Graded Races

[cal828]

Originally Posted by Danzig

so why is it, if some of the best the last few years ran there, that there is still resistence to the ark getting gr 1? why should scat daddy (for example) be proclaimed as this huge gr 1 winner, but curlin can trumpet one less gr 1 win?
what criteria is used to determine that the 1 million dollar fla derby is a 1, but the ark (and only other prep to offer that size purse) is a 2? they said after smarty jones that they wouldn't move after just one year. afleet alex, curlin, lawyer ron, and two years later...and no change. except to the southwest-whoopie.

I just guessing here because I certainly know nothing about how graded stakes committees operate, but I wonder if it might be that usually only a single quality contender emerges from the Arkansas Derby whereas other venues often have 2 and 3 or more to emerge from their preps . I think the Arkansas Derby is not viewed as a contentious race, but one that is often dominated by a single good horse. All that of course, doesn't take into account how good that single horse might be, but I guess nobody knows that until the triple crown races are actually run. I know there were plenty of doubters on this board this year about Curlin's abilities. I was a little skeptical about him myself.