Mike Sutton

‡ Grade I Derby "Preps": The American Racing Industry's Shameful Deceit "Why bother? Why try to remember which race is better than, or inferior to, another? Because to improve the breed, to upgrade a broodmare band, to select a stallion, to understand a catalogue page, to evaluate a family – one must be able to recognize racing class." – Kent Hollingsworth, Editor The Blood-Horse, January 21, 1974 The above quote is important, and for a number of reasons. It is fundamentally important because it encapsulates why Graded stakes were first incorporated into the American racing calendar in 1974. The Europeans had led the way with the introduction of their similar "Pattern" race scheme in 1972, and urged the U.S. to follow suit. Prior to the introduction of Graded races and Pattern (i.e. "Group") races, it was not so easy to distinguish the relative quality of the best stakes races, and especially at a glance, in the catalogue pages that have long played such a crucial role in sales. This was a major development, and certainly appeared to be an important, and positive step for the industry. The problem, however, is that as is so often the case, and especially in these contemporary times, ideas that should, and do work well as designed and implemented, are eventually corrupted by those powerful enough to distort original intent, in order to benefit their own interests. There are countless analogies, but as I like to point out how the racing game is, in many ways, a microcosm of broader American society, consider how the economy has moved away from industrial capitalism, on which the strong post-war America was largely built, and towards the financialization of the economy, which has contributed significantly to the many deep problems facing the declining country today. So what happened to the Graded race concept, which seemed to be straightforward when it was first proposed and introduced? When the system was developed in 1973, there were 351 Graded stakes races, 63 of which were Grade I. In 2023 there were 440 Graded races, 97 of which were Grade I. There were 26,811 registered foals in '73; in 2023 there were 17,200. That's a 25% increase in Graded races, and a 54% increase in Grade I races, while the foal crop has declined 35%. The explanation for such extreme, Graded race inflation, and that is that those who have been in charge of assigning the Grades, The American Graded Stakes Committee, part of TOBA (the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association), have chosen, over time, to distort the original intent of the system, in order to benefit themselves, and their powerful constituency. The above background is important to consider when thinking about the specific problem referenced in the title of this post, namely the Grade I Derby preps. It should be obvious that by their very definition, "prep" races should not be given Grade I status. After all, the participating horses are aiming for something bigger. How can a Derby "prep" be considered equivalent to the Derby itself in terms of importance? No one considers them to be of equal importance, of course, but that hasn't stopped the The American Graded Stakes Committee from giving some of them equivalent Grade I status. That alone should have been enough to prevent such an abdication of duty, but the reality is actually much worse. On March 30, both the Arkansas Derby and Florida Derby were run. One week later, the Bluegrass and Santa Anita Derby were run. All four are Grade I races, yet their close proximity insures that the division of three-year-old male horses is splintered, rather than being brought together. That is precisely the opposite of the intent of the Graded race concept, about which which Kent Hollingsworth wrote 50 years ago. The intent, with respect to Grade I races, was to bring the very best horses of the various divisions together, so that racing class could be easily interpreted. Splintering a division has exactly the opposite effect. There is no serious, or honest argument in favor of retaining Grade I status for any of the Derby preps. And as long as they retain that status, it will remain a searing indictment of TOBA, and especially The American Graded Stakes Committee. It is, essentially, an overt scam, which allows owners, breeders, consignors, and auction houses, etc., to benefit from the inflated values of horses that have "achieved" phony Grade I status. I know that sounds harsh, but the industry is facing many deep, complex problems, at least some of which seem to be intractable. This problem, in contrast, is one that can, and should be dealt with quickly, easily, and effectively. Yes, it would require the members of TOBA to make changes that could, in the near-term, adversely impact their own bottom-lines. But it would unequivocally be the right thing, and the honest thing to do. It would also likely benefit the industry more broadly if TOBA were to lead by example. At the end of the day, if a group that wields such disproportionate power is not willing to correct a glaring flaw such as the one described above, because they can't bear to give up the profits that flow from dishonest Grade I designations, how might anyone have any optimism that the bigger, more divisive issues facing the industry can ever be resolved? Finally, I'll borrow the title of one of filmmaker Spike Lee's early films to sum up my advice to TOBA on this issue: Do the Right Thing

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