#Soundbites - Do three-year-old fillies deserve better treatment in the Triple Crown series?
Compiled by Bill Heller
Since 2013, when the Kentucky Derby began using a point system to determine who starts in the Run for the Roses, no filly has raced in the Derby. This year, only seven of the 373 three-year-olds nominated for the Triple Crown were fillies. Do three-year-old fillies deserve better treatment, either by making Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks points interchangeable and/or by making a more meaningful and permanent filly Triple Crown?
Bret Calhoun
I think the only way they can get points is one of the prep races against the males. Honestly, I think it’s a fair enough system. In my mind, if they’re going to take them on in the Derby, they probably should have to be proven against some of them in their prep races.
Kevin Attard
I do think they should have the option to run in the Oaks or take on the boys. Obviously, it takes a very special filly to win that race. Having a Triple Crown for the fillies I think is a wonderful idea. A series for the fillies would be something of significance. In today’s age of social media, you can reach out to a broader audience. In Canada, they do have the Triple Tiara. It’s not the equivalent to the colts. It doesn’t get the attention of the real Triple Crown.
Ron Moquett
I would say make a more permanent and meaningful Filly Triple Crown. Or there could be a deal where you could give up your status as a filly and only run in the Derby preps to get your own points and make yourselves eligible for the Kentucky Derby. That’s fine. That’s good because you did it against the competition that you are required to meet. You can’t get Derby points by beating fillies to run against colts. But I think we should constantly be looking at things to evolve the sport and keep moving forward. In the end, you’ve got to remember the whole thing we’re trying to do is to breed a better horse. So every decision we make sincerely should be about showcasing the best of our breed.
Neil Drysdale
Interchangeable points don’t work because you can’t run colts against fillies, but I think fillies should be running in the Triple Crown, especially looking back in history. The point is if you’ve got a filly and you want to run a mile and a quarter (the Derby distance) instead of a mile and an eighth (the Oaks distance), you should be allowed to do that. My own opinion is that the point system seems to be quite arbitrary. The point system needs to be continually revised until they get it right.
Todd Fincher
Well, as long as they’re not transgender it’s okay (long laugh). I don’t think it’s against the fillies. If they want to run in the Derby, they just have to face the boys in the preps. The filly races are pretty lucrative. There’s so much money not only in the purses, but in winning a Grade 1 with a filly. So unless you think you’re a real monster, you just stay in your lane. If you think your filly is good enough, well, run with the boys.
Peter Eurton
Wow, that is a good question, because I’ve never really even thought about it. For me, I would think that they should have an opportunity, but then it’s going to keep out some of the colts. That would be the biggest issue.
Richard Mandella
The Oaks is a big purse, and it’s at a very high level. You kind of hate to have too many fillies in the Derby. Maybe there could be a committee, people from Kentucky, California, New York and two other places, that allows starters to get in the Derby as a special case.
#Soundbites - trainers - horses had the fewest number or average starts per year - smallest field size
By Bill Heller
The new Jockey Club Fact Book showed 2019’s average field size dropped again to 7.24, and 2019’s starts per runner dropped again to 5.96. Both numbers are the lowest since at least 1950. Does that concern you?
Todd Pletcher
It does concern me. There’s a concern that today’s horses aren’t as durable as they were in the past. We need increased field size to increase handle. That’s a worry. But we also want to try to lessen breakdowns, and trainers are spacing races out more to make sure their horses are ready to run an optimal performance. We found over the years that horses, especially after hard races, need more time. It’s a complicated issue. It’s a constant learning curve. Each horse is different. Certainly we see that when we approach Triple Crown races for three-year-olds.
Neil Drysdale
Neil Drysdale
It does, obviously. It keeps contracting. We know that from the foal crops. It leads to us to say we should have less racing to get better field size. I think it will happen. When I started, we didn’t have year-round racing. Racing has been proliferating, but the boutique meets have done so well: Keeneland, Del Mar, Saratoga, Hot Springs.
Tom Albertrani
Tom Albertrani
It’s interesting to hear statistics about it. Am I concerned? I don’t think so. I think we’re still a pretty strong industry. I know there’s been a lot of smaller fields the last couple of years.
Ron Moquett
Ron Moquett
Not where I’m at. I go to the track at Remington Park, Oaklawn Park and Keeneland. They offer some of the largest field sizes there are. If you look it up, I think Remington is No.1, and Oaklawn is No. 2. That’s where I race most of my horses. I like bigger fields for handicappers to bet on. It’s easier to win races when they’re less, but I like people to see big fields with good horses.
Tony Dutrow
Yes. No. 1, I’m not surprised. It’s been alarming me for a number of years. Horses are not as sound. The reasons for the drop in starts, in my opinion, is that racing’s become enormously commercial. When I was so much younger, more breeders bred horses to race them much more than they do today. The people that have the funds fuel this game. The people who fuel the game need good broodmares. Then they breed them to a successful stallion. They spend a lot of money. And then they’re going to sell that horse at a sale. They’re not going to keep that horse running in the field with his buddies. That has a lot to do with why horses have less starts.
John Shirreffs
John Shirreffs
It does not really concern me. When I first was working on the racetrack as a hotwalker/ponyboy, Laffit Pincay was just beginning to ride. The rumor was that if you use him, you wouldn’t be able to run your horse again for 30 days because he got everything out of the horse. Now all the jockeys are like Laffit. Jockeys are now fitter, stronger and ride harder from gate to wire. I think the horses are asked to do more, so recovery takes a little longer. Horses are also carrying a lot more weight than they ever did. There used to be weight allowances. Look at the scale of weights. Much higher.
Wayne Catalano
Of course it concerns me. We’re running out of horses. We’re not breeding as many horses as we used to. I don’t know the numbers, but it’s finally catching up with us. Field size is handle, right? We get paid by the handle.
