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Originally Posted by dean smith
As it turns out, it looks like Mine That Bird is legit and the best (non-Rachel Alexandra) 3-year-old in the country at this time. Yes, everyone loves Rachel Alexandra, but is her ruining MTB's Triple Crown chances really good for the sport?
Look, he probably wasn't going to win it anyway (I'm convinced it's a near-impossibility for whatever reasons after watching War Emblem, Funny Cide, Smarty Jones and Big Brown fail the past few years), but at least it would keep the casual sports fan interested for another three weeks. Now, instead of three solid weeks of horse racing and Triple Crown talk on ESPN (they who tell them what to watch, who to root for, and what is relevent in sports), we might get a few "nice little stories" about silly nonsense like "girls can beat boys" a few days leading up to the Belmont.
For a sport struggling to stay relevent that really only enjoys about six weeks in the spotlight out of the year IF there's a Triple Crown chase, Rachel Alexandra just chopped that time in half.
I've been trying to get my NFL/NBA/MLB obsessed idiot friends half as interested in the sport as I am for years and I've discovered that after the Belmont, the game's momentum comes to a screeching halt. One of them actually sent me an email saying "better luck next year, cuz NOBODY cares about the Belmont now."
I don't know who to blame, RA's previous owners and their incredibly foolish and stubborn refusal to race a filly against colts in the Derby, or the sport itself for not doing everything in its power to make sure there's a Triple Crown chance each year. If that means freezing out a threat in the Preakness or even an outright, good ol' fashioned race fixin', I'm on board!
(I don't know if I even mean what I wrote with that last paragraph, I just got on a roll.)
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I understand your premise here, I do...but you're wrong in this case. The game does not need a Triple Crown winner to be it's savior. I think that needs to be put out there. In 9 out of 10 cases, if a TC winner did happen, we'd never see him again, ushered off to the shed.
IT IS GOOD FOR THE GAME WHEN THE BEST HORSES KEEP GOING TO POST.
For years, people have been clamoring for someone to actually leave their best horses in training. Someone to not duck a big race to overly coddle the horse. Over the last year, Jess Jackson, as detestable as he may be to some, left the best horse to train as a four yr old, long after his three yr old rivals, Street Sense and Hard Spun had gone home to retirement. Then, he boldy purchased Rachel Alexandra, and put her in the Preakness.
I'd rather someone like that any day of the week over a TC winner. Someone who keeps the best horses out on the track. A guy like Chip Woolley is great for the game. Ford F450 driving, broken legged cowboy, dragging his tough as nails gelding around the country in a van. He might not win a TC, but Mine That Bird is an amazing story, and a great horse. His story is not diminished because he didn't win the TC.
So, like I said, I understand your premise. I think everyone would like to see a Triple Crown winner. But, it's best for everyone that the best horses go to the post in every big race. Jess Jackson should be commended for his bold actions. Not to mention there is no guarantee the race unfolds the way it did w/out Rachel Alexandra.