is a mistake.

You have to remember the tracks own the races. You just cant move the Stephen Foster to Delaware, or the Whitney to Meadowlands. The tracks NYRA owns all the races. Some of the races have been run for decades. But I do have a problem with the Grading System. To me it should be about money

Grade I - $750k and up
Grade II - $250k - $749k
Grade III - $100 - $249k

The biggest "Joke" of a graded stakes win is any2yr old race of less than 6f. I wouldnt be opposed if the only gradedn stakes for 2yr olds being the BC. Some realy bogus black type for 2yrolds.

As for non-graded stakes didn't i read recently that the NTRA requires a minimum of $50,000 purse in order to qualify as a stakes ? they are trying to eliminate the questionable black type in pedigrees.

The problem is that owners won't like seeing their G1 horses breaking down left and right on the Arlington dirt.

2YO stakes are graded in the same way all other stakes are ... after the fact.

That's the great flaw in the grading system ... a race run in 2006 is given a grade based on the quality of the horses who ran in it from 2000-2005.

That grading has nothing whatsoever to do with the horses who are running in this year's race.

That's why I always refer to "G2 horses" ... and not "G2 races" ... because there can be ... and often is ... a great deal of difference between those two terms.

well obviously a place like saratoga will have more graded races. the committee takes a variety of things into consideration every year when they meet and decide stakes grading. every year some get graded, some move down, some lose status altogether. the oaklawn handicap for instance is now gr 2--due mainly to the fact that the race lately hasn't drawn horses like in the old days, such as when cigar ran. also, the ark derby is a million dollar purse, but til lately, it hasn't drawn a top field. of course it just moved up to a million, but with recent showings by smarty and alex, it's bound to move up.
it's not just the purse, it's also the prestige. those that lose their luster eventually lose their status. but no way they will be handed out evenly to tracks. they'll go to those who have the money to add to the purses.