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Originally Posted by Betsy
I think I stirred a hornet's nest when I said Bernardini would be good for the sport!
Forgive me if this sounds naive, but:
I agree that the ordinary gamblers (those who would bet on jockeys riding around a track on pogo sticks) don't care about new sires, pedigrees, etc.......but what about those folks who actually do love the sport? I think there's something wonderful about being able to follow the offspring of your favorite horses and there must be other fans who feel the same way; they may not post on message boards, but they subscribe to BloodHorse, Thoroughbred Times, etc.. just the same. These people aren't simply bettors - if they were, they wouldn't be reading magazines whose pages are filled with racing recaps and pedigree profiles. What about the fans on the internet who post about Officer doing well or Empire Maker/Mineshaft being the next great sire? What about the queries about which great racemare is going to be bred to which great sire? Why do people then get excited about first-crop sires? It's because new blood is good for the game.......it keeps it healthy and invigorated.
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I understand people's fascination with the family trees. My parents where always telling me how I looked like great Aunt Esther or some other person I had never seen. Its just that in racing, horses are so frequently pulled before we get to see them run against other talented horses for fear they might lose, and thus lose some of their value in breeding. The first thing you read from the breeding farms, sired 5 diff. Grade I winners. I am just making a plead to let them keep running instead of winning a few prestigous races and then retired while they are at max. breeding value... Avoid competition that might make a horse look "mortal". Its so false and sometimes just downright flippant.