During his post-Belmont Stakes interview, California Chrome's co-owner Steve Coburn attacked the Triple Crown system in a rather heated, but accurate, tirade.
While most sports fans will probably just stick fingers in their ears and shout, "SORE LOSER! SORE LOSER!", they'd be completely missing the point.
Belmont Stakes
Coburn isn't a sore loser. Sure, he's disappointed that his horse missed a chance to make history, but he's also correct about the fact that the system punishes a horse for trying to win a Triple Crown. It's clearly rigged against a horse being able to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Derby. Perhaps that's the point, but there's also no doubt Coburn is on to something.
There's something to be said about one horse being asked to race three huge races in just over a month, while other horses are allowed to rest, and then enter the next race as a challenger. The idea of the horses that enter the Kentucky Derby being the only ones eligible to run in the next two Triple Crown races is a really great idea.
Calling it "a coward's way out" may not help his cause, but there's no doubt that the Triple Crown system needs to be reviewed, and possibly tweaked.