2023 galloping Triple Crown thread

It was pretty bad that he first said it was hurt, then euthanized. But he didn't actually remember its name. Especially since it was Havinameltdown.

 

I find columns by journalists complaining that the people they cover will not go to breakfast with them unprofessional. Why do subjects of a journalist's stories owe him a shared meal?

And I don't understand the part about upholding the "tradition" of the Preakness. The Preakness would have run today whether the breakfast had been held or not. The only people who would have cared if the breakfast had been canceled were evidently some sportswriters.

 

If a track throws the horse people a breakfast party every year, the least they can do is show up and respect the tradition.

 

You only cover us when we don’t eat grits!

 

11th and 12th horses dies at Churchill Downs

https://www.kentuckyderby.com/uploa...20230527_Churchill_Downs_Safety_Statement.pdf

 

So they’re moving the rest of the meet to another track. But not until after this weekend. WTF happens if another horse breaks down on the main track?

 

Honest question from someone who is violently allergic to horses:

What can a track do to preserve the safety of horses? I thought the crux of the problem was shitty breeding and unscrupulous trainers.

 

What they are trying to do is hit the perfect balance of softness and firmness with the track. Too far either way and you get broken ankles which is a death sentence for a horse.

 

Two days before the race … if the air quality holds up. What a weird time to like horse racing.

 

Belmont post positions. But given all the smoke, not expecting it to be run on Saturday.
Belmont Stakes post positions: Full draw & odds for the 2023 Triple Crown race | Sporting News

 

In NYC anyway right now I can see the sky and the air quality was in the 50s this morning so seems like things are really improving.

Dumb question from someone who knows nothing about horse racing. How does Secretariat still hold all the records in each Triple Crown? I'd have thought medicine/training/evolution would have led to improvements over the decades. I always get into it with a buddy about whether great athletes from the past could compete today and he's always talking about those things: today's athletes are so much better because of training/medicine/evolution. I always say greats from any era could compete in every other era so I jokingly told him proof of that comes with Secretariat still being the fastest horse even 50 years later (hey, if SportsCentury can put a horse on its greatest athletes list, I can use it when I need to). But it did make me wonder how those records have lasted so damn long. Was it just the giant heart or has there been something done with the breeding/training that makes it where horses can't go that fast these days? I'll hang up and listen.

 

It's the heart.