Graded Stakes Committee Makes Changes
 

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...takes-for-2012

Four new Grade Is including the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and Turf Sprint.

NYRA loses two Grade Is, the Hopeful and Ruffian.

Good news for Parx.

The Marvin is like a Grade 2+++++..Arguable the best G3 in America.. If you made the Marvin a G1 there woud be 20 in the box for 250k in a minute

I feel better knowing that the Blue Grass remains a Grade 1.

How the F is the BEST 2 year old race ....The Hopeful not a G! at SPA

Charles Town Classic!

Actually this will probably reduce the race to a 5 horse field.

Everyone knows there is no good 2 year old racing at Saratoga...

Yep we need to promote Keeneland and their SPECIAL horse healthy racing surface.. Shameful simply shameful ..Its the Hopeful for Christ sake..The winners of the Hopeful line the Hall of Fame..THE FN BREEDERS CUP JUVY SPRINTS ?

Not saying that I disagree with your rant about the Hopeful downgrade, but the Graded Stakes committe uses certain criteria to make their recommendations and evidentally felt that recent runnings did not measure up. Your other comments are somewhat misconstrued. The Keeneland upgrade, the Jenny wiley is on the turf so no promotion of their SPECIAL surface there, though I understand your comment pertains to leaving the Blue Grass a Grade I. As far as the Breeders Cup races that were upgraded they were the Juvenile Fillies Turf( not a sprint) and the Turf Sprint for older males, 3& up. I thimk that you would agree that it has pretty much been a foregone conclusion that once a Breeders Cup race has been run enough times a Grade I status is awarded( the exception being the Marathon which is an ill concieved joke of a race and hopefully will not be continued)

The 2009 and 2010 runnings of the Hopeful were by no means spectacular but did feature 1-2-3 finishers that subsequently won the Gotham, Jim Dandy, Travers, Commonwealth, and Churchill Downs.

The 2010 Ruffian was won by a G2 winner who came back to place in a G2. The runner-up came back to win the BC Distaff. The year before the 2nd place finisher was a G1 winner and the winner was exiting a 2nd place finish in a G1.

Neither of these two races deserved to be downgraded. The Jenny Wiley and Cotillion were races that deserved to be upgraded.

Really? I mean the last 5 winners of the race have a total of 3 wins after their victory. Only Brilliant Speed won a graded race (3) . Stately Victor the non graded Ontario Derby. Dominican a allowance race at Presque Isle. General Quarters a few close calls but no wins. Anyone remember Monba? Da Truth i know you were tongue n cheek on your quote...

General Quarters followed his Bluegrass with a G1 win in the Woodford Reserve at CD on Derby Day 2010.

The real problem with the Graded Stakes, is the absurd amount of Grade 1's on the island known as California.
Unless you consider all the rags Zenyatta beat worth of Grade 1 placing's.

I agree. You would think many CA races will be in for downgrading in the next year or two.

What is the justification for making the BC Juvie Fillies Turf a Grade 1 ( other than allowing them to justify keeping it's biggest prep, the Alcibiades, as a Grade 1 )?

How is the Spinster still a Grade 1?

Ditto the Blue Grass.

Isn't the Turf Sprint pretty much along the same lines, a joke?

it's an absolute disgrace that the Hopeful is no longer a Grade 1. In my opinion it is a premier 2yo race right up there with the BC Juv.

Who the hell makes these kind of decisions?

The way 2yo's are campaigned nowadays, I understand the Hopeful downgrade. Most years of late it's been a glorified NW1x. In fact, I tend to think that the Euro's have it right in that only their major year end "destination" races for 2yo's have G1 status. I thus think that the Del Mar Futurity should also be downgraded. History can only go so far. Many of the "great races" won by the sports champions have vanished due to lack of ongoing interest or competition from other venues. Just ask Pimlico. The Special was once a must on the resumes of top older horses.

When the elite horses are scheduled to have 5 and 6 race campaigns the sport simply cannot support the number of G1's it once did.

I guss I get the BC upgrades, but in all honesty the turf sprint division remains very broad but not very deep. Maybe they want the spinoff 2yo grass fillies to have the same status as the colts but again we just really don't have a 2yo grass division so I think that this race is a nod to egt more Wuro partication from the highest ranks.

The Jenny Wiley has attracted good fields but I'm not sure it's really a G1 either.

I am surprised that the Gazelle didn't get chopped.