BEYER: Crown thriving but tinkering could be in order

[slotdirt]

I don't agree with the field size argument, but I do agree with his point on limiting earnings to races only earned on dirt.

[Travis Stone]

The Preakness undercard will always be up against it. Trainers do not want to wheel-back in two weeks, and with so many races at CD, it's hard to tell an owner we're going to wait for Pimlico.

[slotdirt]

Originally Posted by Travis Stone

The Preakness undercard will always be up against it. Trainers do not want to wheel-back in two weeks, and with so many races at CD, it's hard to tell an owner we're going to wait for Pimlico.

I think the Preakness undercard's problem is more a testament to how bad things are in Maryland right now than it is to the spacing of the undercard races in relation to Derby day.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

I think the Preakness undercard's problem is more a testament to how bad things are in Maryland right now than it is to the spacing of the undercard races in relation to Derby day.

So people are not interested in the Dixie because Maryland Racing is in the red? I think it has more to do with the turf race at CD on Derby day and the Manhattan on Belmont day. I thought Beyer's point about raising the purses of these races is terrific.

[slotdirt]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

So people are not interested in the Dixie because Maryland Racing is in the red? I think it has more to do with the turf race at CD on Derby day and the Manhattan on Belmont day. I thought Beyer's point about raising the purses of these races is terrific.

Which was my point exactly. There really aren't purses to be raised in Maryland these days. If Andy Beyer wants to contribute from his retirement account to the Gallorette, that'd be great, but otherwise, Maryland racing is pretty close to being at rock bottom right now.

[randallscott35]

Why change anything? Everyone looks forward to it...and as far as I can tell the fact that there hasn't been a Triple Crown winner kind of builds the mystique of the TC as far as I'm concerned.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

Which was my point exactly. There really aren't purses to be raised in Maryland these days. If Andy Beyer wants to contribute from his retirement account to the Gallorette, that'd be great, but otherwise, Maryland racing is pretty close to being at rock bottom right now.

Did you read what he wrote? If MID is willing to pay the insurance premiums on a potential $5.5 million bonus they could divert those funds to the purses on Preakness day.

There's always going to be a "red headed step child" factor to the Preakness undercard because there's more to winning the Churchill Downs than the Maryland Sprint Handicap. The problem that the Preakness undercard has is that the races are rarely competitive and lead to the parade of favorites that has occurred each of the last two years.

[jms62]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Did you read what he wrote? If MID is willing to pay the insurance premiums on a potential $5.5 million bonus they could divert those funds to the purses on Preakness day.

There's always going to be a "red headed step child" factor to the Preakness undercard because there's more to winning the Churchill Downs than the Maryland Sprint Handicap. The problem that the Preakness undercard has is that the races are rarely competitive and lead to the parade of favorites that has occurred each of the last five years.

ftfy

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Did you read what he wrote? If MID is willing to pay the insurance premiums on a potential $5.5 million bonus they could divert those funds to the purses on Preakness day.

There's always going to be a "red headed step child" factor to the Preakness undercard because there's more to winning the Churchill Downs than the Maryland Sprint Handicap. The problem that the Preakness undercard has is that the races are rarely competitive and lead to the parade of favorites that has occurred each of the last two years.

I doubt that putting the money spent on the insurance premium (I'm guessing $100K) would meaningfully change the purses offered for the undercard.

The relative weakness of the Preakness undercard is a reflection of the frequency with which horses are raced, the fact that Maryland is generally not a stop on the "good horse" circuit (Gulfstream/Keeneland-Churchill/Belmont-Saratoga), and the weakness of Maryland racing to the extent that Pimlico cannot round up enough competitive local horses to take on the limited number the "stand out" shippers (like a Ventana) to make for good betting races.

[slotdirt]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Did you read what he wrote? If MID is willing to pay the insurance premiums on a potential $5.5 million bonus they could divert those funds to the purses on Preakness day.

There's always going to be a "red headed step child" factor to the Preakness undercard because there's more to winning the Churchill Downs than the Maryland Sprint Handicap. The problem that the Preakness undercard has is that the races are rarely competitive and lead to the parade of favorites that has occurred each of the last two years.

What do you really think the insurance premiums on a $5.5 million bonus are? Certainly not enough to make a big dent in purse prices on any given day.

[Thunder Gulch]

I love the Preakness undercard with ungraded stakes races maxed out with 14 who are eligible for non winnners of 1.