Let Them Gallop!

I cannot predict the future. Yes, that may disappoint you, but I am unable to tell you how Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown will do in today's Preakness. But this I am certain of, barring catastrophe, in one year Big Brown will be servicing mares in a breeding shed for $100,000 a date, the amount paid by breeders hoping that he will pass on his speed to the next generation of foals.

Let's say Big Brown goes on to win the Triple Crown. That would mean he would probably retire to stud after a mere six races. It was once unthinkable to let a horse that inexperience near a mare. A former breeder said in a recent NY Times article that his policy was that the horse had to had at least 25 starts. Now, buyers at yearling sales are no longer interested in durability. They are looking for the payday at the end and buy horses that mature quickly, win the Derby, and allow them to cash in on stud fees. These horses go on to pass on their genes to create more speedy but unsound horses destined for short, brilliant careers.

There is a way to ensure that the priciest studs are the most durable: open up the Triple Crown races to horses of all ages. That would immediately eliminate 3-year-olds from the gene pool because it would be nearly impossible for a 3-year-old to win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, or Belmont, because horses don't reach their athletic peak until they're 4 or 5. This shows in the Bayer Speed Figures, a way of measuring the performance of a horse on the track. The average score of Derby winners is 109, while top 4 year olds are capable of 120.

The Triple Crown used to be the beginning of a horse's career, now it's the early endpoint. They may as well put an ovulating mare just past the wire at Belmont Park, ready to receive the latest immature sire. The desire of breeders for instant gratification is destroying the Thoroughbred. So come on, equestrian poo-bahs, open the Triple Crown to horses of all ages.

Lak