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.

[Linny]

Cannon, you are right. Yet every article I've read on the BC changes refers to further attemps to "reach out" to the sports fan who generally doesn't follow racing and get them to watch the Cup. I'm not a big baseball fan but I watch the World Series. Same with football and the Super Bowl. Everyone does. BC keeps saying that they want to to get the same "casual viewership" for the Cup but this doesn't help. Thus, I feel they should improve their program without bastardizing their own races.

[Cannon Shell]

I have no problem with the BC expanding. Instead of having a decent card the day before, we will get top notch races and added exposure via ESPN. As far as the catagories the mile race seems to be a bit of overkill, the fillies sprint is great and the 2 yo turf may cause problems. The mile race will be a two turn event at some tracks and a one turn at others which really concerns me. Having a mile and 70 yrd race this year and a one turn mile at Churchill next year seems strange. I cant wait for someone to tell me that a horse that wins the BC mile deserves to be sprint champion, especially if it is a 2 turn year. Maybe it will take away from the Classic and will certainly hurt the Cigar Mile but eventually it will fit in ok. Despite the success of some great fillies over the years it is only fair to have a fillies sprint. I'm not sure why they want to have it at 7 furlongs but it is sure to be a good race. The 2 year old turf race is the one that troubles me the most. Being that there are virtually no graded turf stakes for 2 yos in this country to use for qualifing, how do we determine who gets in? I also hope they dont intend on running a 14 horse field in either of the new 2 yo turf races. That would be a certain disaster. The only down side I could see is the price of the weekend will be going up as Fridays tickets are now BCup controlled which means more expensive.

[cmorioles]

Unfortunately, the Cigar Mile will probably eventually be moved to a spot before the BC and serve as a prep race. I really hope that doesn't happen, but we've all seen it happen too many times already.

When are the Breeder's Cup people going to address the polytrack issue? Will they run on it and call them dirt races?

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

Unfortunately, the Cigar Mile will probably eventually be moved to a spot before the BC and serve as a prep race. I really hope that doesn't happen, but we've all seen it happen too many times already.

When are the Breeder's Cup people going to address the polytrack issue? Will they run on it and call them dirt races?

I dont see how they could do it any other way

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

Unfortunately, the Cigar Mile will probably eventually be moved to a spot before the BC and serve as a prep race. I really hope that doesn't happen, but we've all seen it happen too many times already.

When are the Breeder's Cup people going to address the polytrack issue? Will they run on it and call them dirt races?

The Cigar Mile is history as it has existed. The BC ruins another good race ( NYRA's fault I assume ).

You're right...I see it mid September at Belmont now. So, instead of being one of the last interesting and meaningful races of the year it gets reduced to YET another meaningless prep.

Who gave the BC the right to destroy all these races and render them close to useless? Maybe when NY gets slots they can make the Cigar Mile worth $3 Million and run it in direct competition with the BC Mile and 70.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Who gave the BC the right to destroy all these races and render them close to useless? Maybe when NY gets slots they can make the Cigar Mile worth $3 Million and run it in direct competition with the BC Mile and 70.

The NYRA Cup?

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

The NYRA Cup?

I'm staying away from that obvious trap.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

I'm staying away from that obvious trap.

Was it THAT obvious?

[SentToStud]

Just a couple points of disagreement with the piece.

1. Concept: BC just created the second richest day in US racing. Alone, that's not enough but it's a factor that more good horses will have opportunities to run for more money as opposed to the alternative. I wonder how many total post/reads there were on the Derby Trail Delta Jackpot thread?

2. The Juvenile Turf will bring international horses not only for the BC race but some of them for preps as well. Also, what have been modestly meaningless 2 yo early fall turf stakes will increase in quality and meaning.

3. The FM Sprint alone carries a lot of weight in considering the whole day a success.

4. The Mile will be a good race. I'm sorry to see the criticism for the distance of 1&70 but distances have not been sacrosanct in prior BCs Why should they be now? The fact that some years the race will be 1 turn vs two and in some years the distance won't be an exact mile make the race more compelling, many would say. Decent 9F runners who cant go the classic distance have a good race to run in. So too will 7F specialists.

5. The venue criticism is arguably valid but only if you accept the premise that the main intent of the BC is to be an on-track experience. I'm also disappointed with the slam of Gulfstream Park. I'm sorry, but you could never build a track like Belmont or Aqueduct again.

My wife and I were having lunch at Gulf a few days ago and one of the GP marketing officers asked if he could sit down. We talked for a few minutes and I remarked that it looked like the nicest area of the racetrack was the simulcast room. He responded by telling me that that is where 93% of the track's racing revenue comes from. It is NOT an on-track sport anymore. When a "host" track (the one actually running the races) gets only 20% or so of the simulcast revenue generated by the wagering, racetracks are compelled to go after the simulcast dollar.

It's also interesting that when I bought tickets online a few days ago for the Sunshine Millions Card, I was able to get six grandstand tickets together in the grandstand in the third row on the finish line. Just for the hell of it I checked availability of the "premium simulcast room" seating. Sold out. This is three weeks before the event.

All the New York people here will certainly recall when their great NYRA dropped Keeneland in favor of Sunland Park due in part, at least, to the fact that the revenue deal was more in their interest.

Racing is a simulcast and ADW sport. It is not a live spectator sport.

I'm not in love with Stronach but then again he is going to spend another $50 Million + to renovate Laurel.

6. Field Size. Personally, I won't be disappointed to see the Classic or Sprint "suffer" with just 10-12 runners vs 14 due to adding the Mile and FM Sprint. Seeing horses break from post 14 going 10F at Belmont does not really get me excited.

7. The Cigar Mile and Clark will suffer. Then again, people have for some time already decried these races as not deserving of their current status.

One Man's View