A picture is worth a few words I hear, and these ones sure do(note they are not overly nice pictures of the neglected horses in New York). I am a bit of a sucker for taking care of horses that we bring into this world for our own financial gain. Not to mention I am an animal person (I think what very little TV I watch is dominated by Dogtown and the Dog Whisperer on Natgeo TV), so these things really bother me. I am also a realist and know that we can not take care of every horse out there, everywhere. But there has to be a better way.
George Will (h/t to Equidaily) has a piece on government intervention and the transfer of wealth to businesses who can not make it on their own, in which he includes horse racing.
Rampant redistribution of wealth by government is now the norm. So is this: This redistribution inflames government's natural rapaciousness and subverts the rule of law. This degeneration of governance is illustrated by the Illinois legislature's transfer of income from some disfavored riverboat casinos to racetracks.
On knowing who you are, what you have and appreciating it, how about golfer Kenny Perry yesterday in interviews? He just collapsed to lose the Masters at age 48. He has never won a major championship either. When asked how he is going to deal with the loss, he said "If this is the worst thing that can happen to me in life, I have had a pretty good life." I mention this because on Saturday I was watching Ramegade Bruiser win the Spring Pacing Championship. The Bruiser is owned by a small timer, and small time racing family. They purchased him for $3500 at a sale, and now he is the leading money winner in harness racing in 2009. I am sure they appreciate every day what they have and realize how fortunate they are. Looking at the beaming winners circle photo you see that.
I had a pick 4 going at Oaklawn Park last week. I had six horses in the last leg and it was not paying too badly on a couple of them. Right on cue a 75-1 shot takes the lead (who I do not have), and he looks good in the lane. Worried, I see that another horse is flying on the outside to bail me out (after all I have 90% of the other horses on my ticket). Who is it? A 45-1 shot I do not have. I could not even cheer. Those two came one-two, and I am sure I was not the only one who said "I should have taken an all" after that race.
Most Trafficked, Last 12 Months
-
Auckland Reactor is coming to the US from New Zealand and he landed in the barn of the very sharp Kelvin Harrison. I don't think many w...
-
Have you seen the RCI's recent push to change the narrative on drugs and racing? The story they tell is accurate, and has been for some...
-
Elmer Patzer walked up to a betting machine and started popping in tickets to see if he won. All of a sudden, whamo, he cashed for $6.5 mill...
-
Yesterday on twitter there was a conversation about why some people are withholding money from Keeneland this meet. A simple question, with...
-
Back in the early 1990's I got my first real job. I was a pretty much an office gofer for a mining consortium. One day a gentleman cam... -
Horses opening with 10k to win on them, at smaller venues lately? I have not been playing too seriously the past two days, however I did che...
-
Every time I flip on twitter someone is annoyed that NBC is tape delaying some of the events for prime time television. Columnists have join...
-
Canterbury Park - the small Minnesota track that lowered takeout last year, only to raise it this season - concluded their meet recently. Th...
-
Good morning folks. On Awful Announcing, columnist Matt Zemek tore a hide off ESPN for what he thinks is the dumbing down of tennis cover...
2 comments:
re Pick 4 - exactly why you need Betfair in the US so you can hedge in the last leg and come out a winner whichever way!
Despite the realism of the world, how can this man let horses get to that state and then have the audacity to say it was no fault of his.
Sometimes SPCA "police" are known to be a bit overzealous but in this case it certainly seems this "fill in the blank with a bad word of your choice" hardly provided even a minimum of care to animals in his charge.
Book 'em Dano.
Post a Comment