More BC Marathon thoughts

I will suspend making fun of the Breeders' Cup Marathon for this post.

One of my sportswriter friends from back in Illinois asked me, what is the point of the race?

I had two answers. I think it's an effort to encourage stamina in the U.S. breed and a nod to the longer distance international races.

Those are fine goals, but I think it's trying to do both at once, unsuccessfully.

The long distance international races -- 1 3/4 miles and up -- are run on turf, at distances beyond those currently run in American racing.

I'm sure all options will be on the table for the Breeders' Cup board -- from zapping the race, to all-out internationalization. I guess it could be a two-mile turf race? Although, that's not a great race on most American track configurations (too many turns). There probably are better ways to spend the purse money.