Doubling the Time and Some Good Writing

The appeals process in racing is an area that I know the business would like to change. Driver/jock gets days, driver/jock appeals days, driver/jock takes days when he is vacationing in the Bahamas - that's the way it generally works. The Kentucky commission did something today, albeit small. They doubled the days for Calvin Borel for a riding infraction from 3 to 6 days.

"We're trying to put a stop to these frivolous appeals," [Commission exec director Lisa] Underwood said.

The judges are convenient whipping boys in this. However, appeals cost money and they have to be sure there will not be one. I would submit if a panel is created who judges that an appeal is obviously frivolous (throw a couple of bettors on there, not insiders who go to Thanksgiving dinner with the participants), then the appealant will have to pay for the proceedings and have his days at least doubled, to be served immediately. Workable? I don't know.

Cangamble has an excellent summation on how bettors have changed over the years, how there is less dumb money, and how rebates (arguably the life preserver of bettors) are slowly being phased out. The premise being, that the quest to take more of a shrinking pie, shrinks the pie even more. It was a good read.