A Match (Race) Made in Heaven

[richiebee]

Man of War/Sir Barton.
War Admiral/Seabiscuit.
Foolish Pleasure/ Ruffian.

....and the one everyone wanted but never got

Zenyatta/Rachel Alexander

Match races have been prominent in the lore of thoroughbred racing throughout
the years, and there is no truth to the rumor that I saw the first two listed
above in person. NYRA is missing a huge opportunity to stage a match race
between two New York Bred stalwarts currently stabled on its grounds.

The 4YO Cat Man Fu by Fusaichi Pegasus has started 40 times with zero wins,
four seconds and six thirds, banking 97K. El Dreamer, a 5YO by Eltish, has
started 47 times with zero wins, 12 seconds and 5 thirds, banking 111K.

What a great opportunity for the New York Bred program to showcase 2 top
earners, to show that New York Breds indeed \"start with an advantage\". Part of
the advantage seems to be that with proper management, New York breds can
make decent money while protecting themselves.

What do I mean by \"protecting\" themselves? Two runners with 87 starts between
them? Many trainers will say that sound horses are giving something less than
their all in their training and races.

A few years ago, \"Sixty Minutes\" had a feature about the \"Millenials\", and
what a difficult time the Millenials have when entering the workplace. The
Millenials grew up being rewarded for merely participating, whereas their
bosses came from a system where only those who excelled were singled out for
recognition.

Those who continue to profit from restricted racing portray New York Bred
racing as the backbone of the NYRA racing product, especially during the
winter months. To me, NY bred restricted racing is more an Achilles Heel
which will prevent NYRA racing from ever returning to its previous position
of prominence.