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Originally Posted by Kasept
Disappointing? To whom?
Less classy? Really? A legit prep towards the Met Mile is less classy than the famed and storied 9.5f Gulfstream Park Handicap?
What race would you rather have... A plod-fest with a handful of nowhere-else-to-go 7 year olds, or a one turn mile that happens to fit nicely into the run-up towards the Metropolitan with some horses still capable of career form mode?
In point of fact, there is a lot more potential and probable public interest in an expanded series of winter to spring races that culminate with the Met Mile than in a hackneyed mile and three sixteenths crawlathon.
(And P.S., as it happens, there are plenty of the "BC Marathon" preps that pick up the slack for this treasured "division" later in the year...)
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I know what you are saying, A 300K Grade2 @ 9.5f isn't going to attract many good classic distance horses, and it probably scares away the miler types. At least of the 6 entered, we did get a few interesting runners here.
I happen to be against any trend in shortening up the classic distance in general. I usually pass anything less than a mile if it isn't top class or a vulnerable favorite. For me, a true gradeI 10 furlong race is the aesthetic highpoint of the game.