Just thinking...
Reading about this proposed proportional payout makes me pause.
So, zipping up the flame suit & thinking out loud...
It seems now that a 3D horse will most likely become the high money earner at these races. Maybe I'm still in the "old school" mentality but I believe a horse outrunning 300+ entries should be rewarded for doing so. I'm not berating the 2D, 3D, 4D and so on-it's just that the 1D placing horses are the only ones, in my opinion that earn their position that day. All others are more dependent on that thing we call LUCK. Not saying the 2/3/4/5/D didn't work as hard or deserve it, but something came in to play to determine their placing that day more so than talent, speed or whatever. It is something that no one has any control over. Luck plays a part in every division, but it seems more so after the 1D.
I've heard all the arguments against graduated payout.
The entries would not be as large without the lower Ds entries & so the 1D would not have as much money in the pot. True, but years ago the lower D entries had no opportunity at all to run at the kind of payout available these days.
I know it costs the same to feed, enter & haul the “4D” horse as it does the “1D.” But the 1D horse is at the top of his AND everyone else's game. There are many, many that will never be, can never be a 1D. But that is the beauty of the 4/5D format, there is a place for every one to do the best he can do. And, hopefully get financial reward with the satisfaction of doing your best.
Yes, there are usually less 1D entries than any other division, but generally receive the largest share of the pot. That is self explanatory. The top is always the hardest to achieve yet should be the most sought after. That is why the 1D should be something to aim towards. The 1D winner is the horse that determines where everyone else places. Why would you want to penalize that competitor for being better than the average? What happens when that spectacular run is made, setting it apart from the field & only a few qualify for the 1D. That run will be severely penalized because so few fees will be put in the division.
With this payout, I wonder if some of the top horses will begin to go elsewhere. Remember, the caliber of the 1D determines all other Ds.
I worry that no longer will the goal be to be the fastest but to be lucky enough to fall into that D that the majority of all the entries fell into. Fell into due to that one run in the 1D. And that run probably won't even make the most money that day.
You might think I have these thoughts because I’m a 1D barrel racer and you would be wrong. It would hurt to see a horse/rider combination put together a one in a million run or to have that once in a lifetime horse and not be rewarded for it as much as the team that was “lucky enough to make a mistake” and be the high money earner for the race. I still believe in competition.
However, I applaud Destry and the Winmore crew for trying something new. Barrel racing is evolving. This may be the way of the future. I’m afraid we may lose sight of the purpose of competition, trying to be the best we can be.
Like I said, I was “just thinking.”
