Rich Strike reminds us that in sports, less can be more
Decision to skip Preakness and pursuit of Triple Crown shows how horse racing needs to change, writes Jerry Brewer.
For an encore, Rich Strike will rest. Go ahead and enjoy the Preakness Stakes without him. Maybe he'll spend today in his stall watching video loops of his far-fetched Kentucky Derby triumph.
The absence of an 80-1 Derby miracle worker with dubious Triple Crown prospects won't force horse racing, desperate for a fresh approach, to get serious about change. But it should. The issue is also bigger than debate about the prudence of cramming the sport's three most important events into a five-week schedule at a time when thoroughbreds don't respond well to quick turnarounds. Step back, and you see examples throughout sports of tradition hindering logic, and the pursuit of revenue — particularly television and streaming dollars — leading to oversaturated products and reckless decision-making. Rich Strike is the rare Derby winner whose trainer decided it would be too taxing to compete in the second leg of the Triple Crown. The concern of owner Rick Dawson and trainer Eric Reed, amid their most joyous moment, is almost as stunning as the upset. They don't measure success by Grade 1 victories, not if they come at the expense of a horse's health. Reed may never have another three-year-old like Rich Strike, but the trainer won't use that as permission to milk this experience.
“I can't do anything but what's best for the horse,” Reed told Sports Illustrated. “If we flop and he gets hurt, they'll forget we were even there. I've got to remember it's about him. If it starts being about us, that's a problem.”
It's a lesson that should be recited before every competition. A sport is only as good as its participants.
It doesn't matter whether you are talking about racehorses or athletes. It's about them, their bodies and their spirit, in the present and the future.
Such a reminder shouldn't be necessary. But the demand for viewing options is high. In many cases, the money is preposterous. And on the other end, in niche sports, there's so much jostling for relevance.
The rhythm of the Triple Crown — Derby first Saturday in May, Preakness two weeks later, Belmont Stakes three weeks after that — is made to seem like a magical tradition when really, fear of change is what keeps it the same.
And it's not just a horse racing issue. In all sports, we're approaching a tipping point. The bodies of today's athletes keep sending the message that they can't persist through the rigours of old customs and new stressors such as longer regular seasons and post-seasons.
Instead of feeding the obsession, sports should take pride in putting their participants in a better position to succeed. It's been about us — not them — for long enough.