Glenn & Glenn, Part 1: Or, 'How Take the Points winning the Secretariat boosts Grand Slam of Grass'

It seems that Glenn Petty and myself have more things in common than just knowing the right way to spell our first names.

Petty, executive director of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association, was the man who posted on the VTA's blog that perhaps it's time to end the Grand Slam of Grass. He has a point that nobody seems all that interested in the series -- particularly trainers, and they're the ones who would need to care about it the most. And Petty wrote that he'd like to see the money that has been devoted to the Slam by Colonial Downs owner Jeff Jacobs instead be passed along to a race for older horses, such as the track's Kitten's Joy Stakes.

I took issue on both counts. Through the power of the Interwebs, Mr. Petty subsequently read my thoughts, then posted responses for all to see right here on Fugue for Tinhorns. And he wrote to me at even greater length privately.

"In short," Mr. Petty told me, "I was running my mouth for the sake of debate. ... So mission accomplished on that one."

And that's the other something we have in common, the desire at least to have a good discussion or debate on subjects important to horse racing. Not that any of the comments I post here are anything other than what I really believe or happen to be thinking at the time. But those thoughts could be subject to change considering I'm not privy to every piece of information when I form an initial opinion -- like, what Jeff Jacobs himself might be thinking, or what discussions are carried on behind closed doors at the VTA.

No, I'm not changing my mind about whether the Grand Slam of Grass is under-appreciated, nor about how the VTA (and the Virginia Horseman's Benevolent and Protective Association and other interested parties) need to take steps toward reviving the Old Dominion's breeding business. But it was very interesting to read Mr. Petty's responses and to understand the thought processes of himself and others, a thought process he also suggested I should feel free to share with readers here.

"Yes, a very good horse like English Channel or Kitten's Joy has a shot at the Slam, but my opinion was shaped by conversations or comments from trainers who have actually won one or both of the races (the Colonial Turf Cup-G2 and the Virginia Derby-G2)," Mr. Petty wrote to me privately. "They don't think the schedule works and most aren't looking to run a 3-year-old 12 furlongs against the best turf horses in the world (in the Breeders' Cup Turf-G1, the series' final leg)."

But crushing the training community's aversion to the series' early schedule is (or should be) Take the Points' win on Saturday in the Secretariat S.-G1 at Arlington Park. The gray colt was fourth in the Colonial Turf Cup and third in the Virginia Derby -- both won by Battle of Hastings, each time narrowly over Straight Story.

Battle of Hastings' connections, including trainer Jeff Mullins, apparently decided that 21 days just wasn't enough turnaround time for their Cal-based gelding to make the Secretariat; that the race came up "probably too soon." They waved away the chance their horse had earned at the Grand Slam's reward ($5 million in total purse winnings and bonus cash) like a calorie-conscious diner shooing a waiter who is trying to sell him on dessert. And then a horse that theirs beat twice in a row heads to Chicago in their stead, on the same schedule, and wins the Grade 1 race on which they took a pass.

Regrets, I wonder?

As for the aversion to running a 3-year-old against older horses in the Breeders' Cup Turf, I understand that isn't the simplest of tasks. Still, as I noted prior, nearly three in 10 winners of the B.C. Turf have come from the 3-year-old ranks so -- historically speaking, anyway -- had Battle of Hastings run and won in the Secretariat, Mullins and Co. would've positioned themselves for a roughly 30 percent chance of cashing that Grand Slam bonus.

Of course, it's possible that the Battle of Hastings camp doesn't believe their horse can even get the 12 furlongs of the B.C. Turf, considering the horse is sired by devout sprinter Royal Applause.

But stranger things have happened in horse racing. And taking the first two legs of a four-race bonus series then not even trying in the third (provided the horse is healthy) either because you don't really like the three-week window between races or you doubt the horse's worth in the fourth is defeatism.

Drawing wisdom from the world of golf, 100 percent of putts that are left short will never go in the hole.

Coming soon: Follow-up on Virginia's breeding industry from Glenn Petty's perspective from within and mine from, more or less, without.