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#1
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![]() From the racing post, Here shows the top 20 richest races (the link shows top 40) in the world last year. It might be a little unbalanced because they are all converted to sterling at the equivalent exchange rate on Jan 1 2006.
Its an interesting list. No european race in the top 10 and dubai / japanese dominance of the list! Key:Rank, race, track, winner 2006, prize fund 2005, prize fund 2006 1Dubai World Cup (UAE) Nad Al Sheba Electrocutionist £3,125,000£3,488,372 2Dubai Sheema Classic (UAE) Nad Al Sheba Heart’s Cry £1,041,667 £2,906,977 2=Dubai Duty Free (UAE) Nad Al Sheba David Junior £1,041,667 £2,906,977 4Breeders’ Cup Classic (US) Churchill Downs Invasor £2,235,187 £2,662,791 5 Japan Cup (Jap) Tokyo Deep Impact £2,447,618 £2,365,691 6 Melbourne Cup (Aus) Flemington Delta Blues £2,081,633 £2,179,487 7 Arima Kinen (Jap) Nakayama Deep Impact £1,762,822 £1,709,125 8 Tokyo Yushun (Derby) (Jap) Tokyo Meisho Samson £1,742,439 £1,674,382 9 Breeders’ CupTurf (US) Churchill Downs Red Rocks £1,088,937 £1,597,674 10 Hong Kong Cup (HK) Sha Tin Pride £1,206,434 £1,502,630 11 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr) Longchamp Rail Link £1,276,596 £1,379,310 12 Cox Plate (Aus) Moonee Valley Fields Of Omagh £1,234,694 £1,341,880 13 Kikuka Sho (St Leger) (Jap) Kyoto Song Of Wind £1,377,573 £1,331,244 14 Kentucky Derby (US) Churchill Downs Barbaro £1,249,792 £1,286,744 15 Derby (GB) Epsom Sir Percy £1,250,000 £1,284,672 16 Golden Slipper (Aus) Rosehill Miss Finland £1,224,490 £1,282,051 17 Tenno Sho (Spring) (Jap) Kyoto Deep Impact £1,306,156 £1,266,051 Tenno Sho (Autumn) (Jap) Tokyo Daiwa Major £1,304,631 £1,266,051 19 Takarazuka Kinen (Jap) Kyoto Deep Impact £1,300,056 £1,258,945 20 Japan Cup Dirt (Jap) Tokyo Alondite £1,286,535 £1,247,298 http://www.racingpost.co.uk/news/mas...tory_id=870956
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#2
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![]() Not very many American races included also.
The next time a horse like Barbaro comes along (and it may be a while) that can run on turf and dirt the connections should really lay it down to Pimlico. They should, like professional athletes in other sports routinely do (Tiger Woods does it all the time), demand a $1 million appearance fee to run in the Preakness. And tell Belmont the same thing. If Pimlico or Belmont don't want to ante up the $$$$ then take the horse overseas and run in the Derby and the Arc. Go to Hong Kong, Dubai, and Tokyo. Let Pimlico and Belmont suffer the drop in handle -- maybe they'll wake up. A horse like Barbaro is a professional athlete and his connections should have demanded that he be treated like one and paid like one. Show me the money. Free agency is needed here. Shake things up. Get horseracing outside of the box where a few blue haired old ladys in NY demand Grade I status for races that attract 4 horse fields of allowance horses. Same with the west coast. A grade I race in the US should never have a purse less than $1 million. If the purses were there then the field size would be there and you wouldn't have false GI horses going on to the breeding shed and producing more false GI horses. People gripe about the drugs and such but it's the ruling class of horse racing (including the Graded Stakes Committee) that has caused the decline of the breed. Hell, they're just a bunch of rich people doing each other favors so that their horses make more money in the breeding shed. They don't want to ante up the $$$ for purses but they sure want to collect in the shed. And then the Triple Crown champ from Uruguay (Invasor) comes along and beats them all up. Pathetic. |
#3
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![]() It has been a lifelong dream of mine to win the damn Arima Kinen!!
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#4
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#5
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I never understood the argument about "bad" grade 1 winners hurting the breed. If they are bad sires the market will eliminate them. The few hundred horses they sire wont affect the breed. I mean if you threw a few mediocre allowance horses in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and made it a 7 horse field, Berny still would have had a walk in the park. A horses racing career has very little impact once they have produced a few crops. Look at a horse like Coranados Quest or Dayjur. Both well bred, accomplished horses that got great books of mares but were not sucessful as stallions. Have they polluted the breed? No, people just stopped breeding good mares to them and they were marginalized. Easy Goer did not have much chance before he died but the ones he sired were mostly bums, he was headed in the wrng direction with a great group of mares. |
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#8
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#12
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What you say is true -- if he does't prove it then the fee and book will drop. But by then the next hype story will take his place. And the wheel turns round again. |
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#14
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#15
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![]() Not only do overhyped "flavor of the month" stallions often waste many production years of potentially good broodmares, they keep the level of mare going to good racing, less fashionably-bred stallions down. A Nodouble or Ack Ack wouldn't have a chance in today's market - look at the way the fashionistas write about Slew City Slew and Lord Avie, G1 winners, good solid sires who get no respect.
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