Why the drop off in Triple Crown winners?

Why the drop off in Triple Crown winners?, On Thursday, Mike Repole confirmed that Uncle Mo's much-anticipated 3-year-old debut will likely be in the $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby on March 12. That will be the first of two Kentucky Derby preps for Mo, who will then be pointed toward the $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 9 at Aqueduct.

Now that we know where the Derby favorite is going, a couple interesting questions have been raised. How many horses, or probably more accurately, how few horses will show up to face him? And, if he faces what could be short fields, how tested will he be going into the Derby?

They are topics worth discussing because the likelihood that a large number of owners and trainers will be chomping at the bit to face Mo is pretty slim. Think about it this way:

You are an owner/trainer with what you think is a promising 3-year-old. Your goal is to make the Kentucky Derby, which will require a certain amount of graded earnings to qualify. How enticed would you be to show up in Tampa on March 12 to face a colt that is probably far superior to yours? And do you want to take the chance to find out when it would be just as easy to ship to Gulfstream, Oaklawn, or Fair Grounds to face more unproven challengers?

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