I don't think that a one year reprieve should take away from the obvious need for change. Some people thought that 2007 with Curlin and Hard Spun racing in all three races and still finishing the year strong was proof that it can be done. Of course it CAN be done but the question is IS it being done? More often than not, it's not. And even in that year, Rags ran in the Belmont and only ran once more. Then we got last year and Big Brown wasn't able to finish out the year and another maiden winner won a classic for his only career stakes win. This year, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk, the Pamplemousse, and Old Fashioned (arguably four of the top six contenders going into April) didn't even get a chance to make it through the series and keep going. Another horse with just a maiden win has won the Belmont (that's four times in the past nine years). It is broke. It needs fixing.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020)
Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine
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