DRF Derby Chat w/Beyer tonight

[ArlJim78]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

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.

what would you do to the TC series to move it forward and adapt to the new era that wouldn't render it insignificant and detached from history? traditional things shouldn't have to stay ahead of the times or else they're not traditions anymore.

why do you characterize having 3-5 TC winners in a decade as "luck running out". do you really feel that the big problem in racing is not enough triple crown winners?

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by ArlJim78

what would you do to the TC series to move it forward and adapt to the new era that wouldn't render it insignificant and detached from history? traditional things shouldn't have to stay ahead of the times or else they're not traditions anymore.

why do you characterize having 3-5 TC winners in a decade as "luck running out". do you really feel that the big problem in racing is not enough triple crown winners?

First, I think the whole thing about tradition is overrated. Out of the 11 TC winners, only the last three won it under the conditions they run it under today. It's been changed quite a few times in the past. They've had some years where it was one-week between the Derby and Preakness. Some years where there were four-weeks between the Preakness and Belmont. A lot of the winners won it under different circumstances so when people try to lump them all together, I don't feel that's accurate. I don't think making changes has to make it insignificant. Basketball used to have eight teams, now they have 30, 16 teams make the playoffs, all series are seven games, etc. Football used to have a 12-game schedule. Now they play 16-games and are even talking about maybe making it 18 and cutting out some preseason games. Baseball added in a wild-card to the playoff picture and, IMO, that has significantly added to the game, rather than take away from it like many of the traditionalist feared it would. I don't feel like making changes to traditions necessarily mean they have to end them.

I say that I think the luck would run out if there was a run on TC winners because I think it would lose some of it's appeal. I feel that part of the lure and what makes it special is because it's so rare and especially because there has been such a long spell since the last one. If there were to be several winners over the next 10 years, I think it could start to take on the feel of being commonplace and lose some of it's luster as a truly special happening. I think that would hurt the game. If Silver Charm and Real Quiet had won it in 1997 and 1998, I don't think 100k would have been out to see Charismatic try it in 1999 because that lure of seeing something that hadn't happened in 21 years wouldn't have been there anymore. I feel that having a few come along in a short period of time would force the powers that be to examine why this is happening and would lead to them trying to do things that might make it harder to win instead of easier.