The graded stakes system is in dire need of a critical assesssment and review. At the core, grading a race before it is run is goofy. Some ask how you can market a race that's not graded to the public. I say the public doesn't give a hoot what grade it is... they care about the horses runnng in it, even that's a stretch. If the graded stakes system were gone tomorrow, and the Travers was non-graded like every other race, would less people show up for it? Of course not.
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