Reasons why the Wood Memorial and Blue Grass were Downgraded

Earlier today, the American Graded Stakes Committee announced that two historic Triple Crown prep races would be downgraded from Grade 1 races to Grade 2 races. Those two races were the Wood Memorial in New York and the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. Early reaction to these two races being downgraded have been between upset and disappointment. These two races have been run since 1925 and 1911, respectively. Both races have produced many Kentucky Derby winners and winners in Triple Crown races. So why would the commission downgrade these two races? Here are a few reasons why...

The Wood Memorial has produced 11 winners of the Kentucky Derby and four Triple Crown winners, but the race hasn't produced a Kentucky Derby winner since Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000. In fact, since 2000, 122 horses have entered the starting gate in the Wood Memorial. Of those horses, the best finish by any of the fifteen winners in the Kentucky Derby was Empire Maker when he finished 2nd in 2003. The Wood Memorial runner-up that year was Funny Cide, and he won the Kentucky Derby. He was the last Wood Memorial runner to win a Kentucky Derby. Since 2000, four horses didn't make it to the starting gate at Churchill, many finished in the double digits, and only a handful made it into the superfecta. Also, it hasn't had its fair share of star quality names to run in the race in a while. The last superstar horse to run in the race was Uncle Mo, and he lost. So the Wood Memorial, while historic, hasn't produced results. The same can be said for the Blue Grass Stakes. 

The last time the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner won the Kentucky Derby was Strike the Gold in 1991. The last horse to run in the Blue Grass and win the Kentucky Derby was Street Sense in 2007. Add to that, the last four winners of the Blue Grass, (Brody's Cause, Carpe Diem, Dance With Fate, and Java's War) never won a race again after winning the Blue Grass. You can also argue that the Polytrack effect, which the Bluegrass was run on from 2007-2014, took a toll on the high level of horses to come to Keeneland to run. The Blue Grass Stakes, while historic, also hasn't produced the results that other Kentucky Derby prep races have. 

The biggest reason for the downgrades, however, are the fact that these two races haven't produced the same results in the Kentucky Derby as the other Grade 1 preps. Since Strike the Gold became the last Blue Grass winner to win the run for the roses, six Florida Derby winners, two Arkansas Derby winners, one Louisiana Derby winner, and two Santa Anita Derby winners have won the Kentucky Derby, along with Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000. Simple enough, the other Kentucky Derby prep races have produced results, including a Triple Crown winner.

In the end, I believe that the American Graded Stakes Committee is sending a message to New York and Kentucky. That message is they must starting producing better results in the Kentucky Derby, Triple Crown races, and beyond to get their Grade 1 back. The winners of the two races this year, Outwork and Brody's Cause, have already been retired. So the AGSC is simply saying, produce results, get better quality fields, and start winning again to become a Grade 1 again.