I could understand the Fairgrounds purse being upped. At that time, there was a decision yet to be made as to whether he'd run there or prep in Dubai. This one is different. I don't know how probable it is that any deal was made to have him make his first US run at a CD property but I suppose that is possible. And that's exactly what they were going to do by running in the Foster, whether they raised the purse or not. The raising of the purse has nothing to do with drawing Curlin.

It has everything to do with Curlin, did you read the article Ateam posted?

http://www.drf.com/news/article/95158.html
In an overt attempt to secure Curlin as a starter, Churchill Downs announced Wednesday that the purse for the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap on June 14 has been increased to $1 million from the original $750,000 level.

They made the first deal in NOLA and now it's the same thing in Kentucky. They want Curlin to make his 2008 debut in the US at a CD property.

I think the bottom half of the article is the focus here, namely, the all-time money record. Its basically the only reason Curlin is still racing...you know, aside from the sporting gesture of letting all his North American fans get a final glimpse of him...via satellite.

It's likely that Curlin won't be coming out for the BC because of synthetics, so he needs to race a couple of more times to garner that monumental achievement.

As cool as it sounds for his future starts to possibly include the Arc de Triomphe or the Japan Cup, what's the likelihood his connections are actually going to go through with this? I say zilch. Its much more likely that another rich cakewalk will be engineered to ensure his ascension to pseudo-greatness.

I wonder what the purse of the Clark Handicap, also at CD, will end up being later this fall.

It has nothing to do with Curlin. Curlin has been on a course for this race for quite a while now. Well before this announcement was made. The rewriting of the conditions also states that the were will be an increase of $250k if ANY grade one winners show up. So if Curlin doesn't run but say Student Council or Brass Hat do, it's still a $1 million race. The Fairgrounds deal was an attempt to lure Curlin. But this one isn't because he was already going there. It would be like Belmont saying that if Big Brown runs Saturday, they'll raise the purse of the race.

Well, in a way, it does have something to do with Curlin but not in the way you are suggesting. This is not a "lure" increase. This is a "thank you for coming" increase. If they announced tomorrow that the purse wasn't going to be increased, he'd still be running there.

Doesn't matter one iota to me as I will not be able to see the race live and certainly won't be able to wager on it unless the horsemen and Churchill come to an agreement.

Someone wake me up when that happens.

I thought he was a steal late in the 2nd round - I tried to trade up by offering a 3rd and a 5th to get him.. to no avail.

Not difficult to understand. Originally, I was saying it had nothing to do with BRINGING Curlin to the race. At the end, I was allowing that his presence was more than likely a driving force behind the increase, as a sort of thank you for coming. So I think it did have something to do with him but not in the way that most people think so, as a lure to get him, because he was already coming.

Do increases in purses really work? Maybe to a small % of connections, but the other big race in June - The Hollywood Gold Cup 750K has slowly declined in stature these past few years due to it's average fields. It's hard enough to get a decent horse to ship these days.

Perhaps there was an undisclosed offer from some other track to get him to their race that prompted the purse increase. Does Curlin really need to make a start in June?

Maybe Saratoga offered to make both the Whitney and Woodward million dollar affairs that would wrap up his career nice and neat.

But again, I could maybe see that as possible if the purse increase was announced prior to his people saying he was running there, as a way of inticing them to come to Churchill. It just doesn't seem to make sense to me that they would need to increase the purse for a race to get him to come when he was coming anyway.

I will take your action and give you the live call depending on who you want to bet (got to clear with Scavs 1st)

I haven't looked at a racing form for CD since Derby Day. So you would be very smart in taking any of my action there.

It's kind of sad because CD used to be my favorite spring/summer track to wager on and now I don't even look.

You havent missed much