originally they may have-but i think her aborted work when the exercise rider felt 'something' worried them, and then the loss and her injury....

fillies run against colts on a consistent basis around the world!!! we have a very narrow minded view on this here in the united states. didn't ouiji board run against males a million times in some of the most prestigious races all over the world? that sure ruined her...racing only until what..was she 6 years old? maybe 5.

well, it looks like it's the Alabama.....


http://racing.bloodhorse.com/article/46560.htm

I think it's a wise decision. She's a lightly raced filly and not a big one to boot. If she's good enough in her career, she'll have time to face the boys, but right now...........keep her with the girls. Anyway, the Alabama is a very prestigious race; I'd love to see her win it.

A 3yo filly wins the Alabama every year. A 3yo filly hasn't won the Travers since 1915. This is a wussy move by people who have absolutely no reason to be wussy and even have another top contender in the Alabama. The older horses get the tougher it gets for the girls to beat the boys, especially on dirt.

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Obviously I completely disagree. The Travers is going to be a big field, MN is not a big filly and she's lightly raced. Those are 3 excellent reasons to forgo the Travers. I don't care if she beats the boys anyway. I want her to run the whole year and become a champion. I have no desire to see a Travers run,. where she would not likely win, take the starch out of her.

Little Belle has been trashed on this board, now she's a top contender for the Alabama? I like her and she always tries, but she's just not nearly as good as Music Note or Proud Spell.

I think she's garbage too but she'd be second choice if Music Note skipped the race.

What makes you think she likely wouldn't win? The Travers is wide open and I won't be surprised in the least if the Alabama goes in a faster time. How will running slower against boys somehow take more out of her than running faster against Proud Spell?

I admit I guess there is still a part of me that is semi-prejudiced against fillies running against the boys. However, mostly I worry about Music Note being lightly raced (she's only had 5 starts_) and lightly made. This is going to be a big Travers field and I just think that it's not good for this filly to be dealing with that many colts at this stage in her career. There are some very good older mares out there, so once the fall hits, MN will have her hands full with them. I'm just not sure that every good filly needs to take a shot at the boys.