Good Retirement Initiative & Hailing the Grey

"Dignity After Racing" is launched for our retired harness racing pals. They are bred by us, and taking care of them, since they allow the participants in our sport to earn a living, seems like a no-brainer. However, (although I have not many anyone who thinks horses are expendable after they stop racing) we do not spend enough taking care of them.

"An Organization of horsemen, breeding farms, racing centers, and horse lovers devoted to seeing these wonderful horses that so many of us benefit from have a life of dignity and love after their racing, breeding or days behind a buggy have come to an end." says the mission statement.

That's good news. The participants need to help, and many of them do, but the more we can get to jump on board, the better.

I have always wondered why we have not done more in this genre. With the slots money coming in, why didn't we allow for a very small slice to go to retirement? In Ontario a portion of wagering goes to it, but in many jurisdictions with slots, nothing does. A lot of it goes to breeding, which is fine, but when I think of stories like Pickle, who was born to be sold as a racehorse yearling, but had a facial deformity and ended up one step from death at a meat sale, it frankly, makes me mad.

Can we not do something to fund an initiative? Drivers/jocks and breeding farms make their money by breeding and sitting on and behind them. Can a small slice be preserved for the horses to make sure they are taken care of later? We can't save every horse, but we can save some.

Since I am fired-up, as I usually am on this issue, and I have so many east coasters visiting here (the east coast is a harness racing hotbed, as you can see here, for those who do not know), can I share a story?

A place with a big heart and who I have fostered for is called Beagle Paws. Beagles are great pets. They have a dog that needs a little help. He has a really bad disc condition and he is a rescue from hunters. You can see how bad he was here in November:



After some care he has blossomed:



But he needs surgery so if you click the above link and want to help you can.

The province of Newfoundland has some laws that are old and out of date on animal protection. These dogs are used for hunting and can be pretty much thrown away if they are not good hunters (some of the dogs Beagle Paws have rescued there were found abandoned on the side of the highway). Ads like this in a local paper are completely fine (from their website):

"I am looking for an excellent hunting dog, I don't want JUNK. Will pay right price for a really good Beagle.
If you got JUNK I don't want it."

Talking about a dog like he is a piece of junk makes me ill, as I know it does you too. With this kind of ad I suspect the paper had to correct about nine spelling mistakes when they received it, because no human with an IQ higher than a popsicle could possibly write it. If you live out there and are looking for a wonderful pet for your family (they are amazing pets) please contact them. You won't be disappointed.

Like horse retirement here, we need some new policies in a lot of places, in my opinion.

I have deep respect for everyone in racing who is helping in this selfless regard. It is so nice to see places like DAR popping up and I applaud every trainer, driver and breeder who gives it the help they so deeply deserve.

Off my soapbox now. We'll be back to racing and betting tomorrow. I thank you for reading if you got this far.

All hail the Admiral

Admirals Express, the iron-tough winner of more than 80 races, passed in November due to a leg injury. He not only rocked fans on the racetrack, but in his brief retirement was an ambassador raising money for retired horses.

He was a superstar.

It was announced this week that he received the Cam Fella Award, which is a once a year award that goes to someone (or some horse) who goes above and beyond the call of duty in harness racing.

I was so very happy to see him win. We are all sad he is not out there enjoying retirement by barrel racing, bouncing in a paddock, or meeting children and introducing them to the wonderful breed that is a standardbred; but this is a nice award.

He deserves it and we'll miss him.

Big Start to the Meadowlands Meet

Despite a possible storm tomorrow in the NYC area, it looks like it is full-steam ahead for the Meadowlands 2011 harness meet.

We have been used to short fields, but the race office has put a couple of very nice race cards together, which feel a bit more like old times. Friday's card has a plethora of ten horse affairs, and Saturday's is not a whole lot different.

I've been a busy dude for the past couple of days and that will continue, so unfortunately (or fortunately, is more apt), you will get no pearls of wisdom from me :)

Good luck to everyone who is playing. One thing is for sure - 2011, even for a couple of days - looks more like 2005 than 2010. That's a good thing.

Owner/Bettor Respect - Why Fight When we Can Solve Problems?

There are a few topics out there in cyber and media land about the connections of a horse (those who supply the product), and the people who bet on them (those who demand the end-product). Usually it ends up in a food fight.

The story about a recent article in Ireland where the jock of a horse who faltered as chalk (i.e. was taken for a bit of a fitness trip) said,:

"I've always been a man to look after a horse. That's the way I ride them and that's not going to change."

it prompted the question to be asked "Who is more important, the connections of the horse racing for a purse (i.e. the owner and rider and trainer) or the people who supply the purses they run for (i.e the betting customer)?" This question spawned a ton of responses, most of which were like this:

"I don't care about the bettor. I care about myself and my horse. We've got slot money funding 95% of our purses. Let them whine all they want. Good riddance."

"Don't ask me to wager my money if you're planning to stiff me."

"There you go. ABSOLUTE PROOF that racing is fixed, and ludicrous horsepeople who actually want to justify it."

I think most of that is counter-productive.

Long-ago when we were a monopoly, when a bettor got mad, he came back. Just like a trainer at the tack shop if it was the only one for 500 miles, he or she had to grin and bear it, and keep buying product, regardless of the service. Today a bettor does not have to take it, because he/she has choice.

As a gambler I can hopefully tell when a horse is being taken out for a run, or when someone wants to prime their horse for an effort down the road. For me, it is not a huge issue - we can use trainer stats and much more to try and decipher intent. But to increase fan participation in racing, and increase our betting base, we need to look at more than a 25 year handicapper like me.

Today's society expects a fair shake in any game, or product. If I am playing Intel puts, I expect the company to be on the up and up, and I expect that no insiders are selling them short because the news out in three hours is good. I expect my bingo balls not to be weighted against me, or a dealer not to be dealing from the bottom of the deck. It's the way we live our lives as consumers.

If a horse pulls back to last, who leaves the gate constantly (this is more of an issue in standardbred racing than thoroughbred), it is a pox on our house - there is no denying that. If a horse was off three weeks, got $400 of vet work, was trained up solid at a farm somewhere, and bucks every trainer trend on a database and wins by seven (these horses as a rule are horrid bets in harness : about 0.45ROI), it is a problem.

Rather than yell at each other who a rider or a driver or a trainer should be racing for (I am both a bettor and an owner, so I seem to get yelled at twice), why not agree on a few things, and fix them instead?

1) Riders and trainers and drivers should be racing with one thing in mind: The welfare of the animal.
2) We need to realize that it is not 1950 any longer and we can not tell our patrons to shut up, sit down, live with the status quo and bet

So what do we do? In my opinion:

1) Educate customers on intent, as any handicapping book does
2) Open up policies where they are transparent

I have firmly believed (and I have brought this up at industry conferences, on the blog, and to racetrack execs themselves) that we need a new system where the connections of the horse, and their intent on today's race are public.

For example:

• On condition of entry, a form must be submitted on intent. Was the horse off a month with a cough? Is he fit and ready, or is it time to "trip the horse out"?
• What's the story last time? Why was the horse last by 30? A vet database is set up where after a race if a horse scoped sick, or if his white count was through the roof, or he had a bad problem during the race, customers know about it. We can make reversals of form and the endless wondering done by customers if we all cheat to set up a bet, a thing of the past
• We employ paddock personnel. The connections are all there. Can't all of them be asked a simple question: Is your horse ready? Can't it be made public via twitter, or scroll along the bottom of the screen? Horse trainers are not crooks, they love talking about their horse and his health. If one of them chose to lie, he/she would be exposed faster than a easter egg at Kate Plus Eight's house.

Before you say the words I hear so often: PTP, you are nuts, this can never happen; well it is happening.

* Hong Kong has a vet work database and it is public. Handicappers use it all the time.

* Australia just instituted a new system where "race tactics" have to be given before the race.

* Woodbine and Grand River Raceways always chat with trainers beforehand on intent. Drivers and jocks too. It's not a stretch to expand it by adding all connections and scrolling it on TV screens, on the toteboard, or via several social media outlets.

The words "we can't" permeate racing in NA like they are some sort of a slogan. I think we can.

Some people are doing it, we need more to. We can try and solve problems, or we can continue to call each other names, as bettors leave and handle and purse revenue circles the drain. How about the former for a change where we all win?