bronzeprincess33

"I'm not so sure that it's a moot point when the last two TC winners ran a total of 17 times, and I haven't a clue how good the last one was..." I'm not sure what you mean. The number of races they ran is irrelevant to this discussion, as is not knowing how good Justify was; the point is that we know it CAN be done the way it is now, so changing it would undermine any future sweeps.

Yeah, I noticed that Improbable took far fewer strides to cover the same ground as his opponents. I'm just not sure if the way he runs could lead to soundness issues later.

"I wonder why I"m not seeing the pics or the video? Just blank spaces....GRRRRR!" I almost always have that problem when this site links something from Twitter, albeit only with the videos.

"Seems like if this track didn't host one particular race it would be long gone." I'm inclined to agree with you. " I've long thought an extra week between the Derby & this race would not be such a bad thing either is this era of such fragile horses." That's largely rendered a moot point with two recent Triple Crown sweeps. Besides, if that change is made and then another horse wins it, there will always be that 'what if' hanging over everyone's minds.

Fair enough, but if you really don't care, then why do comment on it in the first place?

What difference does it make to you if someone else decides (gasp!) to pick a favorite horse and stay loyal to him? Why are you always so negative?

I didn't notice anything about how he turns (unless there's something absurdly obvious, I don't pay much attention to a horse's form on the turns); I was referring to his front leg action when he reaches. His right foreleg seems to be straighter when he reaches than most horses'.

I think the strangeness of his front right leg action is more obvious because of his white stocking. Maybe that makes it more pronounced?

Follow your gut. Pick a number or a name out of a hat. Go absurdly in-depth and look at past performances, speed figures (if you're into that...), the horse for course angle, projected pace, running styles, track condition, etc. Go with the horse with the best story. Or maybe pick the horse who has the name you like the most. Maybe go with the prettiest one, or the biggest one. If a gray horse is present, go with that one. Or stay loyal to the horse you love the most. Honestly, any of the above (and a thousand more besides) are equally valid ways to handicap ANY race. Because, when it's all said and done, every single one of us is just guessing. But when you're right, you're right, and THAT'S the fun part!

I'd love to meet him one day. California Chrome is one of my very favorites.