Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
3 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
2020 Horse Racing - 2020 Preakness Stakes (Original Post) twogunsid Oct 2020 OP
I don't bet, but I'll pick one to root for. I'd picked her because I figured she wouldn't be there Karadeniz Oct 2020 #1
Thoroughbred racing now faces a basic integrity test Awsi Dooger Oct 2020 #2
They won't... twogunsid Oct 2020 #3

Karadeniz

(22,283 posts)
1. I don't bet, but I'll pick one to root for. I'd picked her because I figured she wouldn't be there
Sat Oct 3, 2020, 11:29 PM
Oct 2020

Unless she was something special... And I wanted to see her beat the boys! I read... Don't know the accuracy... That she's Secretariat's great granddaughter. If she has a colt, she could pass that superheart to him!

 

Awsi Dooger

(14,565 posts)
2. Thoroughbred racing now faces a basic integrity test
Sun Oct 4, 2020, 12:53 AM
Oct 2020

Swiss Skydiver broke Secretariat's stakes and track record. There is no question about it. If you run the two race videos side by side, Swiss Skydiver reaches the finish line two full strides before Secretariat.

However, Secretariat is still credited with the record because of an adjusted time all the way down to 1:53 flat. That adjustment was preposterous, as many of us exclaimed at the time. I believe I ranted about it on this site.

To refresh, Secretariat backers and countless lawyers disputed the official time of the 1973 Preakness for nearly four decades. The timer malfunctioned in 1973. Secretariat was credited with a time of 1:55 flat. But clockers had it much lower, specifically at 1:53 2/5. A major part of their argument was running the videos of 1973 and 1971 side by side. Canonero II from 1971 had the official record at the time, 1:54 2/5. The side by side perspective had Secretariat reaching the finish line well before Canonero II.

Originally a compromise time of 1:54 was assigned. But Secretariat has the greatest cult following of any non-human athlete ever. They don't care about reality at all. This is well known on sports forums everywhere. They want up, up and away on every record and every projection. If you don't say Secretariat would win any dream race by at least 10 lengths they savage you. Disregard that Secretariat won only one race in his life by 10+ lengths.

That cult following was furious when Secretariat's compromise time of 1:54 was bettered a decade later. That's why they continued to push Pimlico to lower Secretariat's time to the point it became the official record. Pimlico was tired of the badgering, and wanted to get into the Secretariat aura, so in 2012 they agreed to a new commission study. It was assumed that the Secretariat time would be lowered to 1:53 2/5.

Instead they dropped it all the way down to 1:53 flat. That was disgraceful. It was as if they allowed every Secretariat lawyer to submit a time, and Pimlico chose the lowest one, no matter how preposterous.

Today that preposterous time came to the forefront. Swiss Skydiver is credited with 1:53.09. Nowadays they time to hundredths, not fifths. Since the videos of the two races side by side blatantly indicate Swiss Skydiver finished two strides before Secretariat, the 1:53 2/5 was indeed the correct adjusted time, not 1:53 flat.

But since it was courted all the way down to 1:53 flat, Secretariat remains the bogus record holder, and therefore still owns the official record in all three Triple Crown events.

We'll see if this situation is rectified, or even examined. Somehow I doubt it. Secretariat is the 5th Avenue of thoroughbreds.

Regardless, today was further evidence of what I have always emphasized...track conditions dictate final time every bit as much as the caliber of the horse. I remember those tracks in 1973. They were all like freeways. Secretariat benefited from conditions that boosted his reputation beyond where it should be. I remember in 1980 I looked at the track records of every major track in the country. Only Belmont Park had an extreme oddity. Seven of the 11 existing main track records were set a few weeks either way of the 1973 Belmont. That should have been impossible. None of the other tracks had anything resembling that type of monopoly. It was difficult to find any other track with two records within weeks of each other, let alone 7 of 11.

This year when I tuned in the Belmont undercard in June I immediately noticed that the dirt was not kicking up at all. "My gosh, that looks exactly like 1973." I said it out loud and posted it on many sites. In subsequent decades I had never seen track conditions that resembled 1973 so closely. It was obvious what had happened: these 2020 Triple Crown tracks without fans needed to juice something up. They decided on fast conditions, and hopefully some publicity. Likewise the Derby track was very fast. Check that time.

And I wasn't surprised at all when Pimlico produced yet another example.

Now we'll see if any of today's racing analysts have the guts to challenge the Secretariat legacy. Old timers like Andrew Beyer are still around. If he has any decency he'll push for Swiss Skydiver to rightfully be established as the record holder, just like he whined for Secretariat adjustment in both the Preakness time and Belmont margin in 1973.

Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Sports»2020 Horse Racing - 2020 ...