Arthur's Tale out

[MaTH716]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

It's not simply soundness issues that keep horses from winning the Triple Crown. There have been at least a half dozen horses that arguably could have won the Triple Crown in the last 20 years that were felled by other factors.

Obviously it's not all about soundness, but my point has to do with the overall soundness of the breed. You hear talk and see threads about how horses today aren't what they were say 20 years ago. Is there a credence to this talk? Or maybe it's as easy as running your horse on some sort of consistent basis.

Possibly it's just a knee jerk reaction after seeing the probable favorite (with one of them looking like a legitimate threat for the TC) pull out the last two years and several horses this year have been scratched from races and pulled off the derby trail in all.

You would think (or at least I do), that if all this talk about the breeding weakness is true, wouldn't the issues just get worse as the years pass by?

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by MaTH716

Obviously it's not all about soundness, but my point has to do with the overall soundness of the breed. You hear talk and see threads about how horses today aren't what they were say 20 years ago. Is there a credence to this talk? Or maybe it's as easy as running your horse on some sort of consistent basis.

Possibly it's just a knee jerk reaction after seeing the probable favorite (with one of them looking like a legitimate threat for the TC) pull out the last two years and several horses this year have been scratched from races and pulled off the derby trail in all.

You would think (or at least I do), that if all this talk about the breeding weakness is true, wouldn't the issues just get worse as the years pass by?

Maybe, but are high profile horses getting knocked from the Derby a new phenomenon? I would guess the Derby trail has been derailing horses for more than just the last 20 years.

Just the other day, DrugS pointed out two from yesteryear in Sir Gaylord and Gen. Duke. Graustark and Buckpasser (from the same year--same rider, too) were also pretty high profile horses that didn't make it back in the day. I'm sure that's just the tip of the iceberg.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Maybe, but are high profile horses getting knocked from the Derby a new phenomenon? I would guess the Derby trail has been derailing horses for more than just the last 20 years.

Just the other day, DrugS pointed out two from yesteryear in Sir Gaylord and Gen. Duke. Graustark and Buckpasser (from the same year--same rider, too) were also pretty high profile horses that didn't make it back in the day. I'm sure that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Hoist the Flag and Devil's Bag are two others that come to mind as well.

[paulo537]

Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Charismatic, War Emblem, Funny Cide, Smarty J, Big Brown. All Derby-Preakness winners within the past 15 years. Plenty of shots at it.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

If Jess Jackson doesn't buy RA after the KY Oaks - even Mine That Bird would have had a good chance at a sweep.

[slotdirt]

Funny that the two of the closest Triple Crown misses of recent vintage were Preakness-Belmont winners. A lot of the Derby-Preakness winners never had a chance in the Belmont in hindsight.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

If Jess Jackson doesn't buy RA after the KY Oaks - even Mine That Bird would have had a good chance at a sweep.

That's crazy talk.

Speaking of which, I think Rags to Riches might have been able to do it.

[Clip-Clop]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

That's crazy talk.

Speaking of which, I think Rags to Riches might have been able to do it.

Not crazy at all, but that was the best grouping of TC races and horses in a while. She would have had her hands full in KY.