SA & FL Derby

[Alan07]

The winner of the 2011 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Maryland will earn a $5 million bonus if the horse has also won a series of Triple Crown prep races at tracks also owned by Pimlico’s parent company, MI Developments, the company announced on Friday.

Under the program, the Florida Derby and Santa Anita Derby purses will be raised to $1 million next year.

http://drf.com/news/preakness-offers...a-prep-winners

[hockey2315]

huh?

[letswastemoney]

lol if true

[hockey2315]

Just got the press release. . . 1 million - not 1 mile (could've gone either way). . . Part of some Preakness bonus.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

The winners of the Bob Lewis, San Felipe, and El Camino will most likely all run back in the Santa Anita Derby unless they're hellbent on getting a dirt prep in right before the Ky Derby.

It's also now very likely the winners of the Holy Bull and Fountain Of Youth will run in the Florida Derby. In other words, you won't see a horse like Eskanderya pass on the Fla Derby for a race like the Wood.

Also - the bonus helps the Preakness if a horse alive for the bonus runs a good 2nd or 3rd in the Kentucky Derby. Instead of passing on the Preakness like quite a few 2nd and 3rd place finishers from the Derby do - the owners might have a hard time resisting passing on a classic race where they're also up for a $5 million bonus with a horse who will be among the favorites in the betting for said race.

If they're not in it for the long haul then this will be a complete failure and there is no guarantee it will work.

[Kingturf]

I like the ideal of the bonus for two reasons; no more of this.... if I don't win the derby I will skip the Preakness, which started to be a joke with some of the horses that entered the preakness just to be in a triple crown race.

Too many owner and trainers started ducking the big tracks for inflated purses at some of these bull ring tracks....i.e. Delta Doom and Charlestown which is having a 2 year old and 3 year olds prep races for inflated purses in the years to come. It would allow most of the best horses owners and trainers to select carefully, how they will prep for a triple crown race.

Btw...Santa Anita derby will be run on dirt next year (I.D)

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Kingturf

Btw...Santa Anita derby will be run on dirt next year (I.D)

True. I had forgotten about that.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

If they're not in it for the long haul then this will be a complete failure and there is no guarantee it will work.

I think it should work in terms of bettering the chances of getting the horses they want to go in the races they want ... I doubt they'll be in for the long haul though. $5 million is a pretty big bonus and it's not something all that tough to do.

It's something that's likely to be hit at least once in the next five or six years now that SA is dirt again.

[Kingturf]

I just remember the crap the connections of Spend a Buck took after he won the KY Derby and skipped the Preakness for the Jersey Derby....

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Kingturf

I just remember the crap the connections of Spend a Buck took after he won the KY Derby and skipped the Preakness for the Jersey Derby....

it helped in the long run, with classic purses getting a boost, and the visa triple crown challenge-even tho the latter was only a temporary thing.
they learned from the spend a buck deal that history wasn't enough, money matters too.

[King Glorious]

I'll tell you why I'm happy with this new idea for this Preakness bonus. I think one of the problems in racing comes from people sticking too much with tradition and not looking to make any changes that could be for the better of the sport. I think this is going to be a challenge to the status quo. Imagine next year if a horse wins the San Felipe and SA Derby and is in position to win the bonus. Do you point to the Derby or do you (brace yourself for it) skip the Derby and point for the Preakness with a fresh horse? Before you answer, remember the situation in 1985 when Spend a Buck won the Derby and then was kept out of the Preakness in order to go for a $2.6 million bonus in the Jersey Derby. In other words, money talks. Now you are talking about $5 million. I can almost guarantee that this is something we will see happen, whether it's in California or Florida. For those that haven't read it, here's how it works:

If a horse wins either the San Felipe OR Robert Lewis OR El Camino Real......AND then wins the SA Derby, he wins the bonus if he wins the Preakness.
If a horse wins either the Fountain of Youth OR the Holy Bull.........AND then wins the Florida Derby, he wins the bonus if he wins the Preakness.

In addition to the big bonus ($5 million to the winning owner, $500k to the winning trainer), there is a smaller bonus in place also. If a horse merely runs in one of the smaller races and then HITS THE BOARD in the SA or FL Derby and then wins the Preakness, there's a $500k bonus for the owner and $50k for the trainer.

Any of these scenarios are VERY reachable, much more so than the TC bonus.

It's my belief that the TC is going to come under significant pressure to make some changes now because they've relied on the fact that it's the TC for too long. I couple of years ago, I talked about a plan I had heard about where a new HUGE money 3yo race was going to be introduced at Hollywood. It never happened but that doesn't mean that there won't be future plans to challenge the TC, this one by Magna being the biggest one. Many people think that no trainer will skip the Derby because, well because it's the Derby. If this bonus plan sticks around for a few years and a couple of horses get in position to claim it, it's going to happen. Mark my words.

Also remember that the purses for the Florida and SA Derbies have also been increased to $1 million (pending approval at SA).