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Let Them Gallop!Come on, equestrian pooh-bahs, open the Triple Crown to horses of all ages.

By Edward McClellandPosted Friday, May 16, 2008, at 7:03 AM ET

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When the Triple Crown was established, it marked the beginning of a great horse's career, not a career-capping achievement that guaranteed a priapic retirement. But since breeding fees have exploded, there may as well be an ovulating mare standing just past the wire at Belmont Park, ready to receive the seed of the latest immature sire. The breeders' desire for instant gratification is weakening the Thoroughbred. Either the equestrians who run racing should strip the Triple Crown of its title as racing's greatest achievement, or they should ensure that it can only be won by durable horses, with long careers. If farms continue producing foals as fragile as Eight Belles, public revulsion may end the Triple Crown—or horse racing itself.

Derby winners used to run for years and build huge public followings. Citation, one of the most popular horses of all time, won the Triple Crown in 1948. He missed his 4-year-old season with an injury that a modern owner would have used as an excuse for retirement. But Citation returned as a 5-year-old, ran his winning streak to 16 races, and captured the Hollywood Gold Cup.

The only modern horse to match Citation's achievement is Cigar, who also won 16 consecutive races and raced until age 6. But Cigar was a late bloomer who never ran a Triple Crown race. He didn't even break his maiden until the week after the Kentucky Derby. Had Cigar kicked ass as a 3-year-old, he would never have stayed in the game long enough to tie Citation's record. In the last 10 years, only three Derby winners have run as older horses: Real Quiet, Giacomo, and Funny Cide (who's a gelding and had nothing else to do.)

The Breeders' Cup was intended to give older horses a showcase to match the Triple Crown, but it hasn't worked out that way. At $4 million, the Breeders' Cup Classic's purse is twice as large as the Derby's, but the race hasn't caught on with sports fans, who tune in for the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont, then ignore horse racing the rest of the year. A $4 million purse is nothing to Big Brown's owner, who can attract 10 times that much from a breeding syndicate. And, as Casner points out, a horse's value can decline if he continues to run and loses.

In its early days, the Classic was often won by Derby horses. Between 1987 and 1990, Ferdinand, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, and Unbridled all completed the Derby-Classic double. But no horse has repeated that feat since. In fact, the Triple Crown and the handicap division—highlighted by the Classic—have become separate racing circuits with very few horses in common. The Triple Crown is dominated by colts who show early brilliance, and the Classic by less precocious, more durable horses. (Curlin won both the Preakness and the Classic last year, but he was a late-maturing horse who never raced as a 2-year-old.)

If racing wants bigger stars—and better studs—it should offer its most coveted prize to the fastest horse, no matter his age. This year's Preakness won't be much of a race. Big Brown is the dominant horse of what looks like an exceedingly weak generation. It's a shame. This is one of the few times a year the average sports fan watches a horse race. Instead of seeing a walkover, they could be watching a showdown between Commentator, Monterey Jazz, Heatseeker, and Tiago, four stars of the handicap division. Those horses have all run faster than Big Brown, but they race in obscurity because they didn't blossom as 3-year-olds. They may breed in obscurity, too, unless owners wise up and learn that a good horse is worth the wait.

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Edward McClelland is the author of The Third Coast, a Great Lakes travelogue. He blogs about the region at That's What I Like About The North.
Photograph of Big Brown by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images.
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