[quote=The Indomitable DrugS;692857]You don't understand.
Horses like Skip Away, Formal Gold, and Gentlemen would have beaten solid mid level claimers at that time by two football fields. It would have been an utter bloodbath on everyones figures.
Today, those mid-level claimers would be a LOT more competitive.
You've seen a lot of cases of laughably outclassed horses stepping up and running 2nd in weak Grade 1 races on both coasts this year.[/QUOTE]
This is because the fields are so weak; and there are very few, very good horses. Why wouldn't a plug run 2nd when it's better than the other plugs in the race?
You know what stands out to me as a real difference in the way horses are running today, as opposed to how they ran in the, say, '70's/'80's? The fact that horses today seem to be able to handle a mixing of distances. Seems like just about every Southern Cal horse is prolific at both sprint and route distances. Especially those in the barn of Sadler, Baffert, Mitchell, O'neil, etc.
Once upon a time, horses were either routers or sprinters and they were trained that way. Off a layoff, they'd sprint routers to get them fit. Now, these trainers are so 'gifted' they can run these horses different distances (not to mention, surfaces) -- even alternate them with no visible affect in performance.
Just in the way of an example, check out just about ANY horse running up @ WO. More specifically, check out horses that run 7F. It seems that they, almost always, alternate between 7F and 2 turns. Back and forth. With a bunch of 6F (and even 5F) races thrown in, just for fun. The 7F/2turn thing is real big down at TAM, as well.
In what other sport and athletes going different distances?
|