tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post6264495463924481558..comments2023-10-12T11:54:04.700-04:00Comments on Power Cap: Racing Does Not Need A CommissionerG. C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07604839670701867384noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post-1754294745593100392009-06-02T20:52:23.622-04:002009-06-02T20:52:23.622-04:00Along the same lines as above, I believe the key i...Along the same lines as above, I believe the key is to generate an experience that allows people to fall in love with the sport. If I'd known a the outset all the realities that are more common public knowledge now, I'd never have allowed myself to become attracted. But now it's a guilty pleasure and I'm the girlfriend who can't not go back, no matter how bad the breakdowns/slaughter stories/drug infractions.<br /><br />Racing should have transparency. But removing the shroud without making racing minimally digestible to contemporary cultural mores first is killing racing.Erinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04966895737564174215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post-48601832775083232302009-06-02T18:23:41.815-04:002009-06-02T18:23:41.815-04:00The whole problem revolves around the good horses ...The whole problem revolves around the good horses being retired to soon. In other sports you have the same headliners year after year. Fans can't wait to see the favorite in action,<br />Racing, it has to re-invent itself every yesr. You remember John Henry, had a big following, was a household name. Why, how long did he race, and win. You seen the following Curlin was attracting -- then gone!<br />The high powers of racing are to stupid to realize, or, understand what the fan wants. Their only thought is money in their own pocket. There has been blame put in every area but the right one. Synthetic tracks, medications, standardization, they all miss the mark. Actually they have been created to take the focus off the real problem, early retirement. The people at the top are the one's killing racing through their own greed, and stupidity. You start out with a wrong premise -- synthetic tracks, medications, standardization --- you wind up with wrong answers and conclusions.<br />Frank Lancelotti<br />CaliforniaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post-22422060654136811622009-06-02T16:22:33.606-04:002009-06-02T16:22:33.606-04:00ahh thank you...and thanks for thinking critically...ahh thank you...and thanks for thinking critically on this issue and comping up with some very provocative reasons why a commish wouldn't be a good idea. I'm not sure your analogy isn't flawed, but I think there are still valuable insights to be gleaned from it. Nice work, and nice to see someone willing to step outside the box.Erinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04966895737564174215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post-18276557440659156872009-06-02T14:57:35.649-04:002009-06-02T14:57:35.649-04:00Sorry for the errors Erin and the glare that ruine...Sorry for the errors Erin and the glare that ruined your reading experience. I got my IT guy right on the problem and it's solved.G. C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07604839670701867384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post-12058726828172330582009-06-02T10:15:04.249-04:002009-06-02T10:15:04.249-04:00I wanted to read your ideas but the glare off your...I wanted to read your ideas but the glare off your "it's" wouldn't allow me to.<br /><br />Its vs. it's<br /><br /> * Its is a possessive pronoun showing something belongs to “it.”<br /> o Example: The book has a tiger on its cover.<br /><br /> * It’s is a contraction of “it is.”<br /> o Example: It’s sunny out today.<br /><br />Talking about something that belongs to someone? Use its.<br />Will the sentence make sense if you use “it is”? Use it’s.Erinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04966895737564174215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post-20584681603219178262009-06-01T22:42:41.553-04:002009-06-01T22:42:41.553-04:00I understand your point about the indpendence the ...I understand your point about the indpendence the game currently has. <br /><br />Central question I have for you: I horse racing as a whole thriving? No.<br /><br />Second question: Is the game attracting anyone not already interested in horse racing? No.<br /><br />As for your real estate example, sports cannot be equated. When a sport is supported, it stays supported. When it's on life support, it stays on life support or dies. There is no cycling in sports like real estate markets fall in/out of vogue. Unless a crisis (MLB or NBA strikes) turns off the public, the sport thrives year in/out.<br /><br />I agree that there is too much racing...take a look at this last Saturday's Hol card: avg. 9.1 starters on a 10 race card...including the 4th where there were only 6.<br /><br />As for reorganization in mid-Atlantic states and New Mexico's new track...this is best done with a central body to control the product.Amateurcapperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10982902236844905767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post-81053743727736895722009-06-01T22:03:21.960-04:002009-06-01T22:03:21.960-04:00That is a interesting idea, the horse racing categ...That is a interesting idea, the horse racing category killer. That would send ripples through the industry and really shake things up. There would be so many unintended consequences of a track like this but I think that it is the ground fire needed to clear out some of the burdensome underbrush.G. C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07604839670701867384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post-9431317659032888882009-06-01T21:40:47.798-04:002009-06-01T21:40:47.798-04:00Thank you Gregg for advancing this topic…interesti...Thank you Gregg for advancing this topic…interesting thoughts by both you and your detractors. I may disagree with much of your logic, but I’m down with the precept that a quasi-governmental lord will not magically appear and lead our people to a land of milk and honey.<br /><br />I also agree that it’s dangerous footing to compare horse racing w/ major league sports. They are more media/entertainment intensive whereas racing is more of a retail consumable product. I keep waiting for one of the tracks/circuits to wake up and establish themselves as a “category killer”, a la WalMart, Southwest Airlines, etc. Say one entity decided to combine $100,000 maiden races, 8% take-out, over the top drug testing, and the proviso that the only way you can access our product is through our website. My guess is that they would end up with a lot of horses and bettors…and be in a position to dictate an altered landscape of the sport. And the first alteration would be to drive a lot of Mom & Pop tracks out of business.Chollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03487478432638223243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post-82556350931475305862009-06-01T12:48:56.626-04:002009-06-01T12:48:56.626-04:00The impact that alternative gaming has had in the ...The impact that alternative gaming has had in the state of California , primarily through the growth of Indian Tribal Casinos, has been absolutely devastating. It is essentially impossible to compete against a monolopy of this nature. <br /><br />We have also seen the growth of small regional tracks that have been able to generate slots revenue sky rocket. This is, of course, because they have been able to supplement purses leading horsemen to run where they are able to launch a viable economic venture.<br /><br />There may not be so much of a "horse shortage" as a lack of revenue generated for horsemen which is leading the "work a day" owner/trainer to cut back or leave the game entirely.<br /><br />The horse racing industry, like any other, is driven by economics and they simply are not favorable to many horsemen during these difficult times. Filling races is extremely challenging due to these factors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post-78964334083677237292009-06-01T12:16:48.003-04:002009-06-01T12:16:48.003-04:00But how do you want to stop over-saturation withou...But how do you want to stop over-saturation without a central authority? How do you want to limit the influence of individual states and track operators without one?<br /><br />FG, AP and CD could become a circuit, but why would CDI do so? They would be the only ones shouldering the cost (lost income/market share from several months of racing at AP), but every one would reap the rewards. And why wouldn't the state of IL just transfer those dates to another track? That's the very dilemma at the heart of free market self-regulation: the more competitors work together,the higher the incentive for those that do not participate, and can’t be forced to.<br /><br />That the free market will create a self-sustaining balance of supply and demand is the old mantra of neoliberalism. It has yet to work in practice. This theory has proven to be especially questionable in regards to agriculture-based industries and such that require an investment-intensive, long-term business model. Racing fits both descriptions.<br /><br />Those racing jurisdictions that have prospered over the last couple of decades have done so through a concerted effort, lead and supervised by a central office.<br /><br />Btw: your banking example proves quite the opposite. Hundreds of banks allowed the interests of the company to take a backseat to the individual interests of their investment bankers and managers precisely because they lacked an oversight authority dedicated to the health of the industry, the same as we see in racing.malcerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02913127739083446726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post-88852868848351160492009-06-01T10:28:07.129-04:002009-06-01T10:28:07.129-04:00Ahhh, Racing is doing so well without any organize...Ahhh, Racing is doing so well without any organized central leadership.<br /><br />Enough, Wake up!<br /><br />rwwuplAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post-12439449877987023142009-06-01T08:34:57.067-04:002009-06-01T08:34:57.067-04:00The problem with your logic that racing doesn't ne...The problem with your logic that racing doesn't need a commissioner is that racing does need some standardization.<br /><br />It's confusing and detrimental for medication rules to vary between jurisdictions. Standardized trainer licensing would instill more confidence in the public that the people who are in charge of the horses know what they're doing. Track safety initiatives and the quality of racing surfaces are better managed by a single entity with concentrated expertise than by individual states or jurisdictions, some of which might lack the personnel or the resolve to really get the job done.<br /><br />Horse racing also needs to be marketed differently (I see ads all the time for racing DURING racing on TV, almost never during anything else).<br /><br />Without a coordinating body, most of this never gets done at all, let alone efficiently or well.<br /><br />As for Finley -- and a significant number of the others who believe there's a horse shortage -- his regional circuit idea misses the mark because Finley doesn't actually know what the problem is. He'd have to know or talk to horsemen outside the elite tier of trainers to get the real picture, and I kind of doubt that he does.<br /><br />The barn at Churchill is as full of horses as ever; it's WHOSE horses and WHICH horses that are the key.<br /><br />Meanwhile, 100 miles away at Indiana Downs -- where the maiden-special purse is $18,000 compared to about $48,000 at Churchill -- they have 108 horses entered tonight for a 10-race card. ... Mr. Finely should try to explain that amid a "horse shortage."Glenn Cravenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09760553404742644042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6037940159956945489.post-90864134480951400292009-06-01T06:57:58.710-04:002009-06-01T06:57:58.710-04:00"...the competition is working for tracks like Kee..."...the competition is working for tracks like Keeneland, NYRA and Tampa."<br /><br />Tampa? They run nothing but maiden 8,000, non winners of 2 for 8 and non winners of 3 for 8. racing is terrible. The only thing they have going is the weather.R.U. Creyzyhttp://nytimes.comnoreply@blogger.com