Owner not wrong

[jimbo66]

I know he is getting panned on this board and everywhere else, but the owner of California chrome isn\'t wrong.  His timing was awful and he came across like a sore loser, but the reality is that his statements weren\'t untrue.

People are saying this race proved Chrome wasn\'t one of the greats like the other triple crown winners and perhaps that is true.  But I have to wonder if we will see a triple crown winner.  The truth is the breed has changed drastically since the 70s when we had three triple crown champs.  The \"win now\" mentality has led to precocious sprint pedigrees with many if not most stamina pedigrees going overseas.  One of the results of that is fragility.  Another thing is that right or wrong, all the views of the \"sheets players\" about rest are being followed by many trainers.   What are the odds that Pletcher runs a horse back in the Preakness after a derby run, if he doesn\'t win the derby?   Close to nil.   So more and more trainers are skipping the Preakness and pointing to the Belmont.  That has worked, what 8 out of 15 years?   So we get a handful of talented horses that get 5 weeks rest, running against a horse that is going for 3rd race in five weeks.  

Not sure what the answer is.  Without having given it much thought before, I had been deadset against changing the spacing of the races.  And I still might be, but it may not be as clear as I thought.  

Horses in the 70s and even 80s didn\'t have as many of the talented fresh faces to face.  

Anyway, thought I would add one post to offset all the negative posts about the owner

Good luck

[jmh384]

what happens if you change the rules. time between races and/or distance. then a horse who would have done it anyway comes along and does it? don\'t you taint his or her accomplishment.how many close calls in recent years?you don\'t need a list.
if easy goer and sunday silence were 1 year apart there would be 2 more.look at risen star closed into no pace in derby and was a few lengths behind thats not one you here about because the loss was in derby.the owner is folksy and loved a regular guy. now he\'s got the answer. he wants to use the point system for the derby to determine runners in belmont. how long has that point system been in place?

[jmh384]

i also think if art sherman  was in stands ( obviously he\'s on the track checking his horse) he would have stepped in front of this guy and changed the subject

[Al Caught Up]

yeah, woody stephens barely ever sent in fresh horses in the 80s. This is ridiculous. It\'s not an \'official series\'--he could have skipped the Belmont and run in a Cal-bred race on the same day in June. He could have done a Spendabuck and run in Jersey. Eddie Gregson didn\'t like running back in the Preakeness with Gato del Sol and skipped it. Nobody made these guys run their horse in the Belmont.

I feel bad for the owner being put on the spot by NBC, but the fact that his comments are taking seriously as a potential point of debate or conversation is even more distressing.

[jmh384]

how much you wanna bet if chrome was close second in derby and art sherman said to jethro \"lets freshen him iknow we can win can win in bel\" he would say  no i don\'t think thats fair

[TheBull]

Some comments/rants don\'t deserve offsetting, Jimbo.....and this idiot\'s rant after the race is a shining example. Let the moron get ripped and mocked, he earned it. The most amusing comment was referring to the other horses\' connections as a \"bunch of ***damn cheaters\".....that\'s right, he said cheaters. They cheated. Not sure what can be defended about what the guy said.

Look, there are three big races in the span of five weeks for 3yos. Sometimes a horse wins all three, most of the time they don\'t. Get over it. Just because trainers and owners have recently figured out a better way to win the Belmont, doesn\'t mean you have to change the rules to make it easier for a horse to win all three. What are you supposed to do, space each race four weeks apart? Shorten the distance of Belmont? But no, Coburn did not mention either of those. His gripe was twofold:

A.) Horses who are not allowed to run in the Derby should be banned from all Triple Crown races.

B.) If you run in the Derby, you should not be allowed to skip the Preakness for the Belmont. As he said, \"either all or none\".

Maybe the two single dumbest comments I\'ve heard in years. Wagging and pointing his finger in the camera like a total clown, even adds to the buffoonery. It\'s a shame too; this guy turned a positive, happy, blue collar success story that people can cheer for, into a horse a lot people will associate negatively with now, due to his owner showing himself as a childish, whiny, unlikeable dope.

[jimbo66]

Bull,

Agreed.  The guy was whining and using the word \"cheating\", which is certainly isn\'t.

i guess my point wasn\'t too clear.  The point was supposed to be that with the change in the breed and belief in spacing, the 3 races in 5 weeks is a helluva lot harder than it used to be, and MAY require changes.  

The number of challengers, and the number of \"fresh\" challengers in particular, is more than it used to be.  Maybe that is OK and nothing should change.  But how many 10 and 11 horse fields did the Triple Crown winners face?

[jmh384]

\"hate \" the dope not the horse..thats what i think you mean

[TheBull]

Yes exactly. That\'s what I mean. It is a shame that Chrome, Sherman etc will be lumped in with the negativity that Coburn has brought to this horse. A really good horse, a super nice trainer, but just a total muppet for an owner. The horse has done a lot of good for the sport this year, and it\'s a shame to see it end like this. This horse\'s bandwagon has many, many fewer fans now.....not because of a hard fought loss in a tough, grueling race  but because of a loudmouth crybaby who pays the horse\'s bills. Bottom line, as a fan, it must be hard to root for the horse after that idiotic rant.

[TMW]

Speed favoring track surface. Perfect trip. Excellent ride. Nasal strip stayed in place (as much as I could tell and most importantly so did Espinoza\'s).

This is a very ordinary crop of 3 year old horses. Time was about 6-7 lengths slower than the earlier 1 1/2 race and they finished in a bunch at the end. 2 of 3 in the classics is an awesome accomplishment though.

What does the guy want, a 4 horse field in the Belmont -- I know the answer. Amateur guy and his comments are ridiculous. There are enough asterisks in other sports and we don\'t need them in this one.

[jmh384]

but what really pisses me off i had a big pick 3 into that race with medal count. damn i can whine too

[TheBull]

Agreed Jimbo, but my point was that Coburn\'s \"suggestions\" lead to tiny, uninteresting fields. Think about it, if you were FORCED to run in either all three legs or none, don\'t you think guys will be less likely to compete in any? As an owner, I can promise you I\'d never do that to any of mine. What are you supposed to do, sign a contract saying you will run in all three? What if your horse gets sick or hurt? Now what? You aren\'t allowed to participate in the Belmont because you didn\'t run in the Preakness, whether by choice or by injury/illness? The Belmont will have a four horse field every year if Coburn\'s \"ideas\" were considered. The guy is a total idiot and honestly doesn\'t even deserve any more of my time or attention.

[jmh384]

the crybaby doesn\'t pay the horses bills anymore its the other way around.

[TheBull]

And I had both late pk4s on the card if Commish won (had them either way, but the price difference was too much to not whine about). Tonalist was much the best today, but I agree, leave the whining to us bettors.....no one does it better!

[jmh384]

im glad i got to see nbc tell me 1,000 times how many people bought $2 tickets for mementos and wouldn\'t cash them. guess they were right