Derby AE List

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Thunder Gulch

Name a couple who actually wanted in that had a shot. It's possible, but the occurrence is so infrequent that it's ridiculous to change the rules for that once a decade horse.

They changed the rules this year to let a totally undeserving horse from England in. One more slot taken from a deserving horse. I am not saying that ther are a huge number of horses that have missed being in the 20 but as people are more apt to run fillies, and slot tracks keep adding money to fairly insignifigant races especially as two year olds, the deserving (ie, better horses) will see their numbers dwindle further. Imagine the handwringing if a horse misses the cut, there are 2 scratches and that horse goes on to easily win the Preakness, Belmont, Travers, BC Classic....Then the rules will certainly change but using hindsight as usual. AE's are not a foreign concept the other 364 days of the year.

[Linny]

The fact is that there are now effectively 19 slots in the gate and the rules are set and understood. Trainers/owners know the rules and if they don't want to be left on the sidelines they need to start accumulating graded earnings as early and often as possible. If it means taking a late October maiden breaker from Belmont to Delta for the Jackpot, so be it. Skip the $200k Remsen and go to Delta or the CashCall Futurity. If your horse is a Dunkirk or Imperial Council with allowance wins but no graded $$$, if you put you stock into one graded race and lose, you are probably watching come Derby Day. (It lookes like Shug will give IC 2 graded races so he's got a better shot than Dunkirk.)

Every year someone comes along sobbing about how X is SO GOOD but probably wont get in because of the rules. The same rules apply to all. It's not the rules that kept him out. It's the inability, for whatever reason to rack up enough graded earnings that kept him out. Remember, if Smarty Jones was third in the Ark. Derby he probably wouldn't have gotten to the Derby at all. That was pretty risky. If Dunkirk runs 3rd in the Fla Derby he probably wont make the field this year. Last year I liked Denis of Cork and he damn near got left off because his owner's "racing manager" sent his closer into a race on a speedway and he finished off the board. If they had failed to get in it was no one's fault but the connections.

[Thunder Gulch]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

They changed the rules this year to let a totally undeserving horse from England in. One more slot taken from a deserving horse. I am not saying that ther are a huge number of horses that have missed being in the 20 but as people are more apt to run fillies, and slot tracks keep adding money to fairly insignifigant races especially as two year olds, the deserving (ie, better horses) will see their numbers dwindle further. Imagine the handwringing if a horse misses the cut, there are 2 scratches and that horse goes on to easily win the Preakness, Belmont, Travers, BC Classic....Then the rules will certainly change but using hindsight as usual. AE's are not a foreign concept the other 364 days of the year.

AE's are not a foreign concept to the other 364 days, but 20 horse fields are. I just don't believe that the last one in takes away a spot from a deserving horse because the 20th one in isn't all that deserving.

As for lightly raced late bloomers. Everyone knows the rules and has the same opportunity to chase inflated 2yo purses. I'm not against modifying the rules to weight the graded earnings for 3yo dirt routes, but I'm not clamoring to call one deserving when he runs 3rd in one G1 race. Win one and you are in.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Thunder Gulch

AE's are not a foreign concept to the other 364 days, but 20 horse fields are. I just don't believe that the last one in takes away a spot from a deserving horse because the 20th one in isn't all that deserving.

As for lightly raced late bloomers. Everyone knows the rules and has the same opportunity to chase inflated 2yo purses. I'm not against modifying the rules to weight the graded earnings for 3yo dirt routes, but I'm not clamoring to call one deserving when he runs 3rd in one G1 race. Win one and you are in.

Deserving? It isnt about deserving, it is about getting the best horses in the gate. if three Fillies cross enter and scratch and we get a Kempton horse every year you are down to 16 deserving horses. The idea that not many good horses are left out is too simplistic for me especially as Slot tracks add more high dollar races. How long till Philly adds a big money race? I'd rather see the gate full.