A 2nd BC Day?

Originally Posted by Danzig188

since states have managed to get slots, they have more money to throw at what they want to support--state breds... so i have no problem with them paying money to them, rat or not. however, i think grading of races needs to be far more difficult. too many graded stakes out there. only the very best, most exclusive and meaningful races should be gr 1's.

Scav there is a committee that downgrades and upgrades which stakes are graded each year.
What you propose would suck the industry down the tubes.
ELiminating stakes races means eliminating purse money and residual value. People can't make money racing for the most part, they make it on the back end with stallions and broodmares.
What you propose would kill the sport in one year. haveing fewer stakes races generally would lead to only those who are already rich and powerful winning the stakes races, with even fewer scraps to the "have nots". Its not gonna hurt Pletcher and his owners, or the Sheikhs, but it sure as hell would hurt the lower echelon folks.
No stakes race is easy, trust me. Try managing a horse and looking for an "easy spot" and you will find there is no such thing.
Proposiing a racing world where only the highest end breeders, owners, and trainers have even MORE of an advantage would cause: Trainers looking at the want ads for other lines of work, breeders other than the superwealthy to hang out for sale signs at record rates, and owners who arent zillionaires divesting their horses and taking up golf.