Change of TC Distances?

[Trunoble Lodge]

I have been involved in and watched all Triple Crown races since its inception eons ago. There has only been one winner, namely the legendary Sheza Troll who won it at the end of 2011. She was a freak who won 46 races from 4f-11f with the 12f the only distance that eluded her, even though she did place a couple of times. She had an imposing record (61-46-8-3) winning 1.2M in prizemoney and only 4 non-podium finishes from 61 starts. However, when she won the TC, it was a fillies only division and the distances were 8f/9f/10f. The colts races were 9f/10f/12f (I think)..

Some since have gone close to winning the Holy Grail but there is normally one distance that either exposes a weakness (usually 12f) or they had poor gate draws and got held up in traffic or pushed wide. With the current 8f/10f/12f distances that we currently have, I feel that the gap between a good 8f horse and expecting it to win at 12f is too large, My suggestion is to run the races to mirror real life i.e. 10f Derby, 9f Preakness and 12f Belmont in that order OR run them as 10f/11f/12f. I would prefer the latter as 9f is a weird distance on the DD tracks. It is normally a front runners distance, they seem to be able to keep kicking on even though they have been known to fade at the mile. From experience my good 9f horses are also good at 7f but suck at the mile.

This is only a suggestion and I won't slit my wrists if there aren't any changes.

Thoughts?

Norm

[Winner Circle Ranch]

Good read, thanks for sharing Norm

[And More Racing Stable]

I have often thought that the TC should mirror the real TC hence I agree with the 10f/9f/12f format. I would not be a fan of 10f/11f/12f because I think the TC should showcase horses with some versatility and not strictly be for those with an abundance of stamina. As much as we all would probably like to see someone win the TC it should be a difficult feat to accomplish by a horse who can display that versatility.

[Lone Star Stables]

I would like to see someone win as well . It would be a great accomplishment . We will look at it , but agree that it should be hard . over the last few seasons we have had horses miss it by a little .I think Royal Oaks came the closes with 2 wins and a second by a nose . His horse had a 99 speed rating on last race and I always wondered if that was the cause of him not winning . Thanks and look forward to more feed back

[Taylorandtaryn]

My horse Normgottoclose won the last two legs. She finished second to my other horse in the first leg to my other horse her full sister Isthisanybetter. So sisters did win the TC lol. Funny how one full sister has been a great breeding mare the other not so much yet.

[Lone Star Stables]

Yup see how close. If you had not run the sister she would have been our first true triple crown. Sheza troll only ran vs fillies. I really think we are close .

[Lone Star Stables]

Nice accomplishent winning all three races

[Cold Dog Soup]

My vote is for 4f 8f and 12f

[Trunoble Lodge]

Yup see how close. If you had not run the sister she would have been our first true triple crown. Sheza troll only ran vs fillies. I really think we are close .

I'm willing to bet that we don't see it in my lifetime.

[Trunoble Lodge]

My vote is for 4f 8f and 12f

...and that is why you only have limited duties within DD.

[Lone Star Stables]

...and that is why you only have limited duties within DD.

and I questions even those limits all the time -

[Chrisman]

Nice post Norm...the 10F,9F,12F setup would be ideal.

[Orb Farms]

Norm,

I gave some serious thought to your post.....and wonder if a complete restructuring of the system might benefit the three things we currently have going.

****I want to first say that Freddie & Brian put together a FANTASTIC product....This game is VERY FUN... I am merely looking to further Owner interests AND mine/ours****

Let's consider what we currently have:

Triple Crown series (3 year old only)

Championship Series (DWINDLING MIGHTILY over the last few seasons, purses for anything outside the winner BARELY more than winning a Division race with a full field.

Breeder's Cup Day - I won 2 of theses, and my PROFIT was a total of $23k over 2 WINS!

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So, it begs the question - Which of the above programs are successful in its 2 [and only 2] objectives --> To draw horses in, and to earn money for trainers and Admin?

When we dissect all three:

1. Triple Crown series perhaps gets a C+, in that it draws large fields at first, but the fields dwindle, and interest wanes due to the difficulty Norm mentioned

2. Championship Series gets a GENEROUS C, in that purses are down, and maybe the 2 year old and one 3 year old circuit are going to reach a nice number for payouts. Some of the championship series are all but CANCELLED due to non-participation!

3. Breeder's Cup Day gets a D, in that the IDEA is the best of the three, but now how can it be modified to bring in more interest, and therefore more money? Though the lowest Grade in my judgment, THIS one has the most POTENTIAL for modification and success!

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So, We sprinkle in contests, Stakes races, etc..... Why not INCLUDE ALL STAKES RACES somehow into One of the above circuits, for points, for position, etc...? This would harmonize the entire race card...... and WOW, to even go a step further and have Lone and Brian label some of these contest stakes and miscalaneous stakes Grade I, II, and III....Amazing!

My idea...... Stakes Races mentioned above, as well as perhaps "A" and "B" Division races (where 5 entries minimum garner points) are tallied into a running total for Breeder's Cup Day.

Now, there can move forward TWO options.....We can "Marry" this concept WITH the Championship Series, and count Qualifiers as the ONLY "Grade I" races, and all other stakes races are moved to Grade II and Grade III......Making the points system get up into the 50-horses qualifying realm.....Or, we can continue to run both series separately......

Either way, it would work. Oh, by the way.....The Triple Crown races would be "JUST THAT" for whatever we decide on marrying or keeping Breeder's Cup Day and Championship Series separate.....They too would be Grade I races naturally, with the BIG purses.....for earnings.

Anyway, this would align with the entire race card, it would make the ENTIRE season relevant against the back-end one Breeder's Cup day, or the the separate Championship Series AND Breeder's Cup day. Breeders' Cup Sprint, Turf Mile, ALL the BC races!

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I think it would be quite cool, and to have actual points standings, and "ratings" for horses going VERY deep, as opposed to the current system, where Championships cannot fill Consolation races, and Breeders' Cup winners cash oftentimes a $23k check.....

Thoughts?

Orb

[Greeko Holdem]

I'd like to see the distances more comparable to the real thing ..

I'd like to see a triple crown stud Fee implemented and that cash will go towards the TC.

Only horses that paid a Triple Crown stud fee should be allowed to enter in a triple crown race, or the entry should cost more to enter in the series without one.

As for champ qualifiers and finals. The qualifiers are paying a good profit. You make more racing in the qualifiers compared to the finals.

I'd like to see conso races run for bonus credits and not take out of the main pot.

Payouts for finals should be top 4 or 5.

If you want to pay all in the finals maybe we should still charge an entry fee for the finals.

Those are my thoughts.

[Trunoble Lodge]

I'd like to see the distances more comparable to the real thing .. Agree

I'd like to see a triple crown stud Fee implemented and that cash will go towards the TC. - Could work.

Only horses that paid a Triple Crown stud fee should be allowed to enter in a triple crown race, or the entry should cost more to enter in the series without one. - Agree

As for champ qualifiers and finals. The qualifiers are paying a good profit. You make more racing in the qualifiers compared to the finals. - Yep. The structure isn't right.

I'd like to see conso races run for bonus credits and not take out of the main pot. - Either that or not have them at all. Winner of a Conso shouldn't earn more than a runner in a Final.

Payouts for finals should be top 4 or 5. - Definitely

If you want to pay all in the finals maybe we should still charge an entry fee for the finals. - See previous bullet.

Those are my thoughts. - and good thoughts they are.

Norm...