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Originally Posted by ateamstupid
And I don't understand how the JCGC becoming a prep has anything to do with the lessening quality of racing.. All that happened is one race which used to be the destination has become the stepping stone to an even more prestigious destination. That's why racing sucks now? Because something has become more prestigious than the JCGC and reduced it to mainly a prep for something larger? I don't see the correlation.
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Well, the mentality amongst many trainers and owners nowadays is that the BC is the only important event of the year (aside from the Triple Crown). That's why statements like "we'll give him one or two more starts before the Breeder's Cup" can be heard in post-race interviews as early as March. The drive towards a single race late in the year has led to conservative handling to the detriment of the middle of the year and its once prestigious races.
The claim that the BC Classic merely replaces the JCGC as the final top race of the year, is a bit inaccurate. The BC Classic replaces
all the fall championship races at Belmont (not to mention other important late season races across the country). The same group of horses used to run in the Whitney-Woodward-Marlboro Cup-JCGC series year in and year out. All of those races have been castrated in terms of distance, field consistency, and field quality. One has outright been eliminated. Analogous situations are apparent in other divisions and at other tracks as well.
I don't know about you, but I'd rather watch these top horses slug it out over the course of a few months and several races to decide who the best horse is as opposed to a single race. Of course, if you're content with Wild Again, Skywalker, Volponi, and Arcangues being BC Classic winners it will be hard to sway your opinion.
While the BC at times should decide a divisional championship, I think in Rags To Riches case, it should merely serve as a showcase for her (like Azeri or Lady's Secret).