Triple Crown debates

Warning:  burro racing specific so this might be of interest to Justin, but probably not Jeff.

Lot of discussion (some would call a debate, some would go so far to call it donkudrama) at the WPBA meeting last night about the Triple Crown.  For some historical perspective:

On the men’s side (if you think there ought to be a men’s side and a women’s side, more on that in a bit), the TC is pretty simple to understand.  Win the long races at Fairplay, Leadville, and BV (although there is no real long course at BV at this point).

At the core of last night’s discussion, were a few questions.  First, Leadville Boom Days Race Director Dave TenEyck put forth the proposal that the Triple Crown for women be determined from the top woman and burro at the Fairplay long course, the top woman at the BV race and the winner of the woman’s race at Leadville.  The woman’s race at Leadville is not the open course that goes to Mosquito Pass but instead a shorter run around Ball Mountain. 

Fairplay has a long course (29 miles) and a short course (15 miles).  BV has a single course (11 miles) but has had a long course in the past.  Leadville has an open course (20 miles) that both men and women can participate in and no short course but rather a women’s course (15 miles) that men are not to do.  So that complicates Dave’s proposal because there is division in the WPBA on whether Leadville should do away with the concept of a woman’s course, and just go long and short (without caring about gender).

Further wrinkling the issue is the question for some if there should be a man’s Triple Crown winner and a Woman’s Triple Crown winner.  At current there is such a distinction, but there are those who think it should be the winner of all the races, regardless of the gender.  Apparently it has been a single winner in the past.

Interestingly, there is really no debate on the consideration of men versus women in any one race.  If a woman wins, she wins.  If a man wins he wins.  If the woman gets second, she is second and the next person is third.  It pretty much reflects that the community recognizes that it is a fairly even playing field out there with a burro, and it is more about the burro versus the gender of the racer.

Then of course, circling back, which races?  Is it the long races at each of these events?  Well if that is the case, there is no long race (at current) at BV.

There is a whole bunch of history around this and thus some folks being a bit irked on the topic.  There were cases where the first woman at Fairplay then raced the long race at Leadville, but was considered not the Triple Crown winner because she did not do the woman’s course.

Underlying all this is a larger question:  does the desires of the WPBA drive what the RDs do at each of the races or vice versa? 

Confused?  Yup.  And well, let’s not forget, the donkeys really don’t care. 

My nickel for those that have played this far along:
1.)  Keep it simple. 
2.)  Have a TC for women and men.
3.)  Look for ways to involve people in the sport, and use the TC as a carrot to do that.

I’d prefer it to be all long course based, but that is less important to me.  Create a Triple Crown story that is simple for folks (the people drawn into the towns) to understand, seems fair and equitable, and draws people into the sport.   Right now, it seems that winning the Triple Crown is complicated, and mired in conversations that the casual observer wouldn’t understand.  That does not benefit the sport.

I’d probably go so far to say that it would make sense to have a TC possibility across the long and the short across both genders, meaning you could have four in a year, but that might actually go to a bit more complicated. 

I’d probably look to have Leadville eliminate the concept of a women’s course, and instead have a long and a short as that would allow men who want to do the short course to do that.  That draws more folks potentially into the sport as well.   At the same time, I recognize that the sovereignty of the respective RDs should be strongly considered.  These are volunteers after all.

I also understand that these sort of decisions could create some shifts in the prize money structure, but … okay, that is fine with me.  We are not talking about tens of thousands of dollars here for the TC winner.  It has been a 500 dollars savings bond and frankly if it were zero, I’d be fine with that.  It is pretty clear that the money in pack burro racing is not the primary draw for the people who do it anyway. 

Nothing was really decided last night at the WPBA other than to bring it a vote to the broader organization.  More to come. Regardless of the outcome, I don’t see it changing anything for me and enjoying a day in the mountains with a burro.  After all, the donkey really don’t seem to care.