DRF Derby: Points standings v. Graded Earnings

[jms62]

Originally Posted by Rudeboyelvis

So if Shanghai Bobby, heaven forbid, gets a saddle slip or throws a shoe and yet runs his heart out to hold 5th - he kisses Chruchill Downs goodbye. Unless 20 points can save him, then they rush him back in the Lexington and completely take away any chance of a TC campaign.

I'm not a fan at all of this. At the very least, the 2yo BC champion should get an auto-bid.

They should award points according to graded stakes 3X for G1, 2X for G2 and 1X for G3. This should start with the Breeders Cup Juve and all graded stakes after. Market the Juve winner as the first in the Gate for the Derby. Then NBC Sports Network has a reality show showing all the preps leading up to the Derby. Keep the interest alive all winter.

[rpncaine]

That's a damn fine idea!

[Port Conway Lane]

Looking ahead it's probable that 14 horses will be locked in from the seven 100/40/20 point races. Add in the current 50+ point leaders and there will be 21 horses with at least 40 points. That places Oxbow (currently #8 with 36 points) and every horse below him behind at least 14 horses and possibly behind 21 others.

It's likely that a good percentage of the current leaders will make up a portion of the 1/2 finishers in the 100 point races and possibly every current leader could run 1/2 in the next set of preps.

So as reasonable as the list appears now (Graded earnings vs. points) where only a handful of horses with high earnings/low points are outside looking in there are at least 13 horses in the current top 20 that could be bypassed by any horse who currently has zero graded earnings/zero points and can manage a 2nd place finish in the 100 point races.

Wasn't it a few years ago that a horse who just broke his maiden finished
2nd in the Arkansas Derby, missed the earnings cut in Kentucky and turned out to be one of the leaders of the crop? Can't recall his name.Edit Summer Bird. 3rd in the Ark. Derby and to my surprise he ran in Kentucky.

Anyway it may be that the 2nd place points for the next set of preps are disproportionate with points given to the winners of the early 3YO preps and the 2nd place finishers in the 1st leg of the championship series.

I may retract my earlier statement that only the Illinois Derby winner would make a case in the earnings/points debate.

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by jms62

They should award points according to graded stakes 3X for G1, 2X for G2 and 1X for G3. This should start with the Breeders Cup Juve and all graded stakes after. Market the Juve winner as the first in the Gate for the Derby. Then NBC Sports Network has a reality show showing all the preps leading up to the Derby. Keep the interest alive all winter.

This would be a good idea if graded sprints were excluded. Make it an 8 or 8.5 furlong minimum.

--Dunbar

[Rudeboyelvis]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

This would be a good idea if graded sprints were excluded. Make it an 8 or 8.5 furlong minimum.

--Dunbar

I don't see any value at all in discrediting horses that run a decent 2yo campaign. the top runners in the Champagne traditionally do not embarrass themselves in the KY Derby, etc., so I don't really know what the point of all of this was, except to eliminate the Delta Jackpot winner from punching his ticket in November. Which could have been addressed by the Graded Stakes Committee, or by basically eliminating the race from contention (ala IL derby this year)

People can't bitch about how lightly raced horses are these days, and then celebrate a selection process that encourages precisely that.