On One Item There's Agreement

Exercise: Put a horseman group dude, a track exec and a horseplayer together on a sunny day and ask them "how's the weather".

You'll likely get three answers.

One issue where I find complete agreement is on the super, duper, holy smokes this is impossible, trainers.

Tampa Bay Downs today announced they had a handle drop - the first one I can remember in over a decade. That track is one of the true success stories, going from short fields and crazy-high takeout, to one of the better tracks for players in the country. This season they did have Gulfstream against them, and TVG wasn't carrying any water. There was a signal fee hike apparently as well.

However, for anyone who played Tampa, there was a presence in the races that was virtually unbeatable, trainer Jamie Ness. (He is alluded to in the first comment in the DRF story).

Leaving all the Ness rumor aside (and that's what it all is, rumor), these trainers can really screw things up for bettors. 3-5 shots in a race, where the horse on paper does not look like a bet at even 2-1, but wins at a 55% clip, gets old really fast. 3-5 shots in a pile of races where you know you are probably not getting the best of it betting it, or betting against it, gets old really fast. 3-5 shots in a race make you, me and everyone else think about turning the page.

The tracks hate it, and players hate it.

Horsemen? Well, for once, we have a trifecta of agreement. You get your horse ready all month, and you have him primed to go. Your owners are excited and so are you. You can pay the feed man, the gas bill and have a nice meal with a win. Then you open up the entries to see who you're against. That win picture might have just turned into a second place check, and there's nothing you can do about it. It annoys you and your owners royally.

I'm not smart enough to know what to do with these issues, that's for sure. However, when three stakeholders are on the same page, maybe it's something that can be fixed, or improved.