I think it could be a good idea to eliminate the swerve that happens between gates 14 and 15. What are your thoughts?
Seems more fair for the horses that draw the outside. If they’ve been used successfully in the UK and AUS, I am in favor of this change!
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Rather than getting a new gate, I wish they had limited the field to 14.
(Yes, I know that’s never going to happen.)
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Totally agree, on both points.
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I agree as well. Not just for safety reasons, but it would make the Derby a much fairer race by keeping out a few horses that have no business being in the field anyway.
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I think it is sad that instead of reducing the field to a more manageable number; we build a starting gate to fit 20 horses. While I agree that the elimination of the gap between gates will help; 20 horses leaving a gate and galloping to the first turn on a dirt track like Churchill is just an accident waiting to happen.
Even if they reduced the field by 5; it would make this much-less frightening.
I have seen arguments that the field sizes in Europe are comparable or greater. While that may be true; their 30+ steeplechase horse fields don’t line up in a starting gate. Nor do they gallop down to a first turn like they do on American dirt tracks. Far less risk and danger in that aspect in Europe.
The KY derby is the elite race of the year. It may not be the richest but on American soil it is the holy grail. Why they allow a handful of horses that don’t belong in an elite race is beyond me. Its just added risk.
But unfortunately I do not think anything will occur unless something bad happens and that’s the sad fact of it. Instead of being proactive; we will be reactive.
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Because for CDI, it’s all about the betting. A bigger field means more money for them. They don’t care about the risk (except in an abstract “will it cost us bettors?” kind of way). As their CEO has said, “Horses are our brand, but gambling is our business.”
It will take a catastrophe for them to change anything, and by then it will be too late.
oh for sure; it all boils down to $$$
Laurie I respect your expertise, but can you please elaborate? To me it seems like the large field may impact the finish (though didn’t the favorite win every year from 2013-2018?) but as far as safety it doesn’t seem to deviate from other stakes races with smaller fields. Aside from the tragedy of 2008, which wasn’t related to field size, I don’t recall many problems happening during the Derby. Even last year’s DQ - arguably that was just bad judgment by the jockey.
ex: Afleet Alex got knocked off his feet in the 14 horse Preakness. Barbaro broke through the gate, then broke down shortly after the start of the 2006 Preakness with 9 horses. California Chrome came out of the 11 horse Belmont with a chunk taken off his heel, presumably from getting clipped at the start.
For one thing the CD track is too narrow to accommodate 20 horses. If you look at the second picture in this article you can see what I mean: https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-rac…kentucky-derby
Second, as soon as the gate(s) open every horse in the field is angled sharply to the left because they all need a good position for the upcoming turn. Getting caught 8,10, or 12 wide will end a horse’s chances right there. The start of the race is basically a scrum in which each jockey is hoping their horse will get beaten up the least–because it’s a given that the majority will get knocked around.
Third, with that big a field the winner is usually the horse who gets the best trip rather than the best horse. So, our “premier” race is often decided by luck rather than talent or quality. Last year’s winner is a good example. Country House’s only win before the Derby was a maiden race. And to this day, the only stakes race he’s ever won is the Derby.
The fact that there haven’t been more problems in the race is due to fantastic good fortune, not good management.
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I worked for the the Duchossois, they become interested in horses at the behest of son, Bruce, who was a champion rider, Bruce’s interest lead them to buy Arlington Park … yes money is an interest but they will do what is right.
When they merged Arlington in with Churchill (which was struggling) , the family became to largest shareholder of Churchill…then rebuilt the place … I am not sure of the total spent but it has been hundreds of millions of dollars. I believe Churchill Downs Corp now has total book value of just over $4 Billion with annual revenue of a billion… about 20% is from the Kentucky Derby
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