Originally Posted by oracle80

I completely agree and I think its a real negative. People wonder why we see 4 and 5 horse grade one fields these days and this is why. In the old days championships were truly won based on a years performances. Voters weighed the ENTIRE campaigns of the horses. This is no longer so and its wrong. The whole thing is havily weighed on BC performances as if the other races didn't count. You now actually have guys using 500 grand or 750 grand grade one races as PREPS!! LOL!!! And of course now we never get those great rivalry matchups we used to get. Nor will we ever again. Guys just play keep away all year because its the only smart thing to do. Why rough up your horse in July or August when noone is gonna vote you anything unless you win the Cup. The whole year is just plotted for that one day, and its done racing far more harm than good. We basically traded great races and matchups all year long for one orgy or greatness on one day. Yeah, that day is great, but what about the rest of the year when the grade ones are no longer what they used to be?