Dubai Esc. Out

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

As a fan and bettor, I would want them to retire Bernardini next year assuming that he wins the BC Classic relatively easily. The reason being that I do enjoy betting big races and when a horse like Bernardini is running, the race usually becomes unbettable for me. I couldn't see anyone challenging Bernardini for at least the first half of next year. Even if there is some freakish 3 year old next year, that horse would probably not run against older horses until September or October. So we would probably have nothing but four and five horse fields every time that Bernardini runs and he would go off at 1-5 every time. That would pretty much ruin those races for me from a bettor's point of view.

For goodness sake, Rupert, there are so many OTHER races you can bet on if you don't like the short fields with Bernardini. Be a fan! Watch him run for fun!

And your attempt to predict the future for what Bernardini would have to face has lots of holes in it. When Sunday Silence and Easy Goer were allowed to keep racing at 4, no one thought any horse would be able to compete with them. But Criminal Type appeared and beat each of them in thrilling stretch battles early in their 4th year. It's not at all rare for a horse to appear that showed little promise earlier.

It's not a question of "nothing left to prove". It's showing how good you are against different competition under different circumstances.

Seattle Slew didn't have much to prove as a 4-yr-old, but fans got to see him run against Affirmed.

I'm not disputing what's the best "business decision". But to say that as a fan you'd like to see Bernardini retired is incomprehensible to me.

--Dunbar

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

For goodness sake, Rupert, there are so many OTHER races you can bet on if you don't like the short fields with Bernardini. Be a fan! Watch him run for fun!

And your attempt to predict the future for what Bernardini would have to face has lots of holes in it. When Sunday Silence and Easy Goer were allowed to keep racing at 4, no one thought any horse would be able to compete with them. But Criminal Type appeared and beat each of them in thrilling stretch battles early in their 4th year. It's not at all rare for a horse to appear that showed little promise earlier.

It's not a question of "nothing left to prove". It's showing how good you are against different competition under different circumstances.

Seattle Slew didn't have much to prove as a 4-yr-old, but fans got to see him run against Affirmed.

I'm not disputing what's the best "business decision". But to say that as a fan you'd like to see Bernardini retired is incomprehensible to me.

--Dunbar

I'm both a fan and a bettor just like you. As a bettor, I can't believe that you like it when Bernardini is running. The JCGC was an unbettable race because of Bernardini. If he wasn't in the race, the race would have been much more competive and the field would have been much bigger and you may have ven found a horse to bet on in there. I can't believe that as a bettor that you like to see races with 1-5 shots that look like locks.

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

I'm both a fan and a bettor just like you. As a bettor, I can't believe that you like it when Bernardini is running. The JCGC was an unbettable race because of Bernardini. If he wasn't in the race, the race would have been much more competive and the field would have been much bigger and you may have ven found a horse to bet on in there. I can't believe that as a bettor that you like to see races with 1-5 shots that look like locks.

The point is there are plenty of races a week that I can find that would be a good betting race. There are seldom races where you can see a talent like Bernardini run. I'll happily give up an occassional good betting race to see what the guy is really made of and if he can maintain his form through a 4yo campaign.

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

I'm both a fan and a bettor just like you. As a bettor, I can't believe that you like it when Bernardini is running. The JCGC was an unbettable race because of Bernardini. If he wasn't in the race, the race would have been much more competive and the field would have been much bigger and you may have ven found a horse to bet on in there. I can't believe that as a bettor that you like to see races with 1-5 shots that look like locks.

Like Sniper, I am more than willing to give up 6-10 races a year that I might otherwise bet in order to see a really good horse run in those races. That leaves a few thousand other races to bet on.

Another point I tried to make is that there is no certainty that Bernardini would run over the competition next year. New faces show up, and sometimes those horses are surprisingly good.

But mostly, I am willing to let my fan interest take precedence over my betting side for a few races a year.

Your reasoning makes sense from an owner's "business" point of view. But not from a fan's point of view. The bettor's point of view is not relevant when we are talking about 10 races out of thousands.

--Dunbar