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  #1  
Old 06-06-2015, 02:56 PM
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Dunbar Dunbar is offline
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Default # of Starts of Previous Triple Crown winners

The 11 previous winners of the Triple Crown raced an average of 30 times each. Gallant Fox and Seattle Slew raced the fewest times, 17. Whirlaway raced an amazing 60 times:

Horse........ Starts
Sir Barton... 31
Gallant Fox.. 17
Omaha....... 22
War Admiral. 26
Whirlaway... 60
Count Fleet. 21
Assault...... 42
Citation..... 45
Secratariat. 21
Seattle Slew. 17
Affirmed..... 29

This is the main reason I can't get excited about an AP Triple Crown. He will almost certainly retire with somewhere between 8 and 11 starts.
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Curlin and Hard Spun finish 1,2 in the 2007 BC Classic, demonstrating how competing in all three Triple Crown races ruins a horse for the rest of the year...see avatar
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Old 06-06-2015, 03:23 PM
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Danzig Danzig is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dunbar View Post
The 11 previous winners of the Triple Crown raced an average of 30 times each. Gallant Fox and Seattle Slew raced the fewest times, 17. Whirlaway raced an amazing 60 times:

Horse........ Starts
Sir Barton... 31
Gallant Fox.. 17
Omaha....... 22
War Admiral. 26
Whirlaway... 60
Count Fleet. 21
Assault...... 42
Citation..... 45
Secratariat. 21
Seattle Slew. 17
Affirmed..... 29

This is the main reason I can't get excited about an AP Triple Crown. He will almost certainly retire with somewhere between 8 and 11 starts.
Crazy...heck, personal ensign broke a leg and missed time, and made more starts than that.
we need to geld more horses!
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Old 06-06-2015, 03:24 PM
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cakes44 cakes44 is offline
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Whirlaway going 60 times before the Belmont...that us some good sh!t coach!
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  #4  
Old 06-06-2015, 03:32 PM
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Danzig Danzig is offline
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Originally Posted by cakes44 View Post
Whirlaway going 60 times before the Belmont...that us some good sh!t coach!
And i know citation ran in the trial a week prior to the derby...and he ran between the preakness and belmont!
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Old 06-06-2015, 04:19 PM
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Dunbar Dunbar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cakes44 View Post
Whirlaway going 60 times before the Belmont...that us some good sh!t coach!
Whirlaway "only" raced 18 times before the Belmont, but after winning the Belmont he ran 9 more times as a 3-yr-old . He ran 22 times as a 4-yr-old, going 12-8-2.
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Curlin and Hard Spun finish 1,2 in the 2007 BC Classic, demonstrating how competing in all three Triple Crown races ruins a horse for the rest of the year...see avatar
photo from REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
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  #6  
Old 06-06-2015, 05:08 PM
ne to socal ne to socal is offline
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Obviously mimicking the trend of fewer starts for class horses in the past few decades, nothing necessarily unique to TC.
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  #7  
Old 06-06-2015, 07:51 PM
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richard burch richard burch is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dunbar View Post
Whirlaway "only" raced 18 times before the Belmont, but after winning the Belmont he ran 9 more times as a 3-yr-old . He ran 22 times as a 4-yr-old, going 12-8-2.
i also believe whirlaway was one of the greatest contributors to the war bond effort in ww2.
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Old 06-08-2015, 08:28 AM
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Linny Linny is offline
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Hard to compare the pre-Secretariat TC winners to those of the "modern" era. Remember, the phrase was only coined in the late 1930's during War Admiral's era. The 3 prior winners were effectively retroactive. While winning those three races was a big deal because they were important races, I'm not sure that at the time there was such a grail-like status attached to the feat. When it wasn't won for 25 years, appears to be when it attained that status. The more recent 37 year drought elevated it even more.
Also, the colts that won before Secretariat did so in the pre-syndication/stud deal era when it was assumed that the colt would retire to stud at the farm of the owner or the farm where the owner's mares resided like Belair/Claiborne etc. There was no big cash out coming from retirement and insurance companies weren't forcing retirement via insane premiums.
Many of the old style owners who were going to stand their colts recognized that testing their TC winners repeatedly against older runners was the best way to determine their viability as a stud prospect. In an era when horses run 10-15 times, every loss matters. Obviously, no one wants to send a horse over and lose, but in an era when horses raced into shape and raced often, losses didn't have so great an impact.
Today there is far more emphasis on protecting the value and making a deal while the value is at its peak. The numbers involved are so big that I don't blame anyone, but the sporting model has given way to the business model and I don't see it changing.
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  #9  
Old 06-08-2015, 08:44 AM
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OldDog OldDog is offline
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Funny, I can't find any reason not to get excited about an AP Triple Crown.
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