AMERICAN GRADED STAKES STANDINGS brought to you by KEENELAND: DERBY PREPS NOT ALL CREATED EQUALLY
By Ray Paulick
It’s Triple Crown season, so owners and trainers have begun to compile roadmaps to Louisville for their Kentucky Derby hopefuls. So much has changed in recent years with the advent of synthetic tracks, a shuffling of dates for important prep races, and the emergence of new graded stakes with purses fueled by casino money.
The Derby is generally the only race in the Triple Crown that has an oversupply of candidates. Derby Fever strikes otherwise knowledgeable horsemen and sound businessman to the point that getting a runner into the big dance is a small victory of some sorts—even if it means the only picture their horse is in at the finish is the wide-angle shot taken from the blimp flying overhead.
Getting into the Derby field is simple. Your 3-year-old has to rank in the top 20 by money earned in graded or group stakes—not just in America but anywhere in the world. The amount to make the top 20 varies from year to year, but it’s generally somewhere in the $100,000-$150,000 range.
All graded stakes, however, are not created equally.
There was an exception to the graded stakes rule in 2009, when Churchill Downs and Kempton racetrack in England offered a guaranteed spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate to the winner of the Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes in March (it also included some travel money). The purpose of the Challenge was to stir up some interest in the Kentucky Derby among bettors in the United Kingdom. The fact it was a one-and-done promotion (not to mention that Churchill canned Tom Aronson, who came up with the idea) suggests it was not successful in its maiden voyage.
The reliance on global graded stakes earnings has worked OK, but there are some obvious pitfalls. What if, for example, Sheikh Mohammed owned the first four finishers in the UAE Derby, a graded stakes in his backyard with a $2-million purse, and he wanted to run all horses in the Kentucky Derby. He might have that opportunity, since the winner of the race gets $1.2 million, the runner-up $400,000, $200,000 to third and $100,000 to fourth.
Then we have the imbalance in American Graded Stakes purses. For example, Uh Oh Bango, last year’s runner-up in the $750,000 Delta Jackpot, a Grade 3 race at Delta Downs, is almost assured to have a starting spot in the Derby, thanks to the $150,000 he earned. Same with the upcoming Sunland Derby, an $800,000 race that will be graded this year for the first time (it’s one of the races Mine That Bird didn’t win last year). The winner and runner-up of that race will likely earn enough to make the field.
That relegates traditionally important Grade 2 races like the Fountain of Youth ($250,000 purse) or San Felipe Stakes ($150,000) to lesser roles on the road to the Kentucky Derby. Doesn’t seem right.
The answer is simple, and it’s not one that I can claim as my idea. Churchill Downs should come up with a comprehensive points scale for top three or top four finishes in Grade 1, Grade 2 and Grade 3 races, so that the runner-up in a Grade 3 race doesn’t get put ahead of the winner in a Grade 2 race just because the Grade 3 race carried a higher purse. It shouldn’t be that difficult, and will be a much more fair process for determining who deserves to be in the Derby’s starting field.
This will not happen in 2010, as the nominations have already been solicited for this year’s Triple Crown races, and the conditions for each of the races spelled out. But with the contract between Churchill Downs and NBC expiring this year (along with NBC’s contract to televise the Preakness and ABC’s deal on the Belmont), it’s a perfect time to address this type of issue.
Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report
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Tags: ABC, American Graded Stakes Standings, belmont, churchill downs, Delta Downs, Delta Jackpot, Derby Fever, Fountain of Youth, Keeneland, kentucky derby, Kentucky Derby Challenge Series, NBC, preakness, Ray Paulick, San Felipe Stakes, sheikh mohammed, Sunland Derby, Triple Crown, uae derby, Uh Oh Bango
February 4th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
I generally agree with the idea of a points system, but can we name a few horses that missed the entry box in the Derby only to dominate later? Maybe Bernadini - but was he ever on the official Derby Trail? It seems to me the opposite may be true - Mine that Bird did nothing as a 3-yr old in prep races but made it in on the strength (and earnings) from his 2YO season in Canada. It seems as though a 20-horse field combined with the inevitable injuries of top horses cast the blanket pretty wide.
February 4th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
It seems like an idea that will only tick off owners, trainers and fans alike.
Potentially gone would be the days of a hot horse late maturing horse barely getting in, but certainly adding value in the race. Not to mention people like the unknown horse, the underdog, not just the big player who takes down the Wood or Blue Grass.
Wasn’t ‘Don’t Get Man’ - who took a hard charging 4th - just barely able to slide in by virtue of a win in the G-3 $100,000 Derby Trial 2 weeks prior? If the G3 wasn’t to account for much then it would place emphasis on races like the G1 Santa Anita Derby which hasn’t produced a KY Derby winner in a long time.
When you start to make the starting gate a foregone conclusion for select runners because the system was set up to favor Grade 1 winners it turns folks off. The fact that the BC JV would have more emphasis in effect then the just-downgraded (to G3) Illinois Derby is wrong.
Are we really supposed to be concerned a Birdbirdistheword (Delta Jackpot winner 2006) is going to go there off that big single win? History has shown you cannot train up to the Derby from December and when that first race at age 3 comes either the horse has it or doesn’t. ‘Birdbird’ as we’ll recall was blown out of the water in the FL Derby and the owners with Ken McPeek nixed any Churchill trip.
February 4th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
What if that G3 Sunland Derby with its bigger purse draws a better field than the traditional prep the Fountain of Youth? In that scenario, how would it be fair that the FOY carries more weight for preference in the Derby starting gate? If you give extra weight for “traditional” prep races, then what is the incentive for newer tracks to even try to compete?
February 7th, 2010 at 9:02 am
I generally agree with you, however there are flaws in the graded stakes system as well. 4 horse fields in New York hold Grade 1 status while quality fields in other states don’t. The purses should be taken into account somewhat when deciding a race’s grade. Not to say some low level track with slots money and a rich purse should automatically get Grade 1 status, but these $100K races in New York with 4 horse fields can’t keep grade 1 status forever just because it’s New York and it’s always been a Grade 1.