You made an excellent point about resistence to change, but I think his complaint goes beyond that. When races get reduced to 3F sprints like the BG, winning doesn't often say a real lot about overall ability of the horses. It sometimes only tells you who has the best acceleration for a short period of time and who mamaged to get good postion without even having to work for it.

For example, I believe that's why 3YO fillies can win at 1 1/2 miles in Grade 1 races against older males on turf in Europe. Fillies CAN sprint for 3F with the best colts if all the horses gallop for the first mile or so. Typically, they can't finish with the best colts if all the horses are pushed every step of the way to get and keep position like in dirt routes. The fact that this theory is true is also semi-verified by the fact that fillies spint fairly well on dirt in the U.S. also (look at the BC sprint), but rarely run with the best older males going long on dirt.

I'm not saying there isn't a place for European style racing, but there is a place for racing that tests speed, stamina, racing reserves etc... too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/2007 08:25AM by fkach.