News from elsewhere.... · 27.01.10

Getting that second chance

Zipse at the Track presents “Triple Crown’s Lovable Losers”. Many otherwise excellent horses could not get it together for any of the Triple Crown races (Skip Away, Key to the Mint), while others were just “born in the wrong year” and met a superior horse they couldn’t beat (Sham, Alydar). These and a dozen other Triple Crown also-rans are given a second chance at (imaginary) glory. Who do you like? Who would win? Find out here.

Breeders’ Cup Not a World Championship

Well, duh. Just because the Breeders’ Cup calls itself the “World Championships” doesn’t make it so. The Breeders’ Cup is a showcase of the best horses in the sport, but cannot and should not be seen as a definitive “championship” or playoff.

Unlike in football, hockey, or most other major sports, there is no set schedule or playoff system to determine a champion at the end of the year. Golf and tennis offer closer, more useful parallels. The Masters and Wimbledon, respectively, may be those sports’ top events — but winners of those events are not automatically crowned “world champion” or “player of the year”. Rather, golf and tennis rankings are determined by players’ performances throughout the year.

My opposition to this mindset is perhaps one reason why I couldn’t get 100% behind Zenyatta’s candidacy for 2009 Horse of the Year — despite the fact that I believe she’s a better racehorse than Rachel Alexandra (although not by much!), and she defeated by far a better field in the Breeders’ Cup Classic than Rachel Alexandra ever faced this year. I didn’t want to do anything to support the idea that the Breeders’ Cup races should decide year-end championships.

Just race, already!

Meanwhile, over at ESPN, both Paul Moran and Bill Finley agree that, now that Zenyatta has been “unretired”, it’s high time that she and Rachel Alexandra meet on the racetrack. Obviously they will both be aimed for the Breeders’ Cup Classic by their connections — but racing fans desperately want more than a one-time year-end showdown. From the Apple Blossom Handicap in April, to May’s Metropolitan Handicap, to the big summer races at Saratoga, there are at least a half-dozen opportunities for them to race each other. Here’s hoping Jess Jackson and Jerry Moss can get on the same page and make it happen.

Update: Glenn at Fugue for Tinhorns agrees:

Controversy spurs interest. And for once, a nationwide racing controversy doesn’t involve cheating or drugs… or broken-down horses being put to death.
It’s a quarrel of epic proportions and a squabble that digs deep to the very roots of why mankind started racing horses against one another in the first place.
Whose horse is faster?

As the kidz would say: This.

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What do you think?

  1. IF they race in a field of at least 8 at 9.5 furlongs or longer, and IF the Z camp puts in a strong miler rabbit, and it is run on a neutral dry track, then the BC Classic winner has a shot..

    9 furlongs or less with no rabbit to push the fractions and speed defeats stamina every time. Look at all the famous match race and the first one out of the gate wins.

    — Dr. T. Yatcak · Feb 2, 10:57 PM · #

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