Triple Crown nominations - is the glass half-empty or half-full? · 4.02.08

Triple Crown Productions in Louisville announced yesterday that 448 3-year-olds were nominated to the 2008 Triple Crown, at $600 each, during the early nomination period which ended on 19 January. But it’s always interesting to see how different people or publications can have different reactions to the same data.

Here’s how The Blood-Horse reported it:

Headed by Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I) winner and Eclipse Award champion 2-year-old War Pass, 448 horses were nominated to the 2008 Triple Crown during the early nomination period for the three classics. That figure ranks second behind 2007’s record 450 early nominations. [emphasis mine]

By contrast, here’s the opening paragraph of the equivalent Thoroughbred Times article :

Reflecting a smaller foal crop, early nominations for the Triple Crown declined for the first time in three years with a slight drop in the number of three-year-olds made eligible for the 2008 American classics. [emphasis mine]

To be fair, the Times did go on to place the numbers in context, noting that they were still up significantly from 2006 (426) and 2005 (357). The “class of 05” had been drastically reduced by the loss of foals due to mare reproductive loss syndrome.

One possible explanation: The Blood-Horse is aimed primarily at the Thoroughbred breeding industry, so it is in their own interest to put a positive spin – or at least downplay the negative point-of-view – on news that reflects on that industry. The Thoroughbred Times, on the other hand, seems more concerned with the sport of horse racing, so that tendency would naturally be less evident.

Note: the breeding industry ≠ the sport of racing. The two are different, and often pursue different goals, but ideally they should support each other. Unfortunately these days the industry tends to dictate what the sport puts on the track ∗cough∗ early retirement of three-year-olds ∗cough∗ over-priced yearlings ∗cough∗ breeding for precociousness and speed over durability and stamina ∗cough∗ ∗cough∗ ∗hack∗

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