Pricci: Not all Listed stakes are created equal
HorseraceInsider’s John Pricci lauds the latest move by the North American International Catalogue Standards Committee (NAICSC) to conduct in-depth review of Listed stakes, an announcement he says is overdue and welcome. With the new procedure, Listed stakes will be scrutinized using the same techniques and information used during the evaluation of Graded Stakes – meaning they can be reviewed for possible downgrade and removal of Listed status.
“The better and the tighter the grading system, the better the competition participating in it will be,” says Pricci. “Improvement of the breed should not be some anachronistic quaint notion. For racing to remain viable in the eyes of the sporting public, it should always be striving for greater excellence.”
