kudos to byk.....

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Linny

I agree as well. BC execs are concerned that the Cup never really caught on to the general public, like the Derby but making a 2 day spectacle doesn't seem to be the answer.
Churchill has developed the Oaks/Derby weekend into a great racing/social/corporate event. The Oaks is now one of the most important races for 3yo fillies. As little as 15 years ago it was a decent fixture for mostly midwest based fillies. However, the Oaks has played off the popularity in the general public of the Derby. Non racing folks all know about the Derby. Your grandmother knows about the Derby! It's easy to understand the Derby. It's one race. For most people, the details of nominations and eligibility are meaningless, they want to see the race.
The BC has a problem amongst the general population in that it has so many divisions, that it's confusing. We segregate horses by age, gender, surface and distance. Within each age group, there are turfers, sprinters, turf sprinters, fillies, colts, etc. It's hard for general sports fans to translate all the divisions. Adding more divisions not only dilutes those that exist, it makes the novice all the more confused. I cannot see how dragging the event into 2 days makes it more appealing to the general fan.

The general sports fan does not matter in horse racing.