I Feel Badly For......

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

100 % yes. You're totally right and it'll be completely unfair.

The original poster said he'd feel bad for the horse that wins. I disagree with him and you. Union Rags is now going to be listed as a classic winner and in each race he runs, we'll be referred to as the Belmont winner. A lot of people will look at that as something special. I won't be one of them. In my opinion, the Belmont is not much more than a unique event because there aren't other races like it in this country but that doesn't make it a special race. It used to have a lot more meaning when there were other races in the fall that were run at 12f and even further that were considered the championship races. Then the Belmont was what I would call the separation race, the one to see which of the 3yos was capable of running at the distances the top older horses were running at. Now, the race is a shadow of it's former self and it's only really a big event when history is on the line in the form of a TC sweep. All one has to do is compare the ratings and attendance figures of the years when a sweep is at hand and when it's not to see the dramatic difference. But that won't stop marketers from featuring Union Rags in their add campaigns for future races. Instead of feeling like it's unfair, he's actually getting a boost because all of us know that he's still no better than the third best member of his crop (if even that) and that he took advantage of both of the better two not being here to win.