Sea of Stars Retires

This second blog pst is about the recent retirement of Sea of Stars, just one of the great horses that are (or, in his case, was) racing this year. Just two weeks ago, Sea of Stars powered to a 2-length victory in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, a top race in France and otherwise known as the Arc. With his Arc win, Stars was undefeated this season and one six straight group 1 races. Speculation continued that Stars may have been the greatest horse of all time and that he was sure to head to the Breeders' Cup on November 8th. But then came a shocking decision. Sea of Stars would retire to stud immediately. And not because he was injured. Today I read this blog post about a few of the things Stars' owners and trainer said about his retirement. I completely agree with the writer of the post.

Horse racing fans are not stupid. We don't like to lose the horses we root for and we definitely don't like to lose them for a reason as stupid as "we don't want him to get beat so we're just not going to race him anymore. Sure, he's in as good a shape as ever, we just don't want to run him." Look at Curlin. Look at Rachel. Look at Zenyatta. Probably three of the greatest horses of this decade. And you know what? Curlin went on to race at 4. Rachel may be out for now, but at least her owner has a very valid reasoning for it and she's coming back next year. Zenyatta is already 4, undefeated, and she's going to the Breeders' Cup. I could sit here for an hour listing all the great champions that people remember because they didn't retire early. They stepped up to the challenge and went on.

One moment, Oxx is saying, “It would be unfair to Sea the Stars to run him in the Breeders' Cup.”

How is it unfair? Is it unfair to ask him to face the greatest horses in the world? Is it unfair to ask him to race on Santa Anita's track? If he's healthy, strong, loves to run, and isn't going to be affected by the long trip from France to California, then how exactly is it unfair?

This is why horse racing is not the great sport it could be. Because money has become such a deciding factor, it's no longer about the horse. It's no longer about a great horse proving him or herself. It's about how much that horse is going to make.