[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by miraja2

You and I have had this debate multiple times, and as usual, I totally disagree with your premise that the horses simply can't "stand the rigors of the TC." Just out of curiosity, why exactly is Empire Maker on your dubious list? He didn't even run in the Preakness. Are you NOW suggesting that running in just two of the races - five weeks apart - is too taxing for these horses? As for the rest of your list, does it really make sense to dismiss the big races that Point Given won AFTER the TC, or the fact that Real Quiet, Silver Charm, and Giacomo all came back for winning 4yo campaigns as unimportant? I think not.

As for Big Brown, my guess would be he probably wil not run again, but that isn't because the TC ruined him....and you know it.

In my post, I said that sometimes, it's for economic reasons and not injuries. Empire Maker and Point Given were two that the economics might have had as much or more to do with them retiring as anything else. This thread wasn't only about the the physical effects of the TC, although it's my fault for saying the rigors of the TC. It's about that AND about things being so out of whack breeding wise that it doesn't make sense for them to continue on. In none of the cases where it wasn't injury that cause them to stop do I blame them. I likely would stop on the horses too. There's just got to be a better way. I don't know what that way is but there's got to be something better. And yes, I do think that the toll the TC takes on these horses is something that needs to be addressed. Some say that breeders need to get back to breeding horses that can handle it. I say that's never going to happen. I think that horse has left the barn and that instead of lamenting about the old days and how it used to be done and how it should be done, there needs to be changes made to adapt to how it is done.