The Story

[Tavasco]

Back in late April in a casual online conversation concerning films not to miss. The discussion strayed into the realm of Thoroughbred horse racing. Briefly my point then was that the biggest human interest story would determine the Kentucky Derby winner.

I was undecided about if the media built the story around the winner or if the winner and its saga was paramount. There was some reflection upon recent Derby Winner stories Art Sherman & California Chrome was compelling as many others to numerous to mention. The concept added some color to an otherwise black and white approach.

I thought the Mub and a foreign horse would be the 2015 story (In my defense that was before I realized he was a runt) the other party to that conversation was none other than the board\'s resident film critic who simply stated Zayat (implying American Pharoah).

In hindsight, I see the story turned out to be much much bigger than my imagination of eight weeks ago. My public follow-up of camp Wannabe nearly produced a mogul, a dolphin and a sheik trifecta but another defeat grabbed from the jaws of victory. If horses got assigned jockey weight as a pct of the horses size and weight I\'d have been OK.

Today\'s card was stellar and the presence of so many shipping in warrants congrats to somebody. This board is a social phenomena and something TGJB should be very proud of. A triple crown season for the ages. From the best crop in years claims to doubt when one can make the bunch seem ordinary.

Maybe the future is fewer and better racing dates. It sure works in Hong Kong and Japan.

Sometimes the fastest horse (as defined by TG) wins and the next fastest runs second even amid the distraction of the bright lights and the noise of a thousand voices.

[joemama]

Tavasco Wrote:
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> Maybe the future is fewer and better racing dates.
> It sure works in Hong Kong and Japan.

Bummer for us retired $2 bettors.

[brucculeri]

I agree. Quality over quantity. Works in Europe too.

[jerry]

How does that sustain the incomes of people who work at the track and for the barns?

[jerry]

Maybe we\'re headed back to the sport of kings days where owners raced for pride not profit.

[Topcat]

There\'s a middle ground, but some communities/circuits/states are going to take the worst of it in the process.

[brucculeri]

Racing has been down sizing for years now.  Foal crops are down.  Race tracks are closing (Hollywood, Bay Meadows, Hialeah thoroughbred, Garden State, Suffolk maybe, Colonial, Calder probably). There are going to be casualties.  If Racing is going to survive it has to adjust.

[jerry]

I\'m all for a scale back in the number of tracks. There are too many of them. Let the healthy ones survive. Sadly, my Old Hilltop won\'t be one of them. A lot of great racehorses ran around that far turn on Northern Parkway, 12 of them on their way to winning the triple crown. I regard that oval as sacred ground. Unfortunately, the owner, the MJC, the city and the developers don\'t. RIP Pimlico.

[brucculeri]

It\'s very sad but unfortunately reality.  I\'m a history buff and racing has history second to no other sport. May be baseball.