Arkansas Derby Grade???

What exactly is it going to take to get this race Grade I status?
Im not exactly sure of the procedure but the money and the horses that have run in it the past few years certainly seem to make it a Grade I race.

So if the race is not held in NY, California, Kentucky, or Florida it cant be Grade I... ? I dont get it.

[miraja2]

It was a G1 from 1981 through 1988.
Personally, I think the problem right now is not that there are too few G1s, but that there are too many.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by miraja2

It was a G1 from 1981 through 1988.
Personally, I think the problem right now is not that there are too few G1s, but that there are too many.

That might be the case, but if there was ever a race that deserved a Grade I it is definitely this one. It has been a much better race than the Blue Grass over the last ten years, yet still hasn't been upgraded. I figured the Smarty Jones-Afleet Alex-Lawyer Ron succession would be enough to get a "bump" but it hasn't happened. Only legitimate knock on the race is that it often has one solid horse with a lackluster field behind it, but I find it hard to believe that year in, year out it is inferior to the Blue Grass or Wood Memorial. The Lane's End at Turfway is a Grade II for crying out loud.

NT

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

That might be the case, but if there was ever a race that deserved a Grade I it is definitely this one. It has been a much better race than the Blue Grass over the last ten years, yet still hasn't been upgraded. I figured the Smarty Jones-Afleet Alex-Lawyer Ron succession would be enough to get a "bump" but it hasn't happened. Only legitimate knock on the race is that it often has one solid horse with a lackluster field behind it, but I find it hard to believe that year in, year out it is inferior to the Blue Grass or Wood Memorial. The Lane's End at Turfway is a Grade II for crying out loud.

NT

I agree with you that the Arkansas should be on the same level as the Wood, Bluegrass, and Santa Anita Derby but if they made me tzar of racing (which should happen any day now) my solution would be to downgrade those other races to G2 status (along with a bunch of others) rather than to upgrade the Arkansas Derby.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by miraja2

I agree with you that the Arkansas should be on the same level as the Wood, Bluegrass, and Santa Anita Derby but if they made me tzar of racing (which should happen any day now) my solution would be to downgrade those other races to G2 status (along with a bunch of others) rather than to upgrade the Arkansas Derby.

I agree with that...Dave Litfin wrote a column a long time ago about how he gets annoyed with 3YO Derby preps being Grade Is. I really think his point was excellent, that it would make great sense to make them all Grade IIs (those being the big ones of course). It would also go a long way towards uniformity.

NT

[Danzig]

i'd rather see the ark derby upgraded, than to see some races with real historical value be downgraded. the bluegrass stakes may have lost a step, BUT, the grading has to do with more than having a contribution to the tc races. it's all other racing all year. and of course, many horses who didn't do so well, or placed in the classics, go on to win meaningful races later on..bluegrass cat for example, finished fourth in the bluegrass stakes, who placed in the derby and preakness, and then had further success in the fall, winning the haskell and then placing to bernardini in the travers stakes before retiring....strong contender also ran in that race, later returning to beat lawyer ron in the super derby.

i do think that there are too many graded races...i can see an argument being made that many gr 1's should be a 2, and only those true top races keep the top status. regardless, the ark derby should be on a level with the fla derby, the wood memorial, etc.