Sunday Racing Insights: Well-Related Violence Colt Takes On The Big Apple

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Post Times Set for Belmont Stakes Festival

Post times for the three-day 2022 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival–staged Thursday, June 9 through Saturday, June 11–has been set, according to the New York Racing Association. The Festival, which is highlighted by the 154th GI Belmont S., features 17 stakes, including eight Grade I races to be held om Belmont Day.

Day 1 of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival on Thursday, June 9 is a twilight racing program featuring nine races with a first post of 3:05 p.m. (EST). First post on the 11-race Friday, June 10 card is 12:50 p.m. First post on Belmont Stakes Day, which will feature 13 races, is 11:20 a.m.

For more information, visit www.nyra.com.

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Should the Triple Crown Be Changed? Industry Members Weigh In

After the connections of GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) opted to skip the GI Preakness S. and instead prepare for the GI Belmont S., the structure of the Triple Crown races has been a subject of debate leading up to the second leg of the historic series. Should the timing between the races be adjusted? We asked a few industry participants here.

 

Chad Brown:

I wouldn't change anything. I'm always an advocate of preserving the history of the sport. It would take a lot for me to want to change certain things.

Once in a while some things arise that should be considered with a changing world and a changing industry. It's not that I'm not flexible or not open to changes in general, but when it comes to some of the most historic tellers of the sport, when you're talking about the Triple Crown, it would take a lot for me to consider changing it. I understand that it's a changing breed and a changing industry, but the Triple Crown is pretty far up the metaphorical food chain of stuff that you mess with.

[Asked if two weeks between Derby and Preakness hurts Preakness field size] In some years, yeah, you could argue that. But in other years, it hasn't. The highest priority for me is always the safety of the horses. You're talking to someone who has skipped the Preakness so it might be easy for me to say. But I have run back in the Preakness, like with Good Magic, and in other years I didn't think it was the right thing to do. It depends on the horse. I just wouldn't support changing it.

 

Mike Smith:

I'm old-fashioned, so I'll say no, they should not change anything. The way it is now is what makes it so hard to do. If you change anything to make it easier, all of a sudden when you get a Triple Crown winner you're going to wonder if they are as good as the original Triple Crown horses.

I see no need to change it. To me, the timing is fine. They talked about changing it before I was blessed to have won it and I was hoping they didn't. If they changed it, I don't think it would be fair to compare a Triple Crown winner to Justify (Scat Daddy) or any of the other Triple Crown winners.

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Should the Triple Crown Be Changed? Veteran Industry Participants Weigh In

After the connections of GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) opted to skip the GI Preakness S. and instead prepare for the GI Belmont S., the structure of the Triple Crown races has been a subject of debate leading up to the second leg of the historic series. Should the timing between the races be adjusted? We asked a few veteran industry participants here.

Steve Asmussen:

I think it's what makes it the Triple Crown. There are other lucrative races on the calendar, but these are the American Classics. I think that it all depends on who has what horse in what year.

[Asked about timing between races with Preakness contender Epicenter] I'm far more concerned about the weather, which you would have no control on that if you ran it later. If anything, there's a good probability of it being that much hotter.

The difference of two weeks from the Kentucky Derby to the Preakness and three weeks from the Preakness to the Belmont is negligible. I think a similar argument that would come into that is, would you have more entries if the Belmont wasn't a mile and a half? But the Belmont is a mile and a half. That's what makes it the Belmont. Having the Preakness two weeks after the Derby is what makes it the Preakness.

I've had several runners in the Preakness and our two winners were Rachel Alexandra, who won running back 15 days after the Kentucky Oaks, and then Curlin running back 14 days after the Derby. I've had fresh horses coming into the Preakness who ran well, but none that were winners.

Kenny McPeek:

I don't think there's anything wrong with the timing of the Triple Crown. I think it's fine. It's the ultimate challenge and I think especially without Lasix nowadays, it's even better. Horses can come back quicker. It's tradition and it's hard to do. It takes a really special horse.

Chris McCarron:

I don't think it should be changed. I know that it has changed a number of times over the last 150 years, or whatever it is.

Even if we adjusted things by one week and had three weeks between the Preakness and the Derby and then three to the Belmont, it would certainly make things a little bit easier because a horse is going to have another seven days to rebound and to avoid any kind of a bounce. But if that happened, you'd have to put an asterisk next to any future Triple Crown winners. It would diminish the accomplishment.

With Alysheba, he won the Preakness easily but he was a little bit tired, a little bit knocked out coming into the Belmont. The timing of the races probably did catch up to him. That being said, I don't believe it's in the industry's best interest to fool around with the timing of the races.

Check in tomorrow for more responses from industry participants and see our responses from yesterday here.

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