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Originally Posted by smuthg
I'm sure that there are a lot of ungraded races that deserve the "upgrade" as well as many that should be downgraded, but in my mind, the recent increase in significance of Oaklawn park on the road to the Derby (which probably has as much to do with the slot money as Smarty Jones), I think it just makes too much sense for the Southwest/Rebel/Ark Derby, to be a Grade III/GII/GI progression. With the increase of big money/low "status" 2YO races (ie the Delta Jackpot) wrapping up Derby spots, it seems that more should be done to reward horses that run on the major Derby-prep circuits.
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the arkansas route has the progression a lot of trainers want, but the lack of graded earnings hurts...i know that some aren't happy with how the florida route runs now regarding distances, but everyone needs the earnings. i wonder how much influence tracks have on which races get graded, and which (esp at other tracks) don't....