The Real Championship Meet

[welltakethat]

Not sure what's wrong with the analogy. You had noted earlier in the thread synthetic surfaces made for a crapshoot and cheapening of those entered. While I actually agree with that point in terms of day to day racing, Animal Kingdom was a horse that ran ultra impressively on a synthetic surface and who could have been a champion had it not been for injury.

I'm not sure of your take on Zenyatta. I think she is overrated historically. But if you are a fan of hers surely the Keeneland argument would extend to synthetic surfaces in California that she ran on, all the time, for basically every race, against nothing fields.

Belmont did have a few stars, but stars in 4 horse fields are irrelevant because their brilliance is mitigated by the ease of trip. If synthetic minimizes a horses credentials so too must those field sizes. I think Uncle Mo and Harve De Grace are the two top horses in training right now in the US, but that doesnt make the racing at Keeneland less enjoyable and interesting and bettable, which in the end drives the sport.