Preak Week

Real Writing on Racing 💯

Triple Frown?

Everyone seems to have a take about the spacing of the Triple Crown since the connections of Rich Strike suddenly reversed course and decided that they were going to skip the Preakness after seeming to be gung-ho about participating in the days following the Kentucky Derby. Prior to American Pharoh and Justify both sweeping the three Classic races just a few years ago there had been plenty of chatter about changes to the series which is wildly popular and by far the most successful segment of North American horse racing. Those two successful Triple Crown bids which followed 37 years without despite near-misses by the likes of Real Quiet, Silver Charm, Charismatic, Smarty Jones and California Chrome, seemed to have quieted the clamoring for modifying the series. Yet here we are just a few years removed from a very lightly raced Justify winning the ‘not as elusive as it once was’ Triple Crown and an odd move by low profile connections has swung that door of change open once again. I have thoughts:

• The difficulty of the Triple Crown is a huge part of the allure. Being able to compare the modern day competitors to the great Triple Crown champions of the past means a lot to the followers of the sport. The massive outcry against a perfectly sensible, one-time tweak to the Belmont distance during a worldwide pandemic in 2020 showed that tradition means much, much more when you are talking about this series of races.

• “Modernizing ” almost every other part of racing has led to weaker racing not better racing. We bend over backward to change schedules, rules and policies that assist the mega-owners and super-trainers who “manage” horses to the point where racing is hardly even the focus anymore. Stop. 🛑

• The idea that in the past the entire Kentucky Derby field merrily followed along down the Triple Crown path every year is incorrect. Just as the Kentucky Derby wasn’t always a 20 horse field (or close to it), many editions of the Preakness weren’t brimming with Derby refugees every year. In the years 1989-91 which were pretty decent runnings (Sunday Silence/Summer Squall/Hansel) the fields were 8, 9 and 8 horses. The last 5 years the Preakness averaged 10.4 starters with 4.8 of them coming from the Derby.

• This may seem odd considering my stance thus far on the topic but if any tweak were to be made, perhaps pushing the Preakness and Belmont back a week so that there were three weeks between each leg might be a small but beneficial change. Most modern day horses aren’t running back every three weeks either so it’s still outside of the norm for the “Preakness-truthers”. An extra week will allow horses to work in-between the three races so the connections can better gauge their horses status. In my opinion more horses would work good and convince their people to go than the opposite. Plus we could tie many of the undercard races together as well. I would not expect a great deal of horses to compete in all three legs but a bonus for Derby undercard horses running back on the Preakness undercard and Preakness undercard horses running back on the Belmont undercard would give the Preakness undercard races a needed boost. A filly Triple Crown of the Oaks-Blackeyed Susan-Mother Goose (obviously needs to move and stretch back out to 9 furlongs) with $ bonus might work well for the Friday cards. The spring/early summer setup for three year old fillies going a route on the dirt doesn’t make a lot of sense currently. Moving the Mother Goose to the Friday before the Belmont wouldn’t require moving the Acorn but rather make that race 7f instead of the current one turn mile. The three year old filly sprint division needs more graded races, this would be female version of the Woody Stephens and would be a perfect spot for sprinters coming out of the Eight Belles and Miss Preakness Stakes.

• Speaking of the Preakness undercard, the Dinner Party stakes is a weak name and generally brings together a soft field going the bland turf distance of 8.5 furlongs. Run 2 weeks after Churchill runs a grade 1, million dollar 9 furlong turf race and Belmont runs the Ft. Marcy also at 9 furlongs waters the field down. The Manhattan on Belmont day is also a grade 1, $750,000 race three weeks later and there just aren’t enough good 8.5-10 furlong turf horses to fill all those races. Cut the distance back to one mile, get a sponsor for the race (need more purse $), work a deal with Keeneland and Belmont to set up a turf milers series consisting of the Makers Mark Mile, the newly named Pimlico race (Baltimore Mile?) and the Poker at Belmont. Perhaps the Breeders Cup can help fund a bonus for horses that compete in the three races? The current version is never going to be more than an afterthought as it’s presently run.

Miscellaneous ramblings

🇫🇷 This Prat guy is pretty good, right?

😳 Might sound snobbish but wow after watching a couple of a Tuesday afternoon cards…you appreciate the riders at the big tracks

❓ Speaking of top riders 🆚 not-so-top riders, were the local trainers were aware that the out of town jocks are available to take calls in the Preakness undercard races?

🔥Hot take #1 ⤵️

🧮 Fixed odds wagering is a gimmick, the math is never gonna work on a large scale. New Jersey had the right idea with the betting exchanges but just never priced it right, essentially killing it before it had a chance to take off. Pricing matters yet racing typically taxes it’s product to death (understanding that occasionally the states are an impediment). If a restaurant has decent food and decent service but overprices it’s menu by 30% versus it’s competition…how long will they stay in business?

☹️ It was lost in the wake of Derby weekend hysteria but it seemed odd to see the Modesty Stakes run at Churchill. Arlington Million day is gonna be melancholy.

🤷🏼‍♂️ Is Flightline gonna make the Met Mile? ⏳ Has a top horse ever been handled in such mysterious fashion before?

🔥 Hot take #2 ⤵️

☀️ This is a literal hot take 🔥 as Preakness Day temps are supposed to reach the mid-90’s, some infrastructural issue is sure to pop up at Pimlico according to it’s history (morning line fav is A/C in grandstand/clubhouse goes out with plumbing issues a close second choice)

🌟 Bring back Kegasus! Long live Kegasus!

🌻We will be publishing a Preakness Day newsletter with Blackeyed Susan day stakes thoughts on Friday. Check it out and maybe we will have some gems 💎 like we did on Oaks day with New Year’s Eve.

🚨 Check Out this weeks edition of the Big Monday Show

Old School Video of the week brought to you by Game of Silks www.silks.io