Breeder's Cup Rep on ATR

[mik9872]

Originally Posted by mes5107

Is marketing the sport of horse racing a bad thing?

It is when it drives every move the sport makes as opposed to the original intent of the BC which was to provide the sport with one day of championship races.

[hi_im_god]

Originally Posted by mik9872

It is when it drives every move the sport makes as opposed to the original intent of the BC which was to provide the sport with one day of championship races.

or to put it another way, to market the sport to a wider audience.

[Pedigree Ann]

Originally Posted by mik987

.... the original intent of the BC which was to provide the sport with one day of championship races.

WRONG! As I will keep telling you. I remember the discussions at the time and it was all about getting together a big enough purse to keep elite level colts in training to the end of their 3yo season and/or for an additional season.

Originally there was to be only the Classic race, but since most breeders wouldn't waste money nominating their fillies and their foals bred to be turf horses, sprinters or hot 2yos (and sires who sired that sort), they expanded to a day long program. Then it was pointed out that most breeders of less than premium sales-bred type foals (the vast majority of those bred) wouldn't nominate, since it would be a long-shot than any of their foals would ever run in these races. So the committee developed the Breeders Cup supplements for established midlevel stakes races, to which those horses might reasonably aspire. All the recent new races (Filly and Mare turf, turf for 2yos, etc.) are yet more inducements for breeders to nominate more foals and more stallions in order to keep the purse structure from collapsing.