Rachel Alexandra (116 Beyer for Haskell)

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

I understand what you are saying but you are assuming that this will change anything. It wont. There is no doubt that the Breeders Cup board will make stupid mistakes again and the thing will be held at a synthetic track but there may not be another chance to showcase a RA, who is not only growing into a star attraction but a legitimate one.

I don't really have as big a problem with synthetic tracks as I do with the fact that the supposed championships are being held on them when the majority of our main track stars run primarily on dirt. The thing that I don't like is what the BC is trying to do, what they've publicly stated is their goal and that's trying to cater to the Europeans. Well, last year they achieved their goal and likely will again this year but it's going to be at the cost of some top American horses, in this case, the biggest star we have. I think that all of the people who want to see Rachel will know how to see her. I think the biggest difference of opinion you have with the rest of us is in how much extra viewership there would be if Rachel were to run. My opinion is that it wouldn't be a significant number and that an even less significant number would continue to tune in after that to see races that she's not in. It's sort of like with Tiger Woods. Before him, I didn't watch golf. Now, I do. Only when he's playing. When he missed the cut at the British Open, I didn't watch the weekend. When there's no Tiger, there's no me. And the ratings show that I'm not alone in this.