Ghostzapper to skip Suburban

Trainer Bobby Frankel said reigning Horse of the Year GHOSTZAPPER (Awesome

Again) came out of his sparkling 6 1/4-length victory in Monday's Metropolitan

H. (G1) in good order, but will likely pass on the $500,000 Suburban H. (G1) on

July 2.

"He looks good and he's eating good, but I want to give him a little more

time because he ran so hard," Frankel said. "The Suburban would be coming back

soon after he just had a long layoff. I want to do the best thing for the

horse."

Prior to the Met Mile, Ghostzapper was last seen winning the Breeders' Cup

Classic (G1) at Lone Star Park last October.

Frankel believes that horses in general are running faster now than in

previous decades and that is one reason why they can't make as many starts.

"It's not the weakening of the breed," he said. "Horses are running faster

now than they were 20 years ago. If you look at sheet numbers back then, horses

like Seattle Slew ran 7s. Horses run so fast now they're here and gone."

The Hall of Fame trainer also thinks the racetracks are faster now compared

to years past.

"In the old days the tracks used to have a 2 1/2-inch cushion, now they have

a 4-inch cushion," Frankel said. "The horses are running faster and that's why I

can't come back and run him too often. They're running so fast they're legs

can't handle it. The faster they go, the better chance they have of getting

hurt. It's simple physics."

The only think that upset Frankel about the Met Mile was the lack of national

television coverage.

"You've got the best horse you've had in the last 20 years running around

here and you don't have it on television," said Frankel, who added that the TV

schedule for Ghostzapper's future appearances is lacking. "The Woodward ([G1] on

September 10) isn't even on television. The Whitney (H. [G1] on August 6) in on

ESPN2 the next day.

"He's the best horse in America and nobody knows about it. If you're not a

hard-core bettor, you don't know who he is. I know he doesn't run that often,

but if he runs three more times this year, those races should be on TV. This

horse should have a huge fan following."