As the Kids Say, Harness Racing - SMH

You've seen and heard some of the reversals in the sport of harness racing the past week. Some of those things are head scratchers and continue to be. They just seem to continue.

This was a letter to the editor in harness racing update today from a USTA Director:

So, harness horses - who race weekly - who are off two months, should be entered off no qualifier.  And if you don't like what you see - silly things like form - you should not bet.

In a sport where people are already taking her up on that, it's probably not wise.

This shows the massive disconnect between the people who bet a billion or more a year and the people in power. A race is not a horse, it is a collection of horses, which make up a probability of victory array. If you don't allow bettors to have an idea what form a horse is in, the whole array is turned on its ear. I mean, seriously, this is basic stuff.

If someone in the Thoroughbreds asked for a rule like this, well, sheesh. Hey bettor, here's a MSW with horses with no works in sixty days. There's a few 40 second breezes on the horses from this spring,so that should be enough. If you don't like what you see, don't bet! We might see a Korean-like riot.

Harness racing has been increasingly small tent. Small yearling buyers are almost non-existent, bettors are leaving almost daily. Yet again and again, we see not only a lack of direction, but sometimes a reversal of things that could help.

I understand everyone who is upset about the sports' direction of late, and I share your concerns. It just feels like the car is not going quick enough over the cliff for some people, and they're stepping on the accelerator. It's frustrating, it's maddening, and the worst part, there is nothing anyone can do about it.