The Belmont Stakes...the double Bunny

[Alabama Stakes]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Nowadays a Grade 1 at 10 furlongs on the main is very rare, down to just 5 races in North America. The Gold Cup is probably the easiest to win (though the Big Cap is making great strides in that direction). City of Light already owns a Grade 1 win at 7 furlongs this year. If he pulls it off tomorrow, knowing the internet, there will be comparisons to Dr. Fager or...dare I say...Forego.

As icing on the cake, such a win would also potentially exempt him from having to run in the BC Classic if he doesn't overwhelm at the distance, since the BC has made it easier to duck with the advent of the BC Dirt Mile. In addition, I think this race will determine whether he targets the Pacific Classic next or ships for the Whitney and/or the Woodward.

A Grade 1 winner (in a single season) between 7 and 10 furlongs is a good qualification for HOY and for a stallion prospect. This would be moot if Justify wins the Triple Crown, but City of Light would still have a shot at 2 Eclipse awards.

Also the Met Mile, which was foolishly moved from Memorial Day, when it was huge, to being just another race on Belmont Day, doesn’t mean as much now.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Alabama Stakes

Also the Met Mile, which was foolishly moved from Memorial Day, when it was huge, to being just another race on Belmont Day, doesn’t mean as much now.

Yes, the Met Mile means less as a stallion maker now because it was moved to Belmont Day....as opposed to when it was held on a day when pretty much everyone is at a barbecue.

It might be time for you to move on from me. Do some soul searching.

[Alabama Stakes]

That was to Rollo. Not you , or Chad, or Todd.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Alabama Stakes

Also the Met Mile, which was foolishly moved from Memorial Day, when it was huge, to being just another race on Belmont Day, doesn’t mean as much now.

I'm not sure that the Met Mile ceases to be huge simply because it is shifted a couple of weeks further into the calendar.

The positives outweigh the negatives with the move. Firstly, in this day of waning public and media interest (no more Budweiser Racing Across America on ESPN), tacking it onto a loaded Belmont Stakes day might be a form of self-preservation. Mega-stables pretty much control the vast majority of top horses and might toss an older horse into such a race if they have a contender for the featured Belmont Stakes. For example, would Hoppertunity show up for the Brooklyn--as opposed to today's Gold Cup at SA--if Baffert didn't have Justify pointing to the Belmont?

Secondly, Belmont can capitalize and highlight the return of the previous year's Triple Crown contenders if they race in big events on the same day as the current year's Classic. For example, prior Belmont winners Palace Malice and Tonalist returned at 4 on the Belmont undercard and took the Met Mile. That might open the door for a casual springtime fan to consider that these horses have careers beyond the Triple Crown...and maybe they'll be yearlong fans instead. Churchill does this with its older horse stakes on their Derby and Oaks days with the Alysheba and La Troienne.

Thirdly, moving the Met Mile fills a decades long gap in the NYRA stakes schedule where there was not an older horse stakes of sufficient importance in the month of June. In the past, they tried to bolster the Nassau County Handicap to fill the void, but it died along with the American Championship Racing Series. The Met Mile in early June fits rather nicely against the up-and-coming Westchester, which is quickly becoming a popular comeback race for the previous season's top horses. This year, Preakness winner Cloud Computing made an aborted comeback attempt, and in prior years horses like Palace Malice, Tonalist, Connect, To Honor And Serve, and Flat Out have used the race as a tune up for the Met and further beyond.

[Alabama Stakes]

Memorial Day weekend = Indy 500 & Met Mile. I'm just a dinosaur, I guess. Belmont Day was always a stellar card. They didn't need or want the Met Mile taking attention away from the big race.

[cakes44]

Originally Posted by Alabama Stakes

Memorial Day weekend = Indy 500 & Met Mile. I'm just a dinosaur, I guess. Belmont Day was always a stellar card. They didn't need or want the Met Mile taking attention away from the big race.

Agree with this. Doesn’t change the stallion making of the Met Mile whatsoever though.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by cakes44

Agree with this. Doesn’t change the stallion making of the Met Mile whatsoever though.

The "stallion making" quality of the Met Mile has dropped off considerably since the late '90s.

Since Langfuhr in 1997, only the somewhat slow starters Ghostzapper and Quality Road have emerged as top stallions.

We'll see what recent winners Palace Malice, Honor Code, and Frosted can do.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

The "stallion making" quality of the Met Mile has dropped off considerably since the late '90s.

Since Langfuhr in 1997, only the somewhat slow starters Ghostzapper and Quality Road have emerged as top stallions.

We'll see what recent winners Palace Malice, Honor Code, and Frosted can do.

I bet Honor Code is a good sire.