Quote:
Originally Posted by Indian Charlie
I don't think spacing had anything to do with the last ten horses vying for the TC after winning the first two races, failing to complete the sweep.
Just off the top of my head...
Alysheba got beat by a mile due to having a dumb ride, plus he got beat by a horse that also ran in all three races.
Sunday Silence got trounced by a Belmont track freak, whom also ran in all three races.
Silver Charm got beat by a better horse (at least in my eyes, he had more ability) that was unlucky to lose to Silver Charm in the Preakness.
Real Quiet made that crazy early move, and lost to a horse that also ran in all three races.
Charismatic, possibly, but he was trained by Lukas.
Funny Cide was fortunate to win the Derby, and got beat in the Belmont by a horse of considerably better quality.
Smarty Jones got Bailey'd in the Belmont.
War Emblem had that bad start in the Belmont, but who knows.
Big Brown, he looked like a horse in bad trouble towards the end of the Preakness. Would he have benefited from another week or two, maybe!
I'll Have Another???
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Several horses that won the first two legs regressed by 5-10 lengths in the Belmont. A horse can regress for a number of reasons. Some horses may regress a few lengths simply because the Belmont is a little too far for them. But when you have horses regressing by 5-10 lengths, that is just a case of horses not firing. Off the top of my head here are some horses that won the first two legs and then regressed by around 5-10 lengths: Pleasant Colony, Alysheba, War Emblem, Funny Cide, Smarty Jones, Big Brown, etc. That list doesn't include all the horses that were so knocked out that after the Preakness that they couldn't even make the Belmont. Horses like I'll Have Another and Bodemeister had to be retired after the Preakness.
In addition, there were a ton of horses who regressed by 1-4 lengths. I'm not going to count those horses because it is tougher to prove that their 1-4 length regression was because they were worn out from the first two legs rather than another reason like the distance or a poor ride.
Anyway, if any of you think that horses can run every 2-3 weeks, and stay sound, and retain their form, I highly recommend that you go buy some horses. You will find out very quickly that you will be lucky to get 6-7 races a year out of a horse before they get injured. If you can get 6-7 races a year out of a horse, you are doing great. I would take that every time because many times you will only get 1-2 races, especially in their 2 and 3 year old years.