There is a different style of racing out West that combined with the harder surfaces makes it difficult and more dangerous for a horse to ship out for one race. It could take a few races for a top horse to get used to those conditions so why would you bother to ship out for one race. While I agree that the Whitney and Met Mile are more prestigious to breeders than the Hollywood Gold Cup and Pacific Classic I think winning one from both coasts would carry huge weight with breeders, moreso than winning both from the same coast. As California shifts to a safer, less biased surface in polytrack I think we will see more east coast horses that have shown a liking for polytrack going west to take down the $1 million purses.
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09-20-2006, 10:40 AM
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