#21
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All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans |
#22
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For me personally, if they were just more upfront about it, instead of the “there wasn’t a lot more to accomplish,” quip I wouldn’t care a bit. Owners put on the show (with the bettors) so I understand cashing in when you can. This just seems different. Either way Hughes is an interesting guy and I encourage people to read up on him. The OJ connection not withstanding he seems like an okay guy. |
#23
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http://www.registry.jockeyclub.com/r...jcRuleBook#one
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Curlin and Hard Spun finish 1,2 in the 2007 BC Classic, demonstrating how competing in all three Triple Crown races ruins a horse for the rest of the year...see avatar photo from REUTERS/Lucas Jackson |
#24
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#25
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It doesn’t have to necessarily be wait til they are four. Smart people can get together and figure it out. But if the current way is driving people away, it makes zero sense to just continue with the status quo. Just on here, you have people that have been fans for decades talk about how they are losing interest. If you can’t keep the interest of those already in the house, how much chance is there of bringing new people in?
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020) Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine |
#26
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As much as I love the sport of racing, the gambling part is what has always drawn me in. Frankly, the gambling product for the most part sucks. Small fields, races that aren’t competitive, move up trainers that perform miracles and betting a horse at 4-1 in the gate and seeing his odds change to 2-1 out of the gate are a few of the things that has me taking an extended break. The Breeders Cup, that ridiculous track they souped up for no reason and performances like Knicks Go was the push I needed. I’m not crazy about horses running so infrequently and retiring prematurely, but I think the only way to bring in new blood is make the gambling part as attractive as possible. It’s not very attractive right now, IMO. If it wasn’t for contests I would’ve been gone years ago. But racing should take a long look in the mirror because if someone like me is fed up, how many others are there that are as well? I eat, sleep and drink this sport. |
#27
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I remember back in 1991 watching the older horse division. They had a series of races that were connected and offered bonuses to horses that earned the most points. I'm sure some of you remember it. I thought that was fun to follow. Create some sort of Triple Crown for older horses. Create one in every division. Do something to connect the races instead of each track and each race operating independently. There are just so many ways to advance the sport but I think it starts with not breeding so many horses and not having so many races. If you create more incentives to race on and maybe more competition in the breeding shed by limiting breeding opportunities, I think you get a better product on the track and that's what drives the sport.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020) Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine |
#28
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That's right. And that horse will still have, what, 15+ years to breed instead of 17+ years?
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Curlin and Hard Spun finish 1,2 in the 2007 BC Classic, demonstrating how competing in all three Triple Crown races ruins a horse for the rest of the year...see avatar photo from REUTERS/Lucas Jackson Last edited by Dunbar : 11-14-2020 at 09:19 AM. |
#29
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Unfortunately I don’t think this is a very realistic solution
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#30
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Short fields or quality hoses?
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I think the most important thing is to get these tracks to run fewer races and 8+ larger fieldss
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Any Day Above Ground Is A Good Day |
#31
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Ok got it. So 3 guys chip in 50 grand apiece buy two yr old in training for 150k the colt is a stud cracks a leg cant race again starts breeding at 4 just because and dies of colic at 5 and we tell the guys those are the breaks, thx for playing. Seems like a good idea if you want to prevent anyone from winning
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#32
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Why are we worried about the stallion career of a horse who couldn't stay sound enough to make it through half of a campaign? The purpose of imposing limits on the age of 1st year stallions would be to prevent this very type of horse from passing on his unsoundness. |
#33
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Make less stakes races and put conditions on them. Right now trainers can pick their spots to run. How many times do you see a G1 horse run against 4 glorified allowance horses in a graded stakes race.
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#34
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I guess the only issue with what you are suggesting is I’m not sure it solves anything. Let’s use the horse Freddy is talking about as an example. They bring him back for a start at the end of his 3 year old year. He gets hurt again and then they just wait out another year or so and he still goes off to stud duty. The only real way to change this as I see it would require an overhaul of the game as we know it. Less graded stakes, lower purse money for stakes and less total races. There are too many options available. Force trainers to run their horses more. The best racing we have seen all year was from April-June because fewer tracks were open and trainers HAD to run their horses instead of shopping around for an easy spot. |
#35
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#36
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020) Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine |
#37
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To be honest, I didn't really think about the thread topic too much; I just wanted to use that one liner. |
#38
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You may return to smashing PSB cans (if there are any left) on your forehead while you await your next welfare check and the first crop of Army Mule babies to hit the track...or the layup facility (whatever the case may be) |
#39
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I definitely don't have all the answers but I'm sure someone out there has looked into this in much greater detail than I have...and for whatever reason, it seems like the people in the industry are content to let the sport slowly fade away. |
#40
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I saw this posted by someone in another place and it brought me back to this thread:
I'd like to see limits place on the number of mares that a stallion can cover by age. A 3yo stallion would be limited to 20 mares, a 4yo to 50, 5yo to 75, and then no limits on 6 and up. That way if a horse really does need to retire early at least they can provide some value as a stallion but there would be far less reason to retire a sound horse early.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020) Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine |