There should be very little sympathy for those railing against the downgrading of the Wood Memorial, Blue Grass, and Mother Goose on the list for 2017 released this week by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. To take offense at such perceived slights is to admit that you take the list seriously in the first place.But people do, and to cop an attitude tends to bring civilized discussion to an abrupt halt. Unfortunately, the deeply flawed but thoroughly institutionalized system of grading races has become so badly misinterpreted and misused that to nitpick at this point about a trio of iconic events seems a sad waste of time.So, lets waste some time together.When pressed, proponents of the system describe it as the best bad solution to what is a necessary categorization of the races most American owners, breeders, trainers, and jockeys would prefer to win anyway, graded or not.A search of the TOBA website will take the enterprising reader to a page entitled Explanation of Grading System Workbook. I wont dwell on specifics other than to note once again that three-quarters of the data helping to determine the grading of races are derived from the performances of horses in races already graded by the American Graded Stakes Committee.Embarrassed by this admission of a closed informational loop, the website offers an apology, sort of:? the Committee recognizes that these measurements tend to support the self-perpetuation of graded events, an effect that can compromise the evaluation process while magnifying the consequences of all grading decisions. Ya think?The fourth leg of data is comprised of Timeform-style performance ratings (NARC Rates). Numbers gleaned from the Thoro-Graph handicapping figures also are considered. Again, the site feels compelled to equivocate:? the Committee recognizes that NARC Rates are wholly dependent on the fallible methods and art of a small group of racing professionals.In the end, the industry is given reassurance that the 11 members of the American Graded Stakes Committee are wise and just and true, and that the grading process must finally depend on the integrity, experience, and judgment of the Committee members themselves.So, there you go. Faulty data in, faulty data out, leaving it to the 11 people who this time around decided that the Mother Goose, Wood Memorial, and Blue Grass were no longer to be considered among Americas elite events. Eight votes are required to elevate a race in graded rank, while only six are necessary for demotion.Those currently on the committee include its chairman, Dr. J. David Richardson, a Louisville surgeon; Reynolds Bell Jr., of Reynolds Bell Thoroughbred Services in Lexington; Everett Dobson, part owner of the NBAs Oklahoma City Thunder; Barbara Banke, owner of Stonestreet Farm; Craig Bernick, president of Glen Hill Farm; J. Michael OFarrell, owner of Ocala Stud, and five racing department heads -- Martin Panza (NYRA), Tom Robbins (Del Mar), Rick Hammerle (Santa Anita), Georganne Hale (Maryland Jockey Club), and Ben Huffman (Churchill Downs).Any time spent in a room with these industry heavyweights would be a treat. Pity them for their task, however, as they wade through a mountain of dicey data whose only purpose seems to be self-justification. Integrity and wisdom go only so far in the face of such a daunting challenge. As a result ?Races are graded backward but penalize forward. The system trashes the histories of respected events while failing to take into consideration the modern shift in stakes-horse management. No fewer than 16 of the 107 Grade 1 ratings for 2017 are wasted on Triple Crown and Breeders Cup events, as if we need to be told. The graded race system meddles in the business of racetracks by imposing purse requirements, just as graded designations are put to all manner of uses for which they were not intended.The graded race system also has rewarded a racetrack for paying appearance fees to select owners and trainers above and beyond purse money. Hello, brand-new Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby, with your noncompetitive September date and your $50,000 bonuses to participating owners and trainers whose horses have won the Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Haskell, or Travers.It is no surprise that the Blue Grass and the Wood Memorial have had depth-of-quality issues in recent years. The maniacal rush to make the Kentucky Derby field has diluted all the major 3-year-old races of the late winter and early spring, now clustered in a window four, five, or six weeks in advance of the first Saturday in May.The fate of the Wood is a direct result of Gulfstreams intense competition for the best of the Eastern colts, and its earlier date puts bad Northeastern weather more often into play. As for the Blue Grass, Keeneland made its own bed by temporarily surrendering its marquee event to the Polytrack experiment. Recovery is still in progress.The American Graded Stakes Committee would like to believe that its ratings are without consequences, that they are merely a dispassionate recognition of the facts on the ground. In reality, its decisions reverberate throughout the game.In 2016, both the Wood and the Blue Grass were worth $1 million and presented on the same day. What would the committee have them do to improve their product and regain the Grade 1 status their history merits? More money? More incentives?Or perhaps move them to September. China Cheap Jerseys . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Cheap Wholesale Jerseys . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. http://www.wholesalejerseys.info/ . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. Cheap Jerseys From China . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. NFL Cheap Jerseys . LUCIE, Fla. Sri Lanka Cricket has suspended batsman Kithuruwan Vithanage from all forms of the game for one year for his part in a public brawl in Colombo. In a hearing conducted on June 16, SLCs disciplinary committee found Vithanage guilty of misconduct and in breach of the ICC code of conduct.The suspension not only makes Vithanage ineligible for international and Sri Lanka A team cricket, he is also unable to represent his club - Tamil Union - in the Premier tournaments, and is barred from any provincial tournaments in the coming domestic season. SLCs severity on this occasion is a reflection of existing displeasure at Vithanages conduct. In September 2014, Vithanage was docked his full match fee and handed a suspended sentence of one year after leaving the team hotel overnight in the middle of a Test match he was playing. It is understood that at least two other breaches of conduct had been dealt with informally.In this case, SLC said its disciplinary committee waas presented with written and oral evidence from witnesses to the incident in question and Vithanage was invited to present similar evidence in his defence.ddddddddddddAfter a closed hearing, and in consideration of the evaluation of the evidence presented, the Disciplinary Committee has recommended an immediate suspension, specifically drawing attention to the fact that the conduct of Vithanage is unacceptable when considering his status as a public figure, and a role model for the youth of Sri Lanka. Vithanage can appeal the decision.He last played for Sri Lanka during the tour of New Zealand in December and January, but his modest returns on that tour had seen him drop out of contention for national selection. Vithanage, 25, has scored 370 runs at an average of 26.42 in ten Tests, and has also played six ODIs and three T20Is. 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