RACING Q & A

Question: Which is considered the more difficult feat: winning the Triple Crown in the United States, when the three races are contested over a period of five weeks, or winning it in England, with the three races spread out over more than three months?

Answer: There is a divergence of opinion among professionals. Some feel the concentration of pressure involved in the American Triple Crown places a fearsome burden on a horse. Others feel it is more difficult to keep a horse in top condition for the longer period of time involved in the English Triple Crown. Suffice to say, both series are difficult to sweep. There have been 11 winners of the U.S. Triple Crown since Sir Barton was the first in 1919. Affirmed, in 1978, was the last. West Australian was the first to sweep the English Triple Crown (the 2,000 Guineas, the Derby and St. Leger) in 1853, and 15 horses have done it. The last was Nijinsky II in 1970, and he was the first since Bahram in 1935. The English Triple Crown does not seem to hold the same appeal for horsemen in that country these days as the American Triple Crown among horsemen in this country.

Q: I am fascinated by the distinction made between races at a mile and a 16th and races at a mile and 70 yards. The two distances are so close together, for a mile and a 16th is a mile and 110 yards. Why do tracks offer both distances when they are almost the same thing?

A: It is often a matter of psychology. The racing secretary is trying to attract the best possible racing material for his programs. Some trainers may feel that their horse doesn’t have the stamina to stay a mile and a 16th but might be able to win at a mile and 70 yards. Department stores practice the same psychology by pricing items at $99, rather than $100.

Q: When I handicap the races, I compare the best previous times of the horses in that race at the distance in question. Some of my friends discount the best time as having little significance. What do you think?

A: “The quality of the race can make a difference,” said Leroy Jolley, the Hall of Fame trainer who saddled Kentucky Derby winners Foolish Pleasure and Genuine Risk. “Cheap horses are not consistent and can turn in a good time one day and a slow time the next. In some instances they are favored by certain track conditions, or perhaps they can get an easy lead in some races and nurse it all the way. Good horses, on the other hand, hold their form longer, and if they run in fast time, they are more likely to run back in comparable time than cheap horses. Not all the time, but more often. Thus, in better races, the best times are probably more significant.”