WHY THE FUTURITY?

There is a lot of great racing action going on this coming weekend. The Summer Stakes (gr. III) and Natalma Stakes (gr. III) at Woodbine on Saturday. The Woodbine Mile (gr. I) and Northern Dancer Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. I) at Woodbine on Sunday. Four state-restricted stakes races at Monmouth.

Then why is it that the most notable race of the weekend is the one that's not being run?

September 18th, 2010 will be remembered by some as the day that the Futurity Stakes would have been run if it had not been canceled due to lack of funds.

We all know the shape that New York racing is in—the lack of funds, the delayed Aqueduct casino, small fields in stakes races, etc., etc. It came as no surprise that several of the Belmont’s autumn stakes races were canceled.

But why the Futurity?

The Futurity Stakes is one of the oldest races run in the United States. It has been run every year since its inaugural running in 1888 with the exception of 2001. For years, it was the most important race in the United States, even more important than the Kentucky Derby. For over sixty years its purse was larger than that of the Belmont Stakes.

The list of winners is unbelievably impressive—Man o' War, Secretariat, Citation, Affirmed, Bold Ruler, Nashua, Native Dancer, Tom Fool, Colin, Riva Ridge, Domino, Bimelech, Top Flight, Jamestown, Gulch, Forty Niner, Holy Bull, Lemon Drop Kid, Swale, Intentionally, Mother Goose, Artful, and Maskette are among the many famous horses who have etched their names into history.

However, the race has been in a decline in recent years. It is currently a grade II race, having lost its grade I status a few years ago, and the field it has been drawing has been getting less and less impressive. Also, its position on the calendar has left it more or less useless as a Breeders' Cup Juvenile prep. Scheduled seven weeks before the Breeders' Cup, the winner of the Futurity has to either come into the championship race off of a seven week layoff or run in the Champagne Stakes three weeks after the Futurity and then head to the Breeders' Cup with a four week break.

It is because of this that many of the top two year olds are running in the Hopeful Stakes (gr. I) and then awaiting the Champagne five weeks later. The timing is better, they run for more money, and both races are grade I. Who would pass up on that?

Arguably the three greatest race horses in history have won the race. Many influential sires have come out of this race. Even though the race has been struggling, it is still turning out good horses. Last year's winner, D' Funnybone, is one of the top three year old sprinters in the country. 2007 winner Tale of Ekati returned at three to win the Wood Memorial (gr. I) and Cigar Mile (gr. I) as well as to run fourth in the Kentucky Derby. 2003 winner Cuvee failed to impress at three, but has gotten off to a good start as a sire, with six stakes winners to his credit including grade I winner Noble's Promise, who won the Breeders' Futurity and finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and fifth in the Kentucky Derby.

What about Whywhywhy? The winner of the 2002 Futurity is the sire of five stakes winners, including Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Nownownow.

If that's not good enough, City Zip, who finished first in 2000 but was disqualified, scored in four stakes races the following year and placed in five others, including the King's Bishop (gr. I) and Fountain of Youth (gr. I). He has been a great success at stud, siring twenty stakes winners including the undefeated grade I winner Bustin Stones.

I'm having trouble seeing why a race of the caliber was canceled, when there were several other options for saving money that could have saved the race. For example, the purse of the Jockey Club Gold Cup could have been cut to a "meager" $500,000. That $250,000 purse cut could have been used as the purse for the Futurity.

Or perhaps some other stakes races could have been canceled. I have a feeling that fewer people would miss the Ashley T. Cole Stakes, with its $100,000 purse, or the $125,000 Hudson Stakes. Canceling those races would help pay to keep the Futurity alive.

Perhaps the race will be returned next year. If so, it would keep its grade II status and would have a chance at surviving. If not, it will join races like the Garden State Stakes, Pimlico Futurity, Laurel Futurity, Lawrence Realization Handicap, and Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap, forever famous yet rarely remembered.

-Keelerman