Nothing but bombs · 24.10.09

So my good friend Tim pointed me to a couple of articles about the recent International Simulcast Conference in Saratoga Springs, a.k.a. “The Doom and Gloom Conference”.

To be honest, it doesn’t sound like anything new was presented. There are lots of good ideas out there for promoting the sport — from reducing take-out, providing more options for betting, and using technology to benefit horseplayers, to improved marketing angles, betting primers, and using “Web 2.0” social media to build a new fan base. Unfortunately, these opportunities are not being seized by enough racetrack administrators to make a significant impact on the sport’s downward trend. Or, as John Pricci wrote:

There are plenty of well minded people in this industry who remain all in, willing to pursue any feasible solution to turn this game right side up.
The problem is that they may not have the juice to stem the negative tide. Or, even if they had, they may have waited too long.
….
There were enough good ideas relating to service that, if implemented, could lead to positive change — if only the home office would heed their advice and execute effectively. Instead, the industry is rife with examples of failed execution [my emphasis].

The key discussion seemed to come during a panel entitled “Change — You Can Run But You Can’t Hide”. Jeff Gural, owner of Vernon Downs and Tioga Downs in upstate New York, finally pointed to the elephant in the room — it’s the breeders, stupid:

“The industry is dominated by the breeders — I don’t get it. Track owners are intimidated by the breeders.”
Mr Gural recounted his attempts on the harness side of the game to gather support among racetracks to put severe restrictions on horses sired by horses under five years of age (with the hoped for outcome being that star 3YOs would continue to run at 4).
“I convinced the Meadowlands — but that was it. I couldn’t get anyone to return my phone call.
“I think it’s very unlikely you’re going to see change unless the breeding industry collapses” [again, my emphasis].

The breeding industry is the tail that wags the dog of the sport of horse racing. During the “prehistory” of the sport, the breeder’s ideal was to “improve the breed”. That is, horses were supposed to prove themselves on the track, not just in terms of speed, but also durability, stamina, intelligence, courage — in short, all the attributes of the ideal horse. Those horses that adequately demonstrated those traits were then utilized as breeding stock to improve the breed.

It seems obvious to me, however, that the breeding industry has moved away from that ideal. How can anyone claim that the current over-emphasis on precocity and early speed (at the expense of durability and stamina), early retirement of star racers at two and three years (before they can demonstrate their durability as mature horses), and ignoring issues of fragility and unsoundness in favour of what is fashionable in the auction shed — how does that contribute to improving the breed? It’s all about money — how much will a yearling sell for at auction, what races can it win (for relative chump-change) to pad its resume before being whisked back to the farm, earning inflated stud fees and siring foals that will sell at auction for even higher prices and start the cycle over again….

Oh, and by the way, Hastings just announced that their last day of racing, originally scheduled for 8 November, has been cancelled. General Manager Raj Mutti cited the still-struggling economy and the on-going decline in wagering as factors behind the decision. Mutti also noted that 2010 will likely be a tough year, with purse cuts likely due in part to losses of revenue from being forced to closethe casino and simulcast areas during the Winter Olympics (as noted here earlier).

Regarding this great sport that I and so many others still love, between the failures of racetrack administrators, the distortions caused by a hyper-inflated breeding industry, and the slings and arrows of the rest of the world, I sometimes feel the way that Allen Ginsberg must have felt when he penned the lines:

I am the Defense Early Warning Radar System
I see nothing but bombs

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What do you think?

  1. It’s NOT just the bungling by the ‘suits” in the front office having NO CLUE how to promote the races as WE have come to appreciate them, but it is the ADHD society we live in that is eroding the fan base since race evaluation and wagering take time and effort to learn before one is good at it. The younger crowd need instant gratification or they are out the door.

    — Dr. Timothy Yatcak · Oct 27, 09:45 AM · #

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