Potential progress

[TGJB]

Great quote from Chamblin.

http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/47337.htm

[BB]

Wow! Now THAT\'S a VP of communications!

Would love to get a hold of that survey.

[richiebee]

BB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow! Now THAT\'S a VP of communications!
>
> Would love to get a hold of that survey.


\" \'In five words, our core fans are pissed,\" Chamblin said. \"They are very
upset with us, and the intensity of their responses is very alarming to
say the least.\'\"

\"From July 2-10 of this year, interviews were conducted with about 1,200 sports
fans, 600 core racing fans and 180 industry participants.The objective of the
study, Chamblin said, was to measure the overall health of the sport.\"
[At this point I must interject and say that is like sticking a
thermometer under a corpse\'s tongue].

\"Core fans are most concerned with the use of drugs in racehorses, while casual
fans focus on equine health and safety. On both counts, perceptions are
negative.\"

Yes, BB I would also like to see the Survey, which was conducted by SocialSphere
Strategies, according to the article. I would like to see the exact wording of
the questions and I would like to know the exact demographics of the \"core\" and
the \"casual\".

Without seeing the Survey and the above mentioned components of the Survey,
I respectfully retain my right to be extremely skeptical of the results of said
Survey.

Because it would seem all to easy to create an Agenda, and then to create
a \"Survey\" in support of said Agenda. What questions were asked,and to whom? To
cite a Survey such as this, without disclosing its parameters and results in
toto, leads a skeptical mind such as mine to question the results of the
Survey.

My personal pet peeve is the dilution of the quality of Racing in the US. I
think that if there was a central body in control of Racing and Breeding we
would have a sounder more formful breed and the excess use of drugs would not
be necessary and there would be fewer catastrophic breakdowns.

I think many serious horseplayers, if asked the questions properly, would list
other issues above drugs and equine health, such as takeout and taxation issues,
rebate availability, the condition of live racing and simulcast facilities and
the treatment of customers at these facilities,transparency concerns and the
unrestricted ability to watch and wager on Racing while at home. And certainly
all of the above mentioned issues would be easier to resolve if there was a
central sanctioning body for Racing.

Certainly the \"Whales\", who may or may not be keeping Racing afloat (and will
have more of a role in keeping Racing going if the \"casual player\" (plankton?)
suddenly dissapears or limits his/her involvement due to an uncertain economy)
would list almost all of the issues mentioned in the above paragraph before
drug/health concerns.

To mix a well known literary reference and an awful pun, \"Whales weep not.\"
The breakdown of Eight Belles was tragic and didn\'t have to happen, but the
breakdowns of Pine Island and Barbaro and Go For Wand and a $2500 claimer at
Fairmount or River Downs were/are no less tragic and yet the game continues.

The drug and equine health problem is much more manageable than some of the
other issues listed above: Define the rules, enforce the rules, punish the
rule breakers severely.

[Uncle Buck]

Yes Ritchie Bee - we players do need better treatment at the  facilities. The Simulcast place in my hometown used to always ask me to leave after my sixth beer. Just because I got loud and threw chairs and intimidated my fellow gamblers? WTF?

[P-Dub]

So it was you.

[Mall]

Given TGJB\'s and this forum\'s leadership and views on cleaning up the game, there\'s no reason I can think of why TGJB shouldn\'t be literally, as well as figuratively, standing behind Alex Waldrop when the 10/15 press conference takes place in the Big Apple.

Polls can obviously be manipulated, but John Della Volpe, the guy who owns and runs SocialSphere, has been doing Harvard\'s polling for something like nine years, and conducted this poll in what certainly seemed to me to be a validly scientific manner, which included contacting a significant multiple of the number of people who are contacted to come up with the numbers you see in the political polls which are reported in major newspapers.

Of course, that didn\'t stop Mike Maloney and I from forcefully expressing the view that our experience and less scientific methods of polling, consisting of talking to serious players at tracks and otbs on an almost daily basis and reading top racing forums like this one, indicate that if anything, serious players appear to be even more \"pissed\" than Della Volpe\'s numbers indicate. In fairly short order, I think we\'re going to find out whether that anger and frustration translates into the kind of player support which is going to be essential to make the fundamental changes Waldrop is proposing a reality.

[TGJB]

Mall-- I would like to know exactly what I\'m standing behind, but I\'m interested. I suspect however that the powers-that-be might view me as a little too incendiary to be associated with directly (as oposed to behind the scenes). There is also the issue of keeping my powder dry in order to be free to take more direct action, which I am at this point pretty sure I\'m going to do if the NTRA and Jockey Club don\'t EFFECT change by next spring. I\'m thinking the Wednesday after the first Saturday in May, one track, depending on who acts and who doesn\'t.

It sounds like you are doing very good work here. I was happy to see some of the names on the Players Committee (Judy, Gupta, I think a third), but why wasn\'t yours one of them?

[Mall]

As you know, there is a virtually unlimited supply of non paid consulting positions in this industry, and assuming you\'re referring to the Horseplayer\'s Coalition, I\'m the Chairman. Since you mentioned him by name, when asked at the Marketing Summit what each of the members brought to the table so to speak, I told everyone that I was pretty sure I wouldn\'t be able to see straight before my stint was over, and Gupta was the only horseplayer I knew who was also an eye surgeon.

I too will very disappointed if concrete steps don\'t start to be taken long before the spring, but the main reason for this post is I forgot to end my original post with something which is more important than anything I did remember. I was very sad to read the news about Nick, whose opinion I respected and who always seemed to me to be the kind of guy who made everyone feel like they knew him. Everyone at Tgrah has my heartfelt condolences.

[NoCarolinaTony]

TGJB,

Well maybe they are really making progress on the issue. To me this blood doping is the hidden - rarely talked about move up performance enhancer. And it was found in Lexington Harness track no less. What I don\'t like is the culprits are still not being disclosed yet. I am sure it will scare a few guys in either harness or Thoroughbred racing.

http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/544547.html

NC Tony