Racing needs stars but immediately sends its potential stars to the breeding shed. There is no incentive for horses to keep racing past their best year because of the money involved. The business model of racing is all about breeding, not racing. Yes, this one is unrealistic but allows me to make a bigger point. If you win a Triple Crown race, you have to race at least once as a 4-year-old. Maybe she knew something was wrong and didn’t want to run. But I’ll always be haunted by Corona Del Inca being forced to enter her racing gate with a hood on. One of the best races of all time was Beholder beating Songbird in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in 2016. But those who hate the process that much should be given a pass to a pasture. Racing people says horses love to run, and I think they do. Injecting such stress into any creature isn’t fair. I know this comes out of nowhere, but if a horse is so difficult to enter the racing gate without being blindfolded, then maybe it just shouldn’t be a race horse. Horses that have to be loaded wearing a hood shouldn’t race. The computer guys are the engine that drives the sport and they have rebates and batch betting advantages that the little guys just don’t have. Yes, ADWs (advance deposit wagering) saved the business but in so doing showed that the $2 bettor doesn’t matter anymore except to fleece with overpriced meals, drinks, programs and parking. Let’s face it, tracks don’t really care about the $2 bettor. Even the playing field between $2 bettors and computer gamblers. At least CDI is transparent about its true intentions. So, Arlington is being sold and to someone who does not want to keep it a racetrack. The track could have had slot machines, but that would take business away from a more lucrative nearby casino. Ask those in Chicago if they think CDI buying Arlington Park was in the best interest of racing. But by doing so, it shows it doesn’t really care about racing except four or so days a year. You got to give CDI credit, it knows its sole mission is to create shareholder value. Churchill Downs needs to care about racing more than four days a year. Stop taking advantage of the bettors and give them a fair shake every day. Those payout days generate enormous handles, which is the whole purpose of the bet.
Otherwise, it amounts to somewhere around a 40% takeout. Those mandatory payout days are the only time to play the bet, because on that day it is a good deal for bettors. So, about half the mutuel pool is carried over until the next day or until there is single ticket winner or a mandatory payout. Among Tim Ritvo’s legacies is a Pick Six that at a 20-cent purchase price is almost assured of creating a carryover when there is no single winner. Get rid of the Rainbow Six at Stronach tracks. Count training deaths and timed workouts. If horse racing wants to show how safe it has become (with still a long way to go), why not count training deaths and add in the number of timed workouts? Santa Anita came up with this ridiculous metric during its fatality crisis in 2019 that essentially counted every time a horse stepped on the track in the mornings. But when it says it had only one racing fatality last year, it fails to mention the two training deaths, because the EID counts only racing deaths. Del Mar likes to tout the fact that it is the safest major track in the country, which it is. The Equine Injury Database needs to be fixed. “But we are looking at a drone so we have overhead shots, mainly for video review, but it’s not far off. He deflected and pushed it forward: “We can conveniently blame former management for putting the tower in the wrong place,” Fravel said. Are you as tired of seeing the videoboard for a few seconds down the backstretch of turf races as I am? I asked Craig Fravel, CEO of the Stronach Group’s racing division, about the embarrassing backstretch shots.
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