The disconnect between the outright giddiness of slots-fuelled large purses for claiming races and economic reality has long been a bone of contention for many in the sport, me included.
If a stock has an increase in earnings, the price of it goes up. It's how the market works. Horses at a fixed cost, suddenly racing for 3X or more the claiming price, tries to put a square peg in a round hole. It turns animals into commodities, can and has attracted the lowest of the low to this business, and it should never have been allowed to happen.
Joe Drape looks at the phenomenon today in the New York Times.
People complained about the methodology of the last New York Times article, and they had a point. However, the shoot the messenger strategy with this article should not happen. This one is all on us.
Notes:
Social Media/Twitter etc are spoke about with regards to horse owners and trainers letting fans know health issues of racehorses, on HRU. Also, a couple of initiatives to make it better for bettors are suggested (page 4, PDF)
What did you know and when did you know it? Regulators look at NYRA takeout snafu.
There are those out there who judge a racetrack by its driving colony and quality of horses. I guess it depends how you keep score. Balmoral Park, the track that attracts gamblers by carding good racing at a fair price, gave out $99,000 in purses on Saturday. Yonkers, with the best horses and the best drivers, gave out $1.1 million in purses on Saturday. The handle scorecard? Balmoral $1.33 million, Yonkers, $1.19 million.
Most Trafficked, Last 12 Months
-
With the heaviest heart I am reaching out to all who are saddened by the news of Melissa's recent passing. I've seen and heard the k...
-
2024 marked the first year ever that Woodbine Entertainment did not put out a year end press release detailing their annual and year over y... -
Standardbred Canada has a poll up asking who is the greatest trotter who ever lived. These questions are fun, but really it is impossible t...
-
As most of you have heard, Charles Simon passed away yesterday at age 57 . Although a lot of you knew Chuck better than I, I still felt a s...
-
On the Harness Edge this morning, I see that there is a story up about the BCSA offering their members up for driver and trainer interviews ...
-
We'll all remember Memorial Day '24 because of the Met Mile as the day Ray Cotolo dressed up like a hot dog. Hope @RayCotolo au... -
I continue to be fascinated with both the press and general football fan reaction to the Bill Belichick 4th down decision in Sunday's ga...
-
Good day everyone! This week on Chris's podcast , I broke down how I try and do better making pick 'n' tickets today, from yeste...
2 comments:
"The handle scorecard? Balmoral $1.33 million, Yonkers, $1.19 million."
WOW..The Horseplayers are talking!
Is anybody listening?
Well, we know the Rooneys are not listening, otherwise they would have spent some of their slots money to move the judges' stand. In that way, they could move the finish line up the stretch, give the fields a better run to the first turn, and create more competitive racing.
Post a Comment