I was really hoping Phelps would lose everything. He is working his way up on my list of least-favorite athletes right now. He has already moved past Pepper's Pride, and is gaining ground on Kobe Bryant, Tyler Hansbrough, and Todd Reesing.

Huh..This isn't 1988..This isn't Europe 2009. This is America land of the free and the gutless trainers/owners.. Winning Colors is a long time ago.. MOST horse people believe horses need 4 to 6 weeks to run in between races, Not two against males for the first time . You think Bob (get well soon) Frankel would be campaigning her like Jackson is, he would have scratched her 13 ways to Sunday be now? Can Sherriff's/Moss extend themselves a tad here and ship to a real friggin race.. So now we want to suggest that because Jess used the Goose as a prep for a Blue Chip G1 against the Belmont winner a significant Tabor sprinter and fairly acomplished Papa Clem and a recent 7 fig purchase Atomic Rain that he is cherry picking? In all candor have a heart.. When you are fastest horse the public makes you the favorite how is that significant. Maybe Jess should try her on the grass like he attemted to do with Curlin and target the ARC? I mean come on already.

As for the Breeders Cup Santa Anita 2 the sequel. It is absolutely imperative that she doesn't run.. For one this BS that the sport is going to captivate more fans is absurd. We had Smarty Jones and Barbaro and I really can't imagine more press or more media then those two. I guess you think 2.7mil cards being sent to the Moss's and Jackson saying GO RACHEL GO or Girl Power is going to save the sport? Perhaps a free slot voucher with every Girl Power Sign would be helpful..lol

All that is going to happen is that some well bred grass type horse from Europe is going to come her and explode on First time lasix and a turn of foot that is only prevalent in Euro racing and blow these gals away. How that doesn't mitigate our sport is beyond me.. How about a little get the ball rolling revolution.. How about BC(euro) Poly day and BC dirt and grass day.. I go to the BC jumps most years in Far Hills why is it not on site?

Explain to me why Chuck Simon hopefully one day has an elite dirt horse and he has to race that elite dirt multiple G1 winner on grass or poly because the sport needs it. I mean this is crazy.. This makes no sense Poly is not dirt. The NTRA fcuked up and change has to happen. Chuck this isn't a 50k claiming 7 year old grass gelding that is filling a off the turf race on thursday in May..

So if the Moss's don't have to race Zenyatta in the Woodward (whatever race) then I can't understand why Jackson should be under ANY obligation to run Rachel any friggin where.. let's hope Rachel and Zenyatta meet..let's hope the sport focus's on getting a race for them at 9 f's on dirt were Zenyatta has succeeded and they help secure the fans that we have. This sport is not growing in popularity it needs to make sure that its core is protected.. Lowering takeout, less dates, less tracks and better control for med's is the majority of the solution.. Cards from little girls and lemonade stands are sweet and welcomed but hardly the answer.

I'm sure if we took a poll no one is going to say "I'm a racing fan because Wayne Lukas ran Kentucky Derby winning filly Winning Colors in the Breeder's Cup."

I think Chuck's point at its roots is obvious..Clearly, the more good publicity the better and if Rachel were to run in the BC it would be a higher rated telecast.. Unfortunately, Chuck's simpliest view fails IMO to address the real issues. Poly is a third surface..I am not against a third surface, I don't think there is ANYTHING wrong with it. I just think it needs to be treated as such. You want a poly champship? I do I love racing i have no issue watching and betting 9 Poly races with big fields and quality horses. I just don't think its fair to make dirt horses run on poly when it isn't in their best interest or the sports.

The BC overall hasn't showed to be very powerful in television ratings - I think it would have been more beneficial to televise the Haskell. You're asking people to tune into 6 hours of tv vs. an hour max for the Haskell. Plus if Rachel runs in the Ladies Classic it's on a friday when most people are at work and Saturday has it's own conflict with other sports.

As for the rest of your post - I completely agree.

More to my point..I guess Chuck seems to think that Mrs. Crabtree is going to watch Randy Moss(who I love) and Bailey talk for 6 hours about how Rachel didn't vet out intially or how her running style isn't condusive to poly???.. The ratings would be better with Rachel that is a given but how that influences the future health of the sport is VERY hard to calculate. In fact the negative publicity may just be more beneficial..

I'm sure your self imposed boycot of the Breeders Cup will save the sport. Funny boxing is ruined. Tell that to De La Hoya, Hopkins, Cotto, Pacquio, Hatten, Calghaze, Abraham, Mayweather, etc who have made tens of millions in that dead sport. The truth is that the big event days that were initiated by the advent of the Breeders Cup are what works. Thinking that the Jockey Club Gold Cup on it own is going to stand up simply on its merits or history is stupid. You are deluded if you think that the end of the BC would mean that those fall races would magically regain their luster or give definitive answers to the questions. Just as they do now, the top horses will avoid each other and hope to win the PR battle. The game has changed, deal with it.

Did you read the article?

No that isnt the biggest issue. The biggest issue is that the sports biggest star and probably best horse should run in its biggest non triple crown race. Horseracing will again get slammed because unlike you guys the general public and sportwriters dont understand or care about the internal issues. They want to know why we cant get our **** straight especially with a horse who has already handled the artificial surfaces before. Regardless of Sightseeks assertions the fact that Lukas ran Winning Colors in the Derby and Preakness never earned him the "sportsmans" praise. He just wasn't afraid to run fillies against colts in spots that they fit in. And yes I'm sure she did garner a lot of eextra attention because she was a filly. While I am a believer that we have larger issues in the treatment of our core customers than any "sporting" related issue, saying that the tv coverage of the BC isnt a positive or that the public wouldnt turn on to see a super filly is stupid.

Jackson skipping the BC isnt going to change anything.

Hasnt been powerful in the ratings compared to what? The rest of the fall racing schedule? Or the zero rating it would get if it wasnt run? You arent asking people to tune in for 6 hours of covewrage iof they are interested in RA, just as the Super Bowl doesnt require the viewer to watch the pregame show. You are just missing the point that if she were to continue to win she would be a huge story going into the BC, especially so if Zenyatta and her were to meet in the Classic. Instead we will get neither and that isnt the fault of the Breeders Cup, it is the fault of the owners.

wrong guy

I understand your point, but for the connections of this filly and perhaps other connections as well, doesn't it seem at least a little bit odd to have such a large % of this country's major stakes races on one surface throughout the year, and then have the "must-go-to" championship event on an entirely different surface? Two years in a row?
As I've said before, I don't consider myself a poly-hater, but if they schedule the BC on poly, I don't see why anyone can, or should, complain if the connections of a dirt horse decide not to run there. The same would apply to poly horses if they run the BC on dirt.
I just think the addition of what effectively is a third surface to the game has made the idea of a horse racing 'championship' weekend even more of a farce, because the BC doesn't accurately reflect anything close to a real championship.

Sorry Chuck, but it comes down to the fact that they believe the BC is not a right fit for Rachel and it's it's their choice to make. As a horseman you make a choice every single day with your horses and I'm sure you've been wrong and you've been right.

Oh the scary sports writers who focus on racing 20 minutes a year are going to write nasty uninformed and mostly unread editorials.. Imagine that.. Come on bro if you are going to rep something can you get a little more into it then Bill Rhoden is going to tell America racing sucks!
The real reason trainers don't run fillies against colts is because 99% of the time they aren't good enough to beat them and financially it doesn't make sense. When the sport does have a filly that truly is extraordinary we do tend to see them against colts. There just isn't a SUPER filly every year. If you had a colts like Easy Goer and Sunday Silience or maybe even Hard Spun, Street Sense, and Curlin you might not even have seen Rachel against those types..

The sport needs Zenyatta vs. Rachel on dirt at 9f's period. This Breeders Cup is a dead issue..The b team from Europe is going to win whatever it needs to. You are trying to make chicken salad from Chicken sheat.. Poly is a third surface..It shouldn't be treated as dirt. Dirt horses shouldn't be forced to run on it.. Why not just run all the races on grass?

Running Rachel on Pro ride is not in the best interest of Rachel and running her on it doesn't prove or help anything.. You want some half assed grass horse that is 6 and a Group 2 winner to come her and beat Rachel on the line?? For what to prove it isn't her best surface?

Sportsmen dont let trivial matters get in the way of their sportmanship.

Please spare me the "its their horse routine". The guy basks in the glory of his "sporting gestures" (like running a horse in a race where she is 1/2) and yet he boycotts the BC? This isnt about what is right or wrong for the horse. It is about Jess, it always is. Why you dont see that I cant imagine.

"Hurry up Gladis, the race is coming up" "What race, you know the two fillies that are better then the boys".."Oh I like the grey one #2 he is so pretty" Give me a break Chuck this is not anything that is important to the future of racing..

The reasons Gladis likes football is she picked the Bears to beat the Dolphins in the office pool and if The Bears win by 3 she wins 210 bucks and that mean Mr Moskowitz doesn't win again..Or she lives in Chic and its always better in town after Da bears win..That is the fringe fan the hardcore fan the sports' fan male or female doesn't care they will always be a fan..

T

This is way off. The Breeders' Cup has essentially forced the hand of racetracks to schedule their big races in three or four week span to allow for (at least) three or four weeks to the Breeders' Cup. The result is a clustered racing calendar and lost-in-the-shuffle stakes. Once prominent races have been pinched and torn and pulled as a result. Furthermore, racing ends after the first week of November. What would be so wrong with pushing back the BC to say, Thanksgiving weekend, and giving racetracks another three weeks to work out a coherent schedule of preps and promotion?

The problem with the modern race fan is your last statement. For some reason fans have bought into the bs that a great horse never loses. The fact is that the great horses are the ones that accomplished great things. If Rachel Alexander were to win the BC on the "third surface" against whatever they throw at her she actually would have a claim to being a historically great horse unlike Curlin who was never more than a good three year old and decent handicap horse regardless of the BC result. If she were to lose you are going in with a built in excuse. If she were to win she would be a legend. And no she isnt one yet by beating a couple of 2nd rate Birdstones and a three horse field.

Even if it totally about Jess, which it very well may be, who cares. Your running her were see is 1/2 argument is bizarre at best. He ran a filly (3) in a race against whatever wanted to show up. Who wouldn't she be 1/2 against Fn Einstein on grass or Commentator after 12 weeks of rehab and a 1 turn mile with her getting the rail?? Again were do did you want her to go and didn't Jackson get Monmouth to boast the purse to attract as many as he could?.. Chuck Summer Bird is a nice colt, is has a bright future.. The derby winner could have run.. Drama could have run 1.25 is better the 750k especially for a gelding.