Sorry, it's just the retire them because they are not as good and/or can be bred for more money mentality that is killing the sport. So she may not win the Ballerina -- thank heavens they are willing to enter her!

(oh yeah and run her on a surface which is not her best in that race and they tried a new distance today)

yeah, i thought the retirement remark was ridiculous. they wanted to see if she could go 2 turns, and found a good place to find out. it worked out well for her and them. why trying something different, with a win to boot, should bring about her retirement is beyond me.

Wait a minute... They found out tonight she could go 2 turns? Ok...
Thats good, on to the Personal Ensign off tonights romp.

Sightseek I get your point, a lot of them do retire to early. I guess its nice to see her running still.

...where did i say they found out she could go two turns? they tried it in the right spot, and she won. glad you paid attention to the drf link and comment i made about ntamm getting his wish, as ID next goes in the ballerina.

The pace was entirely too slow tonight to make anything of the race.

You can spin it the good way and say 'she rated so kindly - how many top sprinters in history could go that slow early without pulling the jockey out of the saddle? Her final quater mile was sensational for a stretch-out given the speed of the track and she galloped out like a horse who was just starting to find her best a 1/16th of a mile after the race was over'

You can spin it the bad way and say 'she walked on an uncontested lead and beat nothing in slow time over a track very favorable to her running style'

The reality was that it was nothing more than an entire field in a furious 2.5 furlong sprint after walking early. Nothing at all was learned other than the fact that Informed Decision is capable of going extremely slow if rated and unpressured.

It's hard to "roll" a field when you go that extremely slow early - especially on a synthetic surface. Even on dirt it isn't easy.

Look at Quality Road's comeback race this year in the Hal's Hope. He rated so kindly on the lead through a 25.15 first quarter (Maiden fillies going the same distance on dirt that day went a 24.41 first quarter and 3 of them were within a neck of each other through that 1st quarter)

The result was Quality Road beating bums like You and I Forever and Congressional Page by less than 3 lengths in the Hal's Hope - and running a mere 103 Beyer figure.

You figure Strawbridge has ever worried about 180k since he was 9 months old? What do you figure his yearly expenses are worldwide for horses. Include training vets transportation and purchases.. 10mil? You think he has ever won 10 mil in a year..maybe a few but not to many

That also supports my point about them doing it for the sport of it.

Everything he (strawbridge) does in racing is for the sport of it and it is plainly obvious

I love the guy, even if he's the luckiest guy in the world... not only because he's a great owner, but because he saved the Buffalo Sabres.

Sharp dresser too.