Letter to the Editor: Kip Cornett

We’ve asked for this moment for years. And now it’s here, right in front of us. Something that is almost as rare as a comet, solar eclipse or hitting the Rainbow Pick Six. 

You know “asked” isn’t a strong enough word. We’ve actually begged, wrung our hands and cursed the stars for not aligning properly for our sport. 

So, I’m here to tell you the wait is over. 

How about for the first time–EVER–the winners of the following races are returning to competition for another year of racing: 

The Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Met Mile, Travers, Pacific Classic, Jockey Club Gold Cup–and the first FOUR finishers in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. 

California Chrome, Tonalist, Palice Malice, V E Day, Shared Belief and Bayern are all giving us another year to enjoy their presence. Could Wise Dan be added to the list? We sure hope so! Could you imagine a Wise Dan and Chrome showdown? And maybe it’s asking too much, but could Honor Code join this impressive list as well? 

Yes, every single one of these horses is coming back. Not off to the breeding shed, shipped overseas, or stopped by other obstacles these great athletes face. And I’m not even mentioning the female division yet! 

Incredible. And it probably will never happen again. 

So, this is THE YEAR we’ve been begging for. Granted none of these horses light up the national media like Secretariat or Zenyatta. But this my friends, should be–no it MUST be a banner year for Thoroughbred racing. 

Look at all the great story lines! It’s Rome vs Chrome. Old school meets new money. Baffert against the world! You can’t stage something so potentially entertaining. 

With what could be a glorious year of competition, what’s next? Why after all these years of pleading for our stars to compete again has no one even noticed? Or even suggested how this year can be a breakthrough year for our sport? 
Honestly, I don’t care. I’m not pointing fingers. There’s plenty of that to go around. But if there was ever a chance to really, really sit down and map out a season of epic BIG DAYS around this “comet-like” year, the year 2015 is it. Make that with a capital T. 

Shame on us if we let this rare opportunity pass. I know that my friends at America’s Best Racing are poised to pull the trigger on more in depth coverage on these horses, their connections and big events than ever before. But it can’t and shouldn’t stop there. 

Who else wants to join us? I’ve got a thought or two, but would love to stimulate our sport’s best minds to think–what are we going to do about it?