Barbaro

Sometimes the reason Triple Crown stars don't make it far into their racing careers is because of injury, but it's also often due to the concept of get him to stud and fast - he'll make more money that way. There's also a factor about the pressure of the races at three years old. For instance, some horses trying to get into the Derby are attempting to gather earnings, so they race a gazillion times before they even get to Louisville. Look at Lawyer Ron. There aren't many horses who are built to race that much by the time they're three.

 

Not qualified enough to weigh in on the fatigue factor, but its more than three races in five weeks. When you factor in the Derby prep, its four races over a maximum of nine weeks, usually shorter since some of the Derby preps are two or three weeks ahead of the Derby.

Pimlico's neighborhood probably doesn't help it, but many horse tracks, including Churchill Downs to an extent, are in questionable neighborhoods.

 

I'm not trying to be rude, but you're just flat-out wrong.  For the horses that go to stud right away -- a la Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex, etc. -- the underlying issue is an injury.  

 

A big reason for racing's decline in my opinion has been the quick rush to stud for many top horses. There has not been a chance to build any great rivalries like we had in the 70s.

What was the last race that featured two Kentucky Derby winners? I don't know the answer. I should, but I don't. I realize we're an ADD society, but a top colt's career is even too short for modern sports fans.

 

No, I'm not wrong. You're only thinking about Derby winners. You're not taking into account the entire fields of Triple Crown races, since you mentioned that.
I don't get into sh==tting matches. Everyone's entitled to say what they feel here, and I didn't insult you and say you were wrong. You have a different opinion.

 

No there's a lot of truth in that. Stud fees are where the money is made. You're perceived as fucking up your investment if you race a Triple Crown contender after the Triple Crown. Unless your gelding Funny Cide, of course.

I could be remembering this wrong, but Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus might have already been at stud by the running of the Belmont after he failed to win the Preakness.

 

Bubs, not sure if you've been to Churchill since the renovation, but the Downs is in the midst of purchasing a lot of the houses that surround it. Central Avenue has been expanded and extended to where it crosses U of L and ends at the Fairgrounds. It's a hell of a lot better than it used to be. And it's going to get even better.

Of course, I'm a South Ender. I never thought it was questionable, but I can understand other people's trepidations.

 

"Trepidations," you spell right. :-\

 

Magna Entertainment is a constant money loser, hemorraghing more than $300 million in the last three years. Anything is possible as it tries to eliminate its debt.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/060501/b050172.html

 

It's not the 20-foot putts that hurt me. It's the tap-ins that cause me trepidations.

 

True, but I don't see Magna selling the rights to the Preakness to say Churchill Downs Inc., even though I think Arlington would be a great place to hold the Preakness.

 

Was just there, and made my contribution to Tom Meeker's coffers last weekend.

It's improved a lot since I lived there in the late 90s and it was never close to the worst neighborhood in town. Central Avenue is obviously dramatically changed.

My only point is that the tenaments you see in the background at Pimlico are very similar to the tenements that are in the Churchill Downs neighborhood. Those old houses on 4th Street behind the backside look like they haven't been touched since 1920. Just an old working class neighborhood that looks it is all.