[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

I think it's encouraging in many ways that people don't just buy the " it's the Derby - it must be great " argument.

This year's Derby is like going to a great restaurant and getting a lousy meal.

I agree here totally. The biggest problem in the game today, IMO, is that too many people sit on their hands and are afraid to change things up. You often accuse me of being some sort of visionary with all of these outside the box ideas but I really think that the game needs more people like me, people that aren't afraid to challenge old standards and create new ones. Sitting stagnant and just putting the product out there figuring that by name alone, you will be ok, is dangerous. I think that's what we are seeing with the Derby and the Triple Crown. I think that the sport has been tremendously lucky that there have been so many Derby/Preakness winners over the past 20 years that have help keep the interests up. But all one has to do is look at the Belmont numbers when there is no TC on the line and compare to when there is. To say it's like night and day is an understatement. I also feel that the luck is going to run out and we are going to hit a stretch where there will be 3-5 TC winners over the course of a decade and then people will start to wonder why it's become so easy and that will create new problems. I truly feel that several changes need to be made to the Derby and the TC series in order to keep it ahead of the times. Trying to keep old traditions in a new era just won't work. You've got to adapt to the era and change accordingly, move forward or die in your place.