26 Goal Finale

Twenty six goal polo is coming to an end. Plans were made last fall by the United
States Polo Association to lower the tournament handicap to 22 goals in an effort to
attract more teams for next year. As American polo continues to struggle only four
teams are competing in the Whitney Cup. The Wednesday double header has Grand
Champions vs. Colorado and Valiente vs. Racing Form. The winners advance to the
finals on Sunday March 4 th .

The second 26-goal event is the Gold Cup. It will get underway on March 7 th . Very
few teams are expected to enter. Last year saw just four teams competing with
Valiente taking home the cup after beating Coke 9-6.
The prestigious US Open will wrap up the winter season. It will be the final time the
Open will be played at the 26-goal level. The last time the Open was played at a
lower level was during the 1970s, just before the invasion of the Argentine pros.

Many argue that the handicap change alone will not make any difference. There
needs to be an aggregate limit on any two pros on each 22-goal team next year. For
example; the two best players ratings can only ad up to 16. That would spread out
the 9 and 10 goal players and give more teams a better chance to hire top pros and
increase their odds of winning.

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