No trainer can possibly know on Derby Day whether his horse is going to be ready for the Preakness and the Belmont. Why would you want a requirement that encourages owners and trainers to run animals that are not sound in every way?
The Belmont is one of the premier races of the season. Are you going to cancel it because it is quite possible that no entry will have raced in the Derby and Preakness?
To be blunt, I think there is far too much hype surrounding the Triple Crown, aimed mainly at a public that doesn't follow racing year-round. To me, the Breeders Cup races are more meaningful.
Or more commonly, that a different horse won each?
Carton is trying to make a new kind of competition she thinks sounds good, but it's not what the TC was ever meant to be. Nor does it sound all that interesting to see the same horses run three times.
What no one on this thread has done is address my central point.
All horses must carry the same weight? Why? To make everything even.
IF the schedule is part of the test... then why should some horse get to skip that part?