Dubai Esc. Out

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by pgardn

As many times as possible as long as the horse runs healthy, hard, and happy to do so. That many. That is exactly how many. So he has reached this limit... ?
And apparently you think there is no possibility of a horse stepping up to challenge him at a later date. Thats part of the fun of having a champion. Another horse runs in some races and shows great promise by winning by some very large margins, setting some track records. And then we get a chance for Bernardini to wipe the imposter out. Challengers arise and fall to champions. It used to be that way. It was fun. Ohio State looks unbeatable and Michigan rears up and a great matchup is waiting. But not for horses.

Horse racing at its purest never has been about making money. Never. Not for the patrons or the owners. The two largest players in the game. The two entities that make it happen. Money is for the middle men that provide services to the big two... bingo. The arrow arrives.

Money has always been a part of it. It's not all about money. Owners are also in it for the sport but money is important too.

I'll give you a good analogy. A horse owner is sort of like a person that goes to Las Vegas. When you go to Las Vegas, you probably don't expect to make money but that doesn't mean that you won't try your hardest to make money. Whether you win or lose, you will probably have a good time, but you will have a better time if you come home a winner. You will try to use god money management and you will probably play the games that you think have the best odds. You don't want to throw your money away. If you play craps, you're not going to bet "the field". That's a sucker bet. When you go to Las Vegas, you will use your best business sense to try to win money even though you know it's a tough game. I think it's the same with most horse owners. Most of them know it's a tough game and they don't expect to make money at it, but they will try to make good business decisions and try to come out on top.

Why do you think you see really good horses being sold? Darley just bought Zada Belle for $3 million. The guy who sold her was a wealthy guy and he wanted to keep her, but the offer was so good that he sold her. It was a business decision, plain and simple.

It's not all about sport and it's not all about money. It's a combination of both.