Shouldn't either the Derby or the Preakness be a prerequisite for the Belmont?

Question

Instead of owners bringing in ringers just for the Belmont without racing one of the previous races.

Answer 1

no....they just keep bringing in new guns.....

Answer 2

Interesting responses...because I kept saying this yesterday.  That it just wasn't FAIR for a fresh horse to come into the Belmont and possibly rob Big Brown of the T.C.

However, these responses make perfect sense...the Triple Crown is the best of the best - no matter where the best come from, and where they have raced before.  And while I did realize the Derby was the Top 20, I didn't really think about that it was excluding many horses that may have just not had the chance yet.  

However, the otherside of that coin IS that Casino Drive could be coming in as a fresh horse while Big Brown has already answered two HUGE questions with such amazing ease!

It's really an interesting spot this year...with so much attention on the sport right now with the huge outpouring for Barbaro - he touched people that had never seen a horse race in their lives with his amazing strength and spirit - and then of course the horrific tragedy of Eight Belles and the media attention put on her before the race, coming in second and the final outcome of her death.  

I think this sport needs a Triple Crown Winner this year like they have never needed it before!

And as with all things of fate, I think that in and of itself is going to propel Big Brown to pull out the win at Belmont and Casino Drive is just going to add a bit of excitement to the buildup of the race and to the race itself...but Big Brown is definitely going to answer those final questions and prove himself to be the horse that his owners, trainers and jockey say he is!!

Answer 3

No.Winning the triple crown shouldn't be a cake walk.Triple crown winners should prove they can beat any other 3 year olds in the world.Stiff competition makes it more exciting.

Answer 4

It doesn't really matter, since they wouldn't qualify for the Triple Crown anyway. The field grows smaller nonetheless, with the Belmont typically holding the smallest field of horses even though some were added. Although the Triple Crown races are connected, each race is an individual race and may be entered individually.

Answer 5

I agree. All they are is spoilers, out to upset the apple-cart.

Answer 6

I've always thought so. I view the Triple Crown as a special threesome of races, that are linked together, like a test for 3 year olds. You enter your horse to put it through a test of speed, strength, and endurance against its peers. The Kentucky Derby is horse racing's greatest spectacle in the eyes of the general public, so if your horse qualifies, of course you are going to enter it. But the test of the Triple Crown becomes unfair if some of the horses skip the middle leg. The individual races comprise the triple crown, they're a package deal (with only the Kentucky Derby as the exception). The owners of the tracks can say that they don't have an affilitation, but that's BS, they make millions off of their affiliation with the Triple Crown series. Which is the only thing that keeps horse racing relevant, the public remains largely ingnorant of the Breeder's Cup.

You can't run the first 8 miles of a marathon, skip the middle 8, the run the last 10 while the person in the lead runs the whole thing.

Answer 7

Trainers and owners have to pick the place their horses run the best. If it's at that distance and that track then that's where they belong. With the Derby limited to the top 20 some horses would have run had they been allowed to - they weren't so why should they be booted out if the Derby horses decide to go to sprinting or to other distances?

The Triple Crown should be a challenge....it should be the best against all comers. That's what makes it special. Winning just the Belmont is a feather for a horse but that alone isn't everything. Many good horses have won the Belmont and still need to prove themselves.

Answer 8

All the more reason to appreciate what an exceptional horse (with good jockeying and training) it takes to win these three races.  If Belmont were limited to horses in the field for the Derby and Preakness, it might not be as exciting because we know there are no horses so far that can stay with Brown if he shows up.  There is no Alydar this year. Bring on Casino Drive ....

Answer 9

No.  The Derby field is limited to 20 horses... you have to be in the top 20 money earners.  If you're #21, you're good enough to run in the other stakes, but not lucky enough to get into the Derby.  You shouldn't be precluded from the Belmont just because you didn't have the earnings to get into the Derby.  The Preakness is 3 weeks before the Belmont... some horses need longer than that, especially since the Belmont is 12 furlongs.  And some trainers aren't ready to throw their horse into a grade 1 field with the best horses in the country so they'd prefer not to run in the Preakness.

Furthermore, the Belmont has kinda gone out of style.  Not too many horses and trainers want to go 12 furlongs on the dirt as 3 year olds in a grade 1.  If a horse is bred for the 12 furlongs, he shouldn't be precluded from the field just because he opted out of one of the other triple crown races.  They're not ringers... they're perfectly legitimate contenders.