Graded Earnings: Is there an alternative?

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by whodey17

I just picked some horses from this year 3 year old crop and applied my pts system. Again, this would change if my pts system was in place. Anyway...

Scat Daddy - 70
Circular Quay - 60
Stormello - 57
No Biz - 52
Street Sense - 48
Cowtown Cat - 32
Teuf - 27
Curlin - 22
Storm In May - 22
Sightseeing - 21
Tiago - 16

Clearly no system is perfect, but your system treats, for example, winning the G2 Hutcheson and the G2 Arkansas Derby as equals. That to me, just doesn't make sense. A horse that wins a 9f G2 in April deserves more "credit" than a horse that wins a 7.5 furlong race in March. Under the current system that horse gets that "credit" because the Arkansas Derby is a million dollar race while the Hutcheson is a $150,000 race. I think the current system works better than the system you propose because the 9f April preps - the ones which are probably the best indicators of who "belongs" in the Derby because of the distance and timing of the races - also happen to be the 3yo races with the largest purses.
Your system seems to treat the Kentucky Derby as a 3yo Hall of Fame, and that getting into the race should be some sort of lifetime achievement award for consistent performance. Admirable sentiment to be sure, but I would rather see horses that have the best chance of actually winnng the race included. I think the current system ensures that to a higher degree than your points system.