Monday, December 29, 2008

Damn the Torpedoes

The local horseman association here in Ontario called for a boycott of the box at Woodbine because of the lack of a racing contract. It appears that the sticking point is the fact that Woodbine can use their private property rights to exclude, or put restrictions on trainers and/or owners who they deem are bad for their business.

The horseman's executive seems to have thought this a good idea, but the rank and file have spoken against them. Woodbine received over 90 entries today for the 'supposed' boycotted card. There will be racing on January 1st.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well if they run tonight I'll throw my support behind them. My method will be betting Mark McDonald till he has a winner. Hopefully it will be Urban Rainforest in the 2nd.
I don't have a program so maybe you could tell me where those Buter horses have been running.
RG

Pull the Pocket said...

Hey RG,

Buters horses have been in the Niagara here the last couple of times. They were from BLMP before that.

Anonymous said...

The one thing which should be non-negotiable is the rule of exclusion; that should be up to the track to decide who is welcome and who is not. Certain racing commissions such as NJ can't be trusted with banning 'undesirables'; the tracks need to be able to protect their interest and the interest of horsemen in general who will not police thier own. That being said, the track should be required to cite an instance where the horseman's activity in the past necesitates their banning (criminal conviction, fines, suspensions, etc.). They should not be allowed to ban a horseman because they are a leader of a horsemen's organization and the like.

Let's assume the horsemen boycott the entry box. I assume the slots stay open. Lay off the racing office staff, tellers (assuming simulcasting stops) and the track probably will come out ahead in the long run. Who is hurting who?

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