Letter to the Editor: Future of Our Sport is More Important than a Racetrack's Territorial Claim

My obsessive nature has been consumed by this Triple Crown spacing mess.

It was obvious that Cherie DeVaux was going to decide to skip the Preakness, although I think she was pure in her process.

If the industry is trying to grow its appeal beyond the Derby, AND NYRA won't budge from its traditional June date–and for the life of me, I don't know why–why doesn't the Preakness, now with Churchill Downs at the helm, best market the Preakness, and often the Triple Crown, and leapfrog the early June Belmont Stakes and run on July 4th, Independence Day? How much closer can we get to Washington, D.C. on Independence Day than a rebuilt Pimlico?

The preferred spacing is 1) early May, 2) early June, 3) July 4th, regardless of which race/which city, but the future of our sport is more important than a racetrack's territorial claim. I have come to this under duress as I am a die-hard traditionalist. So what if a Triple Crown winner has an asterisk next to his (or her) name? After a period of time, with many Triple Crown winners to come, the 'Roger Maris' asterisk will be no longer. Ask NBC or FOX if there could be such a thing as too many Triple Crown aspirants when promoting the third leg with the Triple Crown on the line.

This seems too obvious, so I must be missing something.