This passages comes off the Derby Trail (authored by blackthroatedwind) message board and shows the true situation with deciphering Kentucky Derby preps over the fake dirt…
“The bottom line is that this surface has particularly destroyed the Triple Crown prep season. One, it has elevated mediocre turf horses and fooled some people into thinking they are talented dirt horses, two, it has hampered dirt horses from actually getting to showcase their true talents, and three it has made the process of analyzing these preps virtually impossible.”
I thought this was fairly spot-on and telling.
If you look at last year’s Kentucky Derby, there were seven horses who won a race over synthetics and were largely considered synthetic horses. They finished 6th, 9th, 13th, 16th, 17th, 19th and 20th. Fairly interesting.
The lone exception would be Gayego, as he ran well on the dirt in the Arkansas Derby. On the flip side, Recapturetheglory lost his first two career races at Arlington (Polytrack) and then rattled off four good efforts in a row before running extremely well to finish 5th in the Derby itself.
In 2007, only two horses had at least one synthetic win with unproven dirt form and they finished 5th and 11th.
So while everyone gets all sorts of excited about Stardom Bound and Pioneer of the Nile etc., it’s worth thinking about the ultimate bottom line: It’s not dirt, and the Derby is.
Who is voting on the Eclipse Awards?
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009Results from Monday nights Eclipse Awards ceremony were largely anti-climatic. IEAH Stable’s loss to Stronach Stables for Outstanding Owner raised some eyebrows, but was really the only surprise, at least until the NTRA released the official vote tallies.
After a review of the various categories, and the number of first place votes candidates received, I wonder if we should we start putting Eclipse voters through credibility tests?
How, in any sort of sensible fashion, can someone vote for Albertus Maximus over Curlin, Commentator or even Go Between in the Older Male category? How does Ginger Punch, a wonderful horse in her own rite, earn two first place votes over Zenyatta? Tale of Ekati was actually ranked above Big Brown on someones ballot – was it a typo? Sky Diva over Stardom Bound?
Not to knock Albertus Maximus, Ginger Punch, Tale of Ekati or Sky Diva, but is this like the conclave where the first vote by the Cardinals is usually saved for close friends and sentimental choices?
In the end, however, the worthy horses were selected. Curlin was properly recognized at Horse of the Year, Big Brown as 3-year-old male and Proud Spell as 3-year-old filly etc.
But for next year, I propose the first question on the ballot reads, “Did you watch a horse race this year?” or “Who won the Kentucky Derby?”
I think both would serve as appropriate prerequisites for the ballot even being counted.
What do you think?
Tags: Albertus Maximus, Big Brown, Commentator, Curlin, Eclipse Awards, Go Between, Horse of the Year, IEAH, NTRA, Sky Diva, Stardom Bound, Stronach Stables, Tale of Ekati
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