Rachel Alexandra (116 Beyer for Haskell)

[tector]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Are you kidding? The Haskell asnt even televised? Everyone wants to talk about the "good of the sport". What would be worse than skipping a $6 million dollar nationally televised race with the best and most well known horse in the country because another horse lost on the surface the year before? it is ridiclous that people make the assertion that no one else would have run in these races with her. Hell most everyone thought that she would have won the Derby, what is the big stretch? Wayne Lukas has run a lot of fillies against the colts over the years and no one ever swooned about what a sportsman he is. People who believe that they should teach the BC a lesson and skip the race are not seeing the big picture here. The general public wont understand the issues and having our "championship" day be trivialized because the horse everyone wants to see run, not run is a negative. The Breeders Cup is not going away and the way that guys campaign horses these days, the good old days of the fall championship meet at Belmont arent going to be recreated. Hell when people are ducking $5 million dollar races why wouldnt they duck and dive in $1 million dollar ones.

Try to be coherent--more people might listen to you (although, in this case, it is doubtful).

I understand the "big picture" perfectly fine. The "big picture" is that the BC is a clusterf**k run by nincompoops, and the mad rush to relatively untested artificial surfaces was incredibly stupid. You answer is, basically, to ignore all this and just have everyone pretend that everything is fine "for the good of the game".

People just like you ruined the formerly great sport of boxing, by refusing to take a stand while step after step debased that sport. There was time when baseball, boxing and horse racing were the three most prominent sports in the US. Now boxing and horse racing have fallen off the map. Emulating boxing further is no solution.

Screw the BC, screw Santa Anita and screw ABC. Jackson paid 10 million for his filly, and he doesn't owe any of those losers a damn thing. I will be just fine watching RA in the JCGC or whatever. It will be a hell of a lot more interesting than almost any of the BC "dirt" races (I still hold out hope for some of the turf races). You're deluded if you think the BC means much to the general public--that is reserved solely to the Derby and Triple Crown. The BC is supposed to be championship series for US, horse racing fans. Instead, it is now a joke, a completely self-inflicted wound.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by tector

Try to be coherent--more people might listen to you (although, in this case, it is doubtful).

I understand the "big picture" perfectly fine. The "big picture" is that the BC is a clusterf**k run by nincompoops, and the mad rush to relatively untested artificial surfaces was incredibly stupid. You answer is, basically, to ignore all this and just have everyone pretend that everything is fine "for the good of the game".

People just like you ruined the formerly great sport of boxing, by refusing to take a stand while step after step debased that sport. There was time when baseball, boxing and horse racing were the three most prominent sports in the US. Now boxing and horse racing have fallen off the map. Emulating boxing further is no solution.

Screw the BC, screw Santa Anita and screw ABC. Jackson paid 10 million for his filly, and he doesn't owe any of those losers a damn thing. I will be just fine watching RA in the JCGC or whatever. It will be a hell of a lot more interesting than almost any of the BC "dirt" races (I still hold out hope for some of the turf races). You're deluded if you think the BC means much to the general public--that is reserved solely to the Derby and Triple Crown. The BC is supposed to be championship series for US, horse racing fans. Instead, it is now a joke, a completely self-inflicted wound.

I'm sure your self imposed boycot of the Breeders Cup will save the sport. Funny boxing is ruined. Tell that to De La Hoya, Hopkins, Cotto, Pacquio, Hatten, Calghaze, Abraham, Mayweather, etc who have made tens of millions in that dead sport. The truth is that the big event days that were initiated by the advent of the Breeders Cup are what works. Thinking that the Jockey Club Gold Cup on it own is going to stand up simply on its merits or history is stupid. You are deluded if you think that the end of the BC would mean that those fall races would magically regain their luster or give definitive answers to the questions. Just as they do now, the top horses will avoid each other and hope to win the PR battle. The game has changed, deal with it.

[tector]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

I'm sure your self imposed boycot of the Breeders Cup will save the sport. Funny boxing is ruined. Tell that to De La Hoya, Hopkins, Cotto, Pacquio, Hatten, Calghaze, Abraham, Mayweather, etc who have made tens of millions in that dead sport. The truth is that the big event days that were initiated by the advent of the Breeders Cup are what works. Thinking that the Jockey Club Gold Cup on it own is going to stand up simply on its merits or history is stupid. You are deluded if you think that the end of the BC would mean that those fall races would magically regain their luster or give definitive answers to the questions. Just as they do now, the top horses will avoid each other and hope to win the PR battle. The game has changed, deal with it.

If you cannot even acknowledge how far boxing has fallen, even from just the 70s, you are a proven fool and a waste of my time.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by tector

If you cannot even acknowledge how far boxing has fallen, even from just the 70s, you are a proven fool and a waste of my time.

Yeah boxing is dead. Just because they dont have fights on free tv doesnt mean that it is dead. Maybe it isnt as widely popular but the premier events still have broad appeal as shown by the ppv numbers and amount of $$ still thrown about by casinos to hold these fights. I'd love to be able to fight you for a $10 million dollar payday. As a matter of fact I'd have a go with you for free.

[10 pnt move up]

My boss just walked in, not a big racing fan but a sports fan and follows things,

he asks me when does RA run against Zenyatta.........

that was a tough one to explain, last year I could say it was a filly and colt thing.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by 10 pnt move up

My boss just walked in, not a big racing fan but a sports fan and follows things,

he asks me when does RA run against Zenyatta.........

that was a tough one to explain, last year I could say it was a filly and colt thing.

Exactly. There is no reasonable excuse.

[tector]

I guess it is too obvious to point out out that there are plenty of races before the BC where they could meet. Hell, they could meet AFTER the BC in the Clark, or NYRA Cigar Whatever Mile, or in some other race (not a match race--that would be a wipeout) any enterprising dirt track might create for them (CDI's FG or CRC immediately come to mind). But no, we must bow our knee to the great God "Breeders Cup", and its repeated polytrack foolishness. For the good of the sport, as always, of course.

Clown.

[MaTH716]

I do not understand why Sheriffs doesn't take any heat for not wanting to ship away from California.

But, maybe the NTRA/BC/NYRA can kick up some sort of incentive bonus to make the idea of Rachael vs Zenyatta come together. Have them race twice, once on both surfaces. The Ruffian at Belmont and then in the Distaff at Santa Anita (The schedule seems alright to set up for the BC). Obviously it only works if you get both horses to agree to enter both races (of course if they are both healthy). Figure out some sort of apperance fee and bonus purse structure if one horse or another wins both races. I'm not sure who else would want to run, but it would be open to all fillies. Then promote the hell out of it and hope that both horses are healthy enough to run both races. I know that would dash the hopes of everyone hoping she would run in the classic, but at least you would have the sports biggest star present on it's biggest day (Oh yeah, and you run the Distaff on Saturday).