SA & FL Derby

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Kingturf

I just remember the crap the connections of Spend a Buck took after he won the KY Derby and skipped the Preakness for the Jersey Derby....

it helped in the long run, with classic purses getting a boost, and the visa triple crown challenge-even tho the latter was only a temporary thing.
they learned from the spend a buck deal that history wasn't enough, money matters too.

[King Glorious]

I'll tell you why I'm happy with this new idea for this Preakness bonus. I think one of the problems in racing comes from people sticking too much with tradition and not looking to make any changes that could be for the better of the sport. I think this is going to be a challenge to the status quo. Imagine next year if a horse wins the San Felipe and SA Derby and is in position to win the bonus. Do you point to the Derby or do you (brace yourself for it) skip the Derby and point for the Preakness with a fresh horse? Before you answer, remember the situation in 1985 when Spend a Buck won the Derby and then was kept out of the Preakness in order to go for a $2.6 million bonus in the Jersey Derby. In other words, money talks. Now you are talking about $5 million. I can almost guarantee that this is something we will see happen, whether it's in California or Florida. For those that haven't read it, here's how it works:

If a horse wins either the San Felipe OR Robert Lewis OR El Camino Real......AND then wins the SA Derby, he wins the bonus if he wins the Preakness.
If a horse wins either the Fountain of Youth OR the Holy Bull.........AND then wins the Florida Derby, he wins the bonus if he wins the Preakness.

In addition to the big bonus ($5 million to the winning owner, $500k to the winning trainer), there is a smaller bonus in place also. If a horse merely runs in one of the smaller races and then HITS THE BOARD in the SA or FL Derby and then wins the Preakness, there's a $500k bonus for the owner and $50k for the trainer.

Any of these scenarios are VERY reachable, much more so than the TC bonus.

It's my belief that the TC is going to come under significant pressure to make some changes now because they've relied on the fact that it's the TC for too long. I couple of years ago, I talked about a plan I had heard about where a new HUGE money 3yo race was going to be introduced at Hollywood. It never happened but that doesn't mean that there won't be future plans to challenge the TC, this one by Magna being the biggest one. Many people think that no trainer will skip the Derby because, well because it's the Derby. If this bonus plan sticks around for a few years and a couple of horses get in position to claim it, it's going to happen. Mark my words.

Also remember that the purses for the Florida and SA Derbies have also been increased to $1 million (pending approval at SA).