Throw Out the Life Preserver

Andrew Cohen of CBS/60 Minutes wrote an opinion piece at The Atlantic today regarding the events of the past week in horse racing. It remains to be seen if the jeers will outnumber the cheers because it is a very tough, no nonsense missive; but it is well-thought out and very well written.

This is certainly not 2013, where we saw a muted, often times apologetic reaction to the New York Times Joe Drape story on breakdowns. There - as Cohen calls them, even by name through linking in the piece - the apologists held a strong upper hand. Now, it's much more than that. As an industry person said last week "this has legs". He is looking to be correct.

One part of the Cohen piece that strikes to the core (for me at least) is his talk about the "middle". These are your average, every day folk who like working with animals, who do the right thing; who are just trying to make a living in a sport they truly enjoy. If something comes out of this episode, they will be the ones most affected; and not in a good way.  As one of my all time favorite, short, business related blog posts said regarding things like this, "Every revolution destroys the average middle first and most savagely."

Despite your views on this matter, Andrew's article is worth a read.