Quote:
Originally Posted by RolloTomasi
I really wonder what their reasoning was. Perhaps they viewed your point about the double in the opposite way, ie since both 3yo races were often being won by the same horse, it was redundant to keep both races. Or perhaps they figured if they could lure top 3yo turf runners with a big purse, they could also draw top older horses.
Of course, the difference is that there aren't major 3yo turf races really (other than the Secretariat and perhaps the Hollywood Derby), while there is a plethora of major races for 4yos and up.
Wasn't there a money bonus tied into winning the Secretariat, too?
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There was initially a bonus linking the Turf Cup-Va Derby-Secretariat-BC Turf. It was gone by the time Paddy O'Prado won the first three.
The mistake they made is that they're basically never going to get Grade I caliber horses anymore. Grade I caliber horses are going to run in the Manhattan or Monmouth Stakes. They were consistently getting Grade I caliber horses when it was restricted to 3YOs.
They'll also give out 650k in these three stakes races and probably handle less than that. I hope, for their sake, that they stay the hell away from CD in terms of post times.