I am not handicapping today but I thought I would take a moment for some insightfully brilliant social commentary. I don't think I will make a habit of this but then again it's my blog and I am not forcing you to read this.
"There is something about the outside of the horse that is good for the inside of a man."
-Winston Churchill
Ever since Edward Smith-Stanley, the 12th Earl of Derby, won that fateful coin toss in 1779 against Sir Charles Bunbury, affording himself the luxury to name a race in his own honor, the goal of every horseman worth his salt has been to win the Derby; those that say otherwise are lying. The Derby Stakes in England and its American counterpart are the two most prestigious races in the world and while the American equivalent has a better marketing team behind it, the Epsom Derby (that's Dar-bee for us continentals) has retained the essence of that initial wager; horses covering a route of ground over the turf.
The rest of the world, treats horse racing for what it is, the purest expression of speed and class in the equine athlete; not the cheap speed we breed here on the continent but the most honest and willing manifestation of heart and desire. The horses overseas are not drugged or medicated as they are here. They don't hold year round racing meets because they hope to squeeze just that much more from the bettor and hope that just one more race will fill. Their meets are the quaint and idyllic racing events that they were meant to be. A few weeks at the most and then the crowds melt away like an early snow, leaving behind the rolling hills of the natural turf courses.
I am sure that it is not entirely a Norman Rockwell painting over there. They do gamble and they do have infrastructure that must support the betting crowd but it is not the cut-throat, mad dash to the bottom line at the expense of the horse that drives it. Horses are bred with the route of ground in mind, those that can't compete are quickly found other jobs. The races at a mile and over are the norm and not the exception. Here, the Kentucky Derby, at a mile and a quarter, is the farthest and only time that most of the horses that compete in it will ever run. In the rest of the world it is run as a matter of course. Races here, at a mile, are laughably considered route races while the rest of the world cards those as one of their shortest distances.
The inbreeding that we have seen in the U.S., designed to build more speed into the horse at the expense of stamina and strength, is a sickness of our own doing. We are all to blame. Tracks card the races they do based on the horses they have stabled on the grounds. It does no good to have races at a mile and a quarter if nobody is going to run in them. Trainers won't enter their horses because they know that the horse can't handle it or if it does run, it will stagger across the finish line if it doesn't break itself trying, which it will heart-wrenchingly do.
Nobody wants to go see slow horses "plod" around just trying to outlast each other so nobody will bet on those races. If nobody bets on those races then no money comes into the track and no money is put up for purses so nobody runs. It's a vicious circle, it just goes round and round-which is what makes it vicious...and a circle.
The Breeder's Cup, envisioned as the championship of racing, a day where the world's best horses come together was supposed to focus the industry into showcasing the quality of the breed. Why is it only held in the U.S.? Is it because overseas, the U.S. based horses would have to run without medication? If there are multi-million dollar purses to be had on the international stage, why do we not send more of our so-called best to challenge for them?
A glimmer of hope remains, as it usually does given the nobility of the horse, that we can see this turn around. This weekend at Arlington, the racing secretary Kevin Greely, is carding the first running of the American 1000 Guineas. This mile event for fillies and mares on the turf, is steeped in history overseas and it is a most welcome sight to see it finally make its way to our little neck of the woods. The industry as a whole needs to change and we need to help it. More races such as this one are a step in the right direction but we have to be willing to support that effort. How we go about doing that I have no idea but if we don't do something to change our approach and catch up with the rest of the world we will be left far behind.
In an absolutely brilliant ride by Johnny Murtagh, Soldier of Fortune powers home in the Juddmonte Coronation Cup at Epsom Downs on Friday.
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