Jay Cronley article

[cj]

Cronley---ESPN.com (http://espn.go.com/horse/triplecrown02/s/2002/0608/1392573.html)

Pretty good article comparing horse racing to casino gambling.

CJ

[Observer]

Obviously this game is in need of the bettors, but as someone who began going to the track at age 6, and has been a fan for as long as I can remember, you can see how I can disagree with many of the comments made in the article. And let me just start off by saying I do know that a majority of the betting money is put in by a minority of the people.

I don't agree that having younger crowds there does nothing. If you don't get them in there when they're young, they won't be interested when they get older. So, according to the article, the younger set only spends about six bucks. Big deal. Who knows what that will translate to as they get older and they have more money available to play with. The health of an organization needs to have a mindset on the long-term, not short-term quick fixes.

And even if you have some who don't play, so what? Isn't part of the problem with racing the steriotype that the game is followed by nothing but degenerate gamblers? And if racing solely targeted the older set, and their stockpiles of savings, just think about the steriotype it would gain from that.

I do agree that having a Triple Crown winner really wouldn't do anything for the game. Sure, the potential of a Triple Crown helped to pack the house at Belmont, but if War Emblem did win, what would happen next year if there was a potential Triple Crown? That long wait would be over. Would people still want to see it so much? I'm not so sure. And could you imagine if there was no Triple Crown possibility a year after there was one? Maybe they'd still come, just because they've seen what a great day it is, and the numbers have been growing even in years with no chance of a Triple Crown. But, its the elusiveness of the Triple Crown and a chance at being a part of something historical that is the attraction. However, racing does not just exist for the Triple Crown, it's a year-round business.

The more positive exposure this game gets, the better off it will be. Certainly having over 103,000 people at Belmont is a good thing, especially with that payout. I do agree on that point. And it wasn't just the Belmont that provided for a juicy return. There were many prices on the board Saturday, and amazingly the Pick 6 went unhit, leaving a nice carryover of nearly $686,000 into Sunday. But, the game needs to attract anyone and everyone. Maybe the person walking in the door today isn't going to bet much or any money, but who knows about the next time, maybe they'll be willing to open up their wallets, or maybe they'll bring a friend or two who will.