Thursday Thanksgiving Post, Kind Of

Another Thanksgiving is upon us. This holiday is a weird one for me, like most of them. I work with US and Canadian companies. I don't seem to get the day off in two countries. Cry me a river.

What I do want to do, though, is wish all my US horse racing friends a very happy Thanksgiving. It truly is a wonderful holiday.

Off we go.......

- I am not sure horseplayers realize it a lot of the time, but we're dealing with horses, not a souped-up NASCAR. When a horse shows signs of not racing well, or is off form or worse, we think the trainer has all the answers. Sometimes we label the horse a slug because it runs a couple of bad races, or Beyer figs.

Al Stall mentioned this about Appealing's return win at Churchill:

•  “That was the most nerve-wracking win I’ve had in two years, it seems like — the fact that something happened to her that we can’t figure out,” he said. “I didn’t know what to expect."

This happens more often than not. The conspiracy types - most who left horse racing and are at the slot parlor anyway - seem to think trainers are Nostradamus, but they're not. They aren't trying to put one over on anyone - sometimes they are just stumped.

- I have had several conversations with people in Ontario about horse racing of late. The current narrative from some is all about getting slots back, and keeping the status-quo. "If only we fight" many seem to say. Perhaps they are correct, but Rod Seiling, the Chair of the ORC, seems to wants to quell that thinking. Yesterday in a notice to the industry:

•  To be blunt, the Panel and Minister McMeekin have “won”, as it relates to the horse racing file. As the result will mean less racing in Ontario, I acknowledge it is not what you hoped for.

He also notes it's time to "stop throwing hand grenades". I feel horse racing should heed his advice, and the advice is sound.

- Thanksgiving pop quiz!

Question: What do horseplayers, trainers, drivers and industry insiders agree on?

a) Peyton Manning is an ok quarterback
b) The sky is blue
c) Somebeachsomewhere is a pretty decent sire
d) None of the above

The answer is d), which makes the Odds on Equules decision even more curious. Out of 24 comments on the Standardbred Canada site - from trainers, drivers, insiders and horseplayers - 24 disagree with the call. 

Crowdsourcing is a good way to come up with an opinion. If crowdsoucing is right, the Kentucky Commission better reverse this call.

-  What do you get when you cross Baffert, Joe Drape, Todd Pletcher and a few others? A fake Facebook chat that's what.

- Horseplayer Lenny Moon asks a great question.

• Horseplayers should not have to maintain a comprehensive database of takeout rates for themselves but for now that is all we have.

The industry has always - and I mean always - tried to run their business through hoodwink. We need a change in that mindset.

- One thing we can all agree what we are thankful for in racing: The Horse. I try and give each year to a horse related charity. I will again this year. Without horses there is no horse racing, and we need to ensure they're taken care of.

Have a great day everyone.