NYC:
As I said when this race was first announced, I am very dissapointed that it is
an \"invitational\" race restricted to fillies and mares.
What made RA and Zen special to me was their accomplishments against males: RA
multiple times and Zen on the biggest stage in the BC Classic. To me the allure
is getting these 2 not to run against each other, but to run against each other
in a field which reflects their stature.
The Invitational thing bothers me because Oaklawn will bend over backwards to
accomodate the 2 superstars, so much so that the connections might have some say
(behind the scenes, of course) as to who gets invited.
Only way to do this in my humble opinion is an open handicap race, start with RA
126, Zen 124 and go from there.
Will be focusing on Gulfstream this Saturday with what looks like a fairly open
late P4 featuring two dirt stakes and two turf races which drew big fields.
