Arkansas Derby Grade???
 

What exactly is it going to take to get this race Grade I status?
Im not exactly sure of the procedure but the money and the horses that have run in it the past few years certainly seem to make it a Grade I race.

So if the race is not held in NY, California, Kentucky, or Florida it cant be Grade I... ? I dont get it.

It was a G1 from 1981 through 1988.
Personally, I think the problem right now is not that there are too few G1s, but that there are too many.

That might be the case, but if there was ever a race that deserved a Grade I it is definitely this one. It has been a much better race than the Blue Grass over the last ten years, yet still hasn't been upgraded. I figured the Smarty Jones-Afleet Alex-Lawyer Ron succession would be enough to get a "bump" but it hasn't happened. Only legitimate knock on the race is that it often has one solid horse with a lackluster field behind it, but I find it hard to believe that year in, year out it is inferior to the Blue Grass or Wood Memorial. The Lane's End at Turfway is a Grade II for crying out loud.

NT

I agree with you that the Arkansas should be on the same level as the Wood, Bluegrass, and Santa Anita Derby but if they made me tzar of racing (which should happen any day now) my solution would be to downgrade those other races to G2 status (along with a bunch of others) rather than to upgrade the Arkansas Derby.

I agree with that...Dave Litfin wrote a column a long time ago about how he gets annoyed with 3YO Derby preps being Grade Is. I really think his point was excellent, that it would make great sense to make them all Grade IIs (those being the big ones of course). It would also go a long way towards uniformity.

NT

i'd rather see the ark derby upgraded, than to see some races with real historical value be downgraded. the bluegrass stakes may have lost a step, BUT, the grading has to do with more than having a contribution to the tc races. it's all other racing all year. and of course, many horses who didn't do so well, or placed in the classics, go on to win meaningful races later on..bluegrass cat for example, finished fourth in the bluegrass stakes, who placed in the derby and preakness, and then had further success in the fall, winning the haskell and then placing to bernardini in the travers stakes before retiring....strong contender also ran in that race, later returning to beat lawyer ron in the super derby.

i do think that there are too many graded races...i can see an argument being made that many gr 1's should be a 2, and only those true top races keep the top status. regardless, the ark derby should be on a level with the fla derby, the wood memorial, etc.

I have actually sat down and tried to come up with ways to "post grade" races. I think that would be really neat.

Why does, with the exception of the winner of the race, anyone care what it's grade is?

get a turf track then we can talk..........

Lets go one step further then.

Why do the even grade races in the first place? Apparently the breeders crow about it a great deal.

Unless you are a breeder why do you care about what breeders crow about?

The only purpose of graded races is for the Breeders. Who cares if the Arkansas Derby is a Grade I or II or III. I personally think there should be only 4 Grade I races for each age and for each surface and for varied distances. I would do away with Grade II's and Grade III's.

seems to matter to many.

it's not that the ark derby should be a 1, but i think it should be on level with the other big preps. if it's a 2, they should be as well.

really tho, since there are too many, it's diluted anyway. if they're all special, than really none of them are. is it a self-esteem thing??

I could care less who won a Grade I or II or III. I think most people could care less (just my opinion). But I agree that it is diluted.

Ya gotta answer my first question first. Why are races graded? Just for breeders?

That was the original intent.

I care because a grade I count more points in The Road To The Roses Contest which I fail miserably at every year. So maybe making the Arkansas Derby a grade I will shake things up a bit.

So could you talk to somebody and explain my dire situation...

The way the graded stakes committee works we should lobby them to drop it a grade and it's a sure Grade 1 next year

I'll take that to mean we are not in tight with the powers that be.

We are in tight enough but they have some obsure system that they use. Common sense is not part of the formula

I think it's ridiculous for a racing series of the quality Oaklawn's created to culminate in a G2. I think if a track's demonstrated that they've created a prep series for the TC races that pulls in top contenders including one of the favorites (such as the Arkansas Derby has done the last few years) it's earned the right to build to the G1. You ought, in theory, to be weeding out the pretenders as the series goes along and the G1 should have those likely to press for the Derby, Preakness, or Belmont. Whatever pushing and motivating the track folks need to do to keep the bums from watering down the place and encouraging the contenders to come is part of the responsibility of such a series and they should be held to a high standard to maintain the G1 status.

One thing to consider is some horses are kept in training for the G1s at the beginning of the season and the hope of a Derby win. These are some of those likely to drop out before the fall and be retired. Do we think if the other preps are made G2 that they might just say 'ah screw it' if they already have a G2 as a 2yo and the horse's got a foot bruise or something? I mean you'd have to win the Derby, another TC race, or wait til the fall and you might go 'hey that's great, they'll stay in training longer and not push so much so early in the year' but I think many of them would just retire sooner. The longer they stay in training, the more that can go wrong in the eyes of some. Not saying it's right, I'm just trying to predict what they'll do vs. what they ought to do which is not go for the easier G1 and break the horses early and instead make us happy with a strong 3yo fall campaign for the underdevelop youngsters. Seriously, easy way out--they do it every time.

I just dont get it . We have to have a national org. that grades specific races to reflect there importance. I guess owners arent sharp enough to find the purses worth running for. Give the individual tracks the power to upgrade there races by simply offering the best purse money. The national org will always keep the powere where they want it and want let any of the tracks try to lure the top horses with purse money. What comes first the grading of a race or the grsded stakes horses. The national org will throw a bone to the lesser tracks but they will make sure the power tracks will maintain there dominance.

Have you ever been to Hot Springs in January?