Panic in the streets. It is too difficult to win the triple crown so we must make it easier. There seems to be a groundswell for changing either the spacing or the distances of the three races. It is supposed to be difficult to win.
The problem is not with the races themselves. The problems are with the training methods of the horses. All this talk about the decline of horses becomes a self-fullfilling prophecy. We can not run the horses too often because they might get hurt. This could have a negative impact on their breeding possibilities.. Thus we have horses who are entered in the Kentucky Derby who have not been properly prepared. They do not have the necessary bottom to win in the derby and thus they are more inclined to be injured. Liken it to running five 50 yd dashes and then entering in a marathon and you are not allowed to quit the race. What kind of shape will you be in after that marathon?
Horses now break down quite often in big televised races. That is real good for a newcomer to see on tv. That makes for a lot of new fans.
Maybe we should be looking at not allowing horses to run in the triple crown unless they have run at least three times as a juvenile. Maybe they should have at least seven starts before the Derby. Maybe we should limit the Derby to horses that are at least stakes placed. That way we have horses with some ability and some solid training. If a horse is not sound enough to run as a 2YO he should not run a mile and a quarter in May.
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