kudos to byk.....

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

Yeah, well that goes with the idea I favor of going to 12 races and running 6 each at two different tracks with staggered starts like the Sunshine Millions. With 20 minutes between races there is actually a chance of viewers staying to watch the next race. I don't know how many times I've had friends somewhat interested in racing on TV, watch the race and kind of get into it, and then find out it is 35 minutes until the next race and lose all interest. Plus with two track you can be assured of always being able to run every race at the proper distance. I know a lot of people hate the idea of two tracks but it would solve the problem of the dirt mile being completely different every year.

I don't think a race has much interest for the casual fan unless there is some familiarity with the runners. What would be fun about watching a bunch of horses you've never heard of run around a track for 1-2 minutes? Making the spacing between races shorter leaves less time to develop any kind of story about the upcoming race. I think that would be a mistake.

I agree with the point Linny made earlier. It's already a problem explaining to sports fans who are not yet racing fans that our "World Series" is not just a single race to see who's the best. The more races we add, the less chance the best will face the best.

Steve's list of fillies and mares that have won or nearly won the Sprint was impressive. How many of those would have passed the race had there been a separate race for F&M's?

--Dunbar