JB--
The free WC sheets would be a lovely gesture,yet another marketing coup,and
Saturday looks to be a nice way of wrapping up winter racing coupling the
Sheikh MO Show in the morning and the Fla Derby, which is traditionally
surrounded by an entertaining undercard, in the afternoon.
Thats the good news. The bad news can be described with one four letter
abbreviation: NYRA. Based on this past 12 weeks, the long term NYRA franchise
extension is looking every bit as ill advised and undeserved as the Merrill
Lynch and AIG bonus payouts. Lets review NYRA\'s first quarter of 2009:
1) Ten horses have suffered fatal breakdowns in calendar year 2009 during the
races. Of course we have no way of knowing how many horses were euthanized or
suffered career ending injuries during morning training hours (And let\'s be
honest-- a career ending injury to a thoroughbred in the wrong hands is akin to
a life threatening injury). Zada Belle suffered a serious injury during the
running of last Saturday\'s Distaff and hopefully the vets at Rood and Riddle
will be able to save her.
2) Possibly related to 1) above, the quality of racing has been abysmal this
winter, with races written for $7500 claimers, $10,000 claimers and Maiden
$15,000 claimers.
3) Short fields, coupled with a dominant rider, seem to leave very few value
opportunities.
4) Slots, and the long awaited renovation of the dilapidated Aqueduct facility,
keep on slipping into the future.
This is not to say that winter racing has been noteworthy on other fronts.
Oaklawn is a bright spot. Fair Grounds always seems to have bad luck
weatherwise and still runs far too many state bred races. As Michael D. and
others have pointed out Gulfstream has put on a good meet, but the Hallandale
facility\'s future is uncertain due to Magna\'s financial problems.
Back to NYRA, there is really not enough hue and cry about the sad state of
affairs at Ozone Park, and the quality of Saratoga racing seems to diminish
each summer,such that Spa racing looks more and more like downstate racing each
year. I believe there would be more scrutiny of NYRA\'s performance by a certain
major racing publication were it not for the close relationship between the
publisher of said publication and the CEO of NYRA.
I care about horses. I care about Racing. I will not be betting NYRA this
Saturday. I am far from a whale, but I will choose to spend my wagering dollars
at the facilities which are trying to put on good racing. If we all keep
betting the NYRA product, no matter how dismal it gets, change for the better
will not be forthcoming.
So JB, thanks again for the forum. You have chided me recently about my alleged
and purported recreational drug use, allegations which I shall neither confirm
nor deny. You also seem to think that I aspire to publish my rants and musings
to a larger audience, but this certainly is not the case; it would be enough
for me to get a few people higher up in Racing\'s food chain to realize the
necessity of maintaining and improving the quality of Racing, and most
importantly, preserving the health and well being of thoroughbreds.
