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Originally Posted by RolloTomasi
Ridiculous. The Hutcheson on the same day as the Fountain Of Youth. Looks like GP took a page out of Santa Anita's owner's manual (of course its the same). Why are these tracks intent on dismantling their once logical and organized 3yo stakes?
For those who might care, and this is by no means all-inclusive:
Spectacular Bid, Lord Avie, Swale, Forty Niner, Fly So Free, Holy Bull, Unbridled's Song, Cat Thief, Coronado's Quest, First Samurai, etc. ran in both races back in the day, not to mention the Florida Derby.
I guess the Hutcheson (a Grade 2) is now relegated to prep status for the Grade 3 Swale (another traditional starting point for 3yos a little behind the eight-ball, eg Chief's Crown, Summer Squall, Easy Goer, Favorite Trick, Thirty Six Red, Seeking The Gold).
To complete the trend, maybe Churchill will move the Derby Trial to the first Saturday in May.
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I agree and it all stems from the fact that Gulfstream's new configuration has them completely hamstrung. Last year they ran the Hutcheson and Holy Bull on the same weekend with the HB being a race for horses who were ahead of the curve and ready to go 9fs. The Hutcheson was a prep for the Fountain of Youth, which was run at a mile instead of 1 1/8 miles.
Now the Hutcheson is kind of in no man's land as far as theoretical Derby preps go.
It can't just be a coincidence that the Sam Davis and Tampa Derby gained in popularity after GP re-configured it's main track. The ability to run 8.5 furlongs is pretty big for 3YOs. Just imagine if GP hadn't extended the chute and their longest possible distance was the 7.5 furlongs they originally planned!
NT