TTimes: Classics schedule historically in flux
 

The timing of races for the Triple Crown has been far from set in stone—eight of the 11 horses who swept the three classics did it under a different schedule than the one in place today.

The distances have not changed since the three races were first categorized by Turf writers as America’s version of the Triple Crown in 1930, but the present schedule of two weeks between the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and three weeks between the Preakness and Belmont has only been constant since 1969.

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/rac...y-changed.aspx

From that article, quoting Lukas.

“The welfare of the horse would be my concern, and I think you would preserve the field if you had those distances and [at least three weeks between each race],” Lukas said a few years back.

Would be his concern?

Would be, as in if he ever did have a concern about the welfare of his horses?

I always bring up this point when talking about why I think the TC conditions should be changed and people scream that it shouldn't because of tradition and how changing it would cheapen it. They don't even realize that only the last three winners won under it's present conditions. There were some that had only one week between the Derby and Preakness. There were some that had only two weeks between the Preakness and Belmont. There was even a time when there was four weeks between the Preakness and Belmont. Nobody says Secretariat or Affirmed won a cheapened crown because they did it under different conditions.

If you had 3 weeks between the Derby and Preakness and 4 weeks between the Preakness and the Belmont, winning the Triple Crown may be even harder to achieve.

With that schedule, it would be conceivable that the latest trend of skipping the Preakness (eg Empire Maker, Summer Bird, Strodes Creek, Aptitude, Perfect Drift, Ice Box, Birdstone, Bluegrass Cat, Nehro, Kissin Kris, Jazil, Tiago, Ten Most Wanted, Dunkirk, Stay Thirsty etc.) would fall by the wayside. To a lesser degree, the same goes for skipping the Belmont (eg Summer Squall, Street Sense, Lookin At Lucky, Bernardini, Congaree, Peace Rules, Fusaichi Pegasus, etc.).

:rolleyes: If he'd won it, he'd be all for keeping it the same way.

Here's a thought, if they care about the welfare of the horse so much, maybe don't push horses to make the Derby that aren't ready. Throw in some additional seasoning for the ones that are ready instead of running every 6 weeks. Don't raise them in a hot house. Quit trying to take horses that would be lucky to get 1 1/16 and trying to get them to go 1 1/4 just cuz they have 2yo graded earnings...