Why does the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile exist?

In the aftermath of American Pharoah's dominating win in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Classic my immediate reaction was one I have had for the last several years: why does the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile exist?

This year may have been the most blatant example of too much is not always best as the Breeders' Cup Classic field had only 10 entrants with only 8 making it to the starting gate. Many saw American Pharoah run off to the sunset redeeming himself for his lone defeat this year in the Travers'. I saw something completely different.

I saw a boring race with only one speed horse who also happened to be among the most talented go unchallenged for ten furlongs. None of the other seven jockeys took the race to American Pharoah and they conceded the race after the first quarter mile was run. I knew the race was over at that point because Effinex was closest to the pace and he is a deep closer.

It was a repeat of the Belmont in which American Pharoah dominated his competition because of his pace advantage and raw ability. This happens every day in races from the bottom to the top of the class ladder. Give the best horse an easy lead and the race is over unless his jockey falls off.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not detracting from his performance and I would love to own a horse that got paid nearly $3M in a glorified workout. The horse can't choose his competition and he can't make the other jockeys ride the race competitively. He did what he was supposed to do all year and will go down as one of the best three-year-olds of the last several decades.

Today, I am left with several what-ifs, the most important being what if the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile didn't exist. In that case, Liam's Map would've surely been entered in the Classic. He would've surely been on the lead or at least forced American Pharoah to run harder early. Aside from him at least half the Dirt Mile field could've been in the starting gate in the Classic and a few of them would've also filled that role.

This brings up the question I have been asking almost since the Dirt Mile was created. What purpose does it serve? It doesn't determine end-of-year championships on its own because it's not a sprint and it's not a real route. What the Dirt Mile does is take horses away from both the Classic and the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

The next what-if that comes to mind is what if Joel Rosario would've rode Frosted more aggressively? Frosted spent half the year chasing American Pharoah and never finished in front of him. Of the seven horses in the race not named American Pharoah I thought for sure he would send early. What's the worst thing that could happen? You lose the race, which of course he did anyway without ever being in a winning position.

Another what-if is, what if Beholder and/or Smooth Roller were in the race? Both were capable of putting pressure on American Pharaoh early and before they were scratched they were the only two horses I thought could beat American Pharoah.

The last what-if is, what if American owners and trainers used the strategy of many of their European counterparts use and entered a rabbit to ensure a fast pace? This happens in most major stakes races in Europe and is an accepted practice. The same tactic has been used on our shores and one need look no further than the race preceding the Classic, the Breeders' Cup Turf. Shining Copper was the rabbit for Big Blue Kitten and he fulfilled his role even if his stablemate didn't win the race.

If I owned a horse in the Classic,  and he/she was an off the pace runner, I wouldn't have run my horse against the pace scenario that projected to play out. I would surely enter another horse, preferably a sprinter in and make sure he went sprint fractions to give my horse the best chance of winning and to compromise my most dangerous opponent.

What-ifs are fun to discuss but in the end they can't change what has already happened. American Pharoah ran his race and buried his competition. He was the best horse and showed that on Saturday night in Lexington but what if he had been challenged early? Perhaps he would've run an even more spectacular race or maybe he would've succumbed to the pace pressure like he did in the Travers? One can only wonder what if he came back as a four year old instead of being whisked away to the breeding shed? He is a great horse and surefire first ballot Hall-of-Famer but what if he came back next year and did what Spectacular Bid did in his four year old campaign? He would go down as one of the best of all time.

I applaud Mr. Zayat for running American Pharoah three times after winning the Triple Crown. That proposition was 1/9 to not occur but it did and hopefully more owners and trainers will reconsider keeping these special animals in the barn rather than on the track.