One of the biggest events, if not the biggest race, on Saturdays strong Stars & Stripes Festival card at Belmont Park is the Belmont Derby for 3-year-old males on the turf. And one of Saturdays four stakes at Arlington Park is the American Derby, also for 3-year-old males, and also on the turf.The American Derby has a purse one-tenth the size of the $1.25 million purse of the Belmont Derby and, at 1-1/8 miles, the American Derby is one furlong shorter than the Belmont Derby. The American Derby is also something of a means to an end. It is the local springboard to next months Secretariat Stakes. The Belmont Derby, with its outsized purse, is an end. The American and Belmont Derbies are not exactly mirror images of each other. But there are still compelling similarities between the two races.And thats the point. The Belmont Derby and American Derby are two turf stakes for 3-year-olds going long on the turf run on the same day. And yet, the Belmont Derby drew a field of 13, and the American Derby drew a field of 11. Even after you separate the wheat from the chaff, thats a lot of numbers. Who knew there were so many 3-year-old grass horses?Well, these 3-year-olds are still young, lightly raced, and full of hope. So clashing, competing stakes schedules -- not exactly a new matter -- are not quite the issue for this group that it is for other divisions which have been compromised to a greater extent by the contraction of the general pool of available race horses.Consider the older male division, and recent overlapping opportunities for this group.On June 18, the Grade 1, $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap at 1-1/8 miles was run at Churchill Downs. The Foster drew a field of seven, and was won by Bradester. Bradester, a 6-year-old, is an admirable hard hitter, and on some level, it was nice to see his persistence finally rewarded with a score in a big spot. However, in 22 prior starts over four years, Bradester had never, ever been confused with a true Grade 1 performer.One week later, on June 25, the Grade 1, $500,000 Gold Cup at Santa Anita at 1-? miles was run. The Gold Cup attracted a field of eight, and it was won by Melatonin. Before his 5-year-old season this year, Melatonin had made only two starts in stakes races, and was unsuccessful in both. But the Gold Cup was his second major victory this year; he earlier won the prestigious Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. Melatonins emergence is a welcome development regardless of the reason for it. Still, its only natural to wonder if Melatonins ascendency is due more to a weakened division lacking quality depth than to considerable improvement on his part.One week later, on July 2, the Grade 3, $300,000 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap at 1-1/8 miles was decided at Prairie Meadows. The 5-year-old Smack Smack, another one of those admirable campaigners who had previously finished third or better in 18 of 25 career starts, beat eight opponents in the Cornhusker for his first career graded stakes win. Despite having plenty of opportunity during a very active career, Smack Smack had only taken his chance in three prior graded stakes races, and never finished better than fifth in those graded stakes attempts.On Saturday, one week after the Cornhusker, two weeks after the Gold Cup at Santa Anita, and three weeks after the Foster, which represents a fast turnaround for race horses these days, one of the undercard stakes at Belmont is the Grade 2, $300,000 Suburban Handicap at 1-1/4 miles for, you guessed it, older males. The Suburban drew a field of eight, but the only previous front line race winners in it are Noble Bird, and Effinex, one of two in the Suburban making that fast turnaround from the Foster.Look, I understand racetracks are in competition with each other, and realize that one way for a track to gain a competitive upper hand is to put on a better race than its competition. Santa Anita wouldnt think twice if it were able to poach a horse from the Foster, and Belmont wouldnt shed a tear if it did the same to the Gold Cup.However, the absence of a tangible incentive for tracks to fashion more cooperative -- hey, lets make that read logical -- stakes schedules paves the way for an unappealing diet of diluted stakes events that frankly dont do the sport much good.I mean, look at the four stakes I referenced above. They all drew from the same pool of talent -- older males going nine to 10 furlongs on dirt -- and that pool is shallow this year. But even in years when there is a bit more depth to the older male division, its difficult to see the sense of four so similar stakes races run in a three week window. Not when you could have done a mash up between the Foster, Gold Cup, Cornhusker, and Suburban, and wound up with two very nice, much better races.Josh Tomlin Braves Jersey . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. John Smoltz Jersey . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. https://www.cheapbraves.com/ . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. Mark Melancon Braves Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Max Fried Jersey .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.A last-ditch appeal has failed to overturn the AFL doping bans stemming from the Essendon supplements debacle.The Swiss Federal Tribunal has ruled against the 34 current and past Bombers players who launched the appeal.They were challenging the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling in February that went against the players.It meant 17 players, including 12 at Essendon, were banned from playing this season.The appeal was the last legal step in the official anti-doping process.With the appeal over, the AFL commission can now go ahead with its landmark hearing that decides whether Essendon star Jobe Watson keeps his 2012 Brownlow Medal.Watson is one of the banned players and the supplements regime at Essendon that led to the bans operated during the 2012 season.The AFL announced the hearing after the CAS verdict in February, but postponed it until the Swiss appeal verdict.The likelihood is that the commission will take the unprecedented step of stripping Watson of his Brownlow.Richmond captain Trent Cotchin and Hawthorn veteran Sam Mitchell finished joint runners-up behind Watson in the 2012 Brownlow voting.Watson was the last of the banned players to confirm he would return to playing and he is now back at Essendon.The banned players still at AFL clubs have now returned to training, with some restrictions.When he made his announcement on September 23, Watson said he was not thinking about the prospect of losing the Brownlow.If you spend your life living in that world of speculation, you miss the moment, and Ive removed myself from it and Ive just lived in moments, and that was liberating for mme, he said.dddddddddddd(The Brownlow) doesnt define me.The AFL Players Association, Essendon and the AFL were yet to comment publicly on Tuesday night about the Swiss appeal verdict.It was immediately unclear when the commission hearing about Watsons Brownlow would now go ahead.Watson has been invited to speak to the commission.In May, AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan admitted there was a collective feeling of dread about having to make the call on Watsons Brownlow.I think the people charged with the responsibility of making that decision will not have made a more difficult decision - not just in their time in football, but almost in their lives, he said.I dont want to over-dramatise it, but that will be as hard a decision as anyone on the commission has had to make, Im sure of it.Apart from Watsons Brownlow, another issue yet to be resolved from the long-running supplements saga is the banned players negotiations with Essendon over financial compensation.The Essendon supplements saga is the biggest scandal in AFL history.Bombers coach James Hird was suspended for a season because of it.He returned to the job, but was sacked late last season.The AFL banned Essendon from playing in the 2013 finals at the same time it suspended Hird.The doping bans meant the Bombers makeshift team finished last this season.An AFL anti-doping tribunal initially cleared the 34 players after an ASADA investigation.But WADA took the case to CAS and won, leading to the Swiss appeal. 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