I guess I'm conservative at heart....I keep thinking that rushing this horse (or any horse) is going to ruin them. Plus, the Derby is a crazy race and I'd frankly prefer him not to run. I don't get a vote, however, so I'm going to root for him.

rushing him would be putting him in a race against top competition if he's not fit, not if he hasn't had a lot of practice vs top horses.

It's not like Eskendereya's connections just found out about how many weeks there are between the Fla Derby and the Ky Derby.

Gulfstream made the decision to move to March 20 from a business standpoint and what they were left with was a Saturday where they are absolutely the only act in town.

NT

I guess I need to look at it that way, but let's say he runs well in Florida; would you run him in the madhouse that is the Derby?

I actually think it was the right move- gives trainers the option of going to the Derby off a 6 week layoff or running in the Blue Grass or Arkansas Derby 3 weeks out if necessary. With 5 weeks out and today's training schedules, you are stuck going straight to the Derby (which has obviously worked out alright.)

if he comes out well, everything's going fine, why not? if you have the horse, you go to the race.

The Derby scares me - well, not literally, lol, but it's such a rough and tumble race. However, as others have pointed out, Curlin was lightly raced and so was Congaree - and they ran well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained I suppose.

And they (GP) were also left without the Derby favorite who was in their own backyard. This scenario wasn't contemplated by management? I don't blame the connections at all. But hey, they will be the only act in town this Sat.

So they should have said, well, hmm, maybe the likely Derby favorite will be committed to our race then 24 hours before the draw he'll be removed from consideration and pointed to another race? There are a ton of feasible scenarios that may play out with regards to the race but the fact of the matter is they were pretty damn close to having the best 3YO on their side of the country until a quirky owner decided that the timing was not right.

When it comes to racetrack management you have to be concerned with the racetrack. Are fewer fans going to show up because Eskendereya is not going? Doubtful. Are fewer people going to wager on the card because Eskendereya is not running? Doubtful. Would they have handled as much if their card was on the same day as Fair Grounds and Turfway's biggest cards? Doubful.

It's easy to try and point the finger for why Eskendereya is not running the Florida Derby and blame the management at GP. However, there was no way for them to plan on an owner deciding on Tuesday of the week before the race that the timing was bad.

NT

Oh, now it's the quirky owner. I understand.

That track has been a model for how to do everything wrong. The seating, the concessions, the parking, the paddock location, the morning line odds for goodness sake!! Now the brain trust decides that 6 weeks is the right play? That's a recipe for another Bluegrass.

Ahmed had alot to do with all of this.

There's a new management team in place this year and considering how quickly most of them were installed prior to the start of the meet, they've done a pretty good job. Handle has been solid despite a rainier January and February than normal in South Florida, the all-turf Pick 4s on Sundays have handled extremely well and the racing has been very typical of GP.

It doesn't seem at all surprising to you that four days before the race Zayat came to the realization that six weeks was too much to the Derby? Pletcher had said for weeks that the Fla Derby was a logical spot, he said that considering how well Eskendereya ran off of 6 weeks' rest in the FOY that it made sense to bring him to Louisville off a 6 week break. Now that a change in plans has been made by the owner, the reasoning is the time between the Fla Derby and Ky Derby.

From a business standpoint this decision was a no-brainer. If you want to say it was a mistake because an owner decided at the 11th hour that the spacing to the Ky Derby was too excessive then that's fine. However, his timing was awfully odd.

NT

Whatever else, it is a more interesting betting race now.

I agree. They were not beating the big horse and he was going to be 2-5. I was not playing the pick 4, but now Im excited to play it.

Pretty much Curlin's 3yo schedule too, no?

Curlin won Preakness skipped Travers

Keep them coming...Please.:{>:

Beaten third as fave in the Haskell (Any Given Saturday/Hard Spun) don't forget.

I know, I bet Hard Spun. I loved Hard Spun.

I did too. He was a hard tryer and a real throwback. Rare in this era to get a multiple Classic board hitter, (who if not for a miracle wins the the Derby), versatile, tractable and fast enough to turn back and win a King's Bishop. And he would have been excellent on the lawn had grass been included seriously in his career.

Exactly my opinion on him, def. said better.........LOL