Saratoga is Not Jim Dandy in 2007
Breeders’ Cup Challenge Causes Possible Travers Stakes Conflict
This year's new marketing ploy, "Win and You're In" Automatic Berths has caused NYRA to reschedule the Whitney one week earlier. Will owners bypass the Jim Dandy?
When Breeder’s Cup Limited announced their new “Win and You’re In” qualifying races national schedule in October of last year, the plan raised a few curious eyebrows, but was not considered to cause any significant impacts on the usual racing schedules. It was a surprise to see the Breeder’s Cup abandon the established points system used since 1984, but the reasoning was very clear to see. The Win and You’re In setup will simplify racing to new fans and hopefully generate a greater interest in racing. It is an easier way for novices to follow the Breeders’ Cup circuit and eventually the Championships, to be held this year at New Jersey’s Monmouth Park.
On six different days this year, six major racetracks will host a Win and You’re In Day, sponsoring either three or four qualifying races. If you win one of these races, you are eligible to run in the Breeders’ Cup Championship. It’s that easy, short and sweet, and will hopefully attract and keep new fans.
Established racing fans knew that if you won one of these races, you were probably going to the Championships anyway, so it seemed to be no big deal. In fact, it isn’t a big deal, but the rescheduling of races to accommodate this new plan does lead to some interesting possibilities.
The New York Racing Association (NYRA), was forced to make some minor changes to their summer racing schedule at its beautiful Saratoga Race Course. Usually, the Course runs the Jim Dandy, a $500,000.00 race for 3-year olds and prep race for the Million dollar Travers, on the first Saturday of the racing season. The Whitney Stakes, ($750,000.00 for 3-year and older horses), is typically on the second Saturday. Due to the Breeders’ Cup Challenge, NYRA moved the Whitney Stakes (now a Win and You’re In race), up one week, having it replace the Jim Dandy. The Jim Dandy will now be held the next day, on a Sunday. Simply, the Whitney is scheduled for Saturday July 28, 2007, and the Jim Dandy on the 29th.
With the Whitney now four weeks away from the Travers rather than its usual three, will owners of 3-year olds consider using the Whitney as a prep race for the Travers? This is an intriguing and very real possibility given certain circumstances. Invasor and Premium Tap are scheduled to race in Dubai, a place notorious for ruining, or ending a horses’ racing season. Given limited talent in the Classic Horse Division, the Whitney looks like an attractive option, particularly if a 3-year old looks dominant, much like Bernadini did last year. Incidentally, the last 3-year old to win the Travers was Easy Goer in 1989. Could another similarly great horse emerge this year? While this possibility is not likely, it could indeed happen.
Should these dominos fall the right way, the Whitney could include a 3-year old superhorse or two, simultaneously having a detrimental effect on the Jim Dandy. The Jim Dandy could conceivably be a collection of Derby also rans and a mid-season variety of state-bred stakes competitors. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
The Breeders’ Cup Challenge will not cause any major difficulties to the national racing schedule, but it does indeed open the door for new possibilities.
