Turfwriter's Integrity

[OTM Al]

A certain award winning turf writer who currently writes a blog and does have his work still occasionally show up on sites like ESPN.com yesterday posted a piece on his blog about how NYRA was about to get busted by the NYS Department of Labor for underpaying workers. Thing was, it wasn't true. Trainers were being investigated with the full cooperation of NYRA for underpaying their backstretch workers. In the end it appears that fines aren't even going to be issued for the trainers found in violation.

Knowing that this fellow has a very anti-NYRA stance to begin with and frequently takes whatever opportunity he can find to bash them, I called him on it by posting a comment to his blog in which I attached a link to the DoL press release stating exactly what had happened. So this morning I checked back in to see if my comment had been approved for posting. It had not and at the same time the incorrect text had been removed as if it was never there. He hadn't even changed the title of the piece which didn't really work that well anymore with that part of the entry missing. No mea culpa, no acknowledgement that an error had been made. I used to believe that the abilty to be a quality journalist had passed this fellow by. No real shame there, we all grow older and skills deteriorate, but I find now that I was wrong about him. He's right up with modern press ethics. Get the slur out there and then remove it when you are shown to be wrong but with no effort to acknowledge that a mistake was made.

Word is this fellow hasn't left the pressbox in years, so it makes me wonder how he thinks he's having any sort of connection to real fans. One thing I do know now for sure though is that he is not part of the solution. He is part of the problem.

[OTM Al]

So I wrote him again. Its kind of like a hobby for me now or maybe more like a challenge. Can I get him to post one of my comments? Well, certainly his lack of fact checking wasn't nearly as bad this time as last. He claims that there is much more to the downturn in handle and attendance at Saratoga than the bad weather and bad economy. This may be true, but his arguement was bad. In one paragraph he claimed everyone he talked to (now this could be one person, but he implied it was a lot of people) was betting less this year because the quality of the fields were "bad". In another paragraph he pointed out that handle was flat compared to last year during the last 3 weeks. I pointed out to him that both these things can't be true and reminded him that last year was also a record year, so being flat with regards to a record year isn't too bad at all.

He also complained about the lack of quality in fields at Saratoga. I agreed with him and said I would love to see full fields of NW2X going regularly, but I asked him where NYRA was supposed to find these fields. Personally I'd rather have 12 horse fields even if the level is a little low than watch a sequence of 4 5 and 6 horse fields. I guarantee such would have significantly more effect on handle than whatever he thinks caused this year's declines.

I wrapped it up by commenting on his use of the word "predatory" to descripe the prices he was railing against up in Saratoga. I told him that term was usually reserved for the situation when one business lowers its own price below even its own costs so as to drive out other businesses. I don't think this was the situation he was concerned about. He certainly seems to think prices at the track were too high. Sure they were high, but then again, considering you could bring in any food or drink you wanted too, you could have your fill (and many did) and not have to pay. As for prices at restaurants and hotels in the area, he, like many that bewail how things have changed from the golden past, does not seem to understand that prices are that high because people CAN afford them. tells me Saratoga is as popular as ever if people are willing to shell out that kind of change. I know I sure can't.

I actually used a Google users name, same as the one here, to post the comment this time. I think I want him to know who I am. I intend to write him every time he gets his facts wrong or slants them inappropriately when he writes a negative story. Not just negative against NYRA, but anywhere. He does seem to have a big hardon for NYRA though, so I'm sure that will comprise most of it.

Alas, he didn't post my comment again. He posted another comment that seemed to agree with him. It is his blog of course, but if one wants to claim to be some great journalist, I think he owes his audience opposing opinions, but that's just me. So I will keep watching and writing every time he puts his foot in it. It should be fun.

[HUSKER55]

Your constant posting forces him to keep tabs and sooner or later he will slip up or he will have to correct himslef. Eiither way, you win.

Well played!

husker55

:)

[OTM Al]

Its not really about winning. Its about the fact that I'm sick of guys like this. He's one of these egotistic sportswriters who think that they are some sort of guardian to the game and they must save it. Unfortunately, they are so out of touch with reality that they end up doing more damage and become part of the problem. The humourous thing I realised is that despite his bashing, half the content on his site is taken directly from NYRA press releases. Can't even take the time to write his own copy. Some journalist.

[thespaah]

A certain award winning turf writer who currently writes a blog and does have his work still occasionally show up on sites like ESPN.com yesterday posted a piece on his blog about how NYRA was about to get busted by the NYS Department of Labor for underpaying workers. Thing was, it wasn't true. Trainers were being investigated with the full cooperation of NYRA for underpaying their backstretch workers. In the end it appears that fines aren't even going to be issued for the trainers found in violation.

Knowing that this fellow has a very anti-NYRA stance to begin with and frequently takes whatever opportunity he can find to bash them, I called him on it by posting a comment to his blog in which I attached a link to the DoL press release stating exactly what had happened. So this morning I checked back in to see if my comment had been approved for posting. It had not and at the same time the incorrect text had been removed as if it was never there. He hadn't even changed the title of the piece which didn't really work that well anymore with that part of the entry missing. No mea culpa, no acknowledgement that an error had been made. I used to believe that the abilty to be a quality journalist had passed this fellow by. No real shame there, we all grow older and skills deteriorate, but I find now that I was wrong about him. He's right up with modern press ethics. Get the slur out there and then remove it when you are shown to be wrong but with no effort to acknowledge that a mistake was made.

Word is this fellow hasn't left the pressbox in years, so it makes me wonder how he thinks he's having any sort of connection to real fans. One thing I do know now for sure though is that he is not part of the solution. He is part of the problem.so who is it? or if you don't want to go that way, what entitey does he write for?

[JPinMaryland]

Why cant you tell us this guys name? You question the integrity and honesty of the website because it wont acknowledge the mistake/previous omission/whatever and you dont even tell us his name??? Go figure.

[Indulto]

A certain award winning turf writer who currently writes a blog …

Knowing that this fellow has a very anti-NYRA stance to begin with and frequently takes whatever opportunity he can find to bash them, …

… Get the slur out there and then remove it when you are shown to be wrong but with no effort to acknowledge that a mistake was made.

Word is this fellow hasn't left the pressbox in years, so it makes me wonder how he thinks he's having any sort of connection to real fans. One thing I do know now for sure though is that he is not part of the solution. He is part of the problem.

… I intend to write him every time he gets his facts wrong or slants them inappropriately when he writes a negative story. Not just negative against NYRA, but anywhere. He does seem to have a big hardon for NYRA though, so I'm sure that will comprise most of it.

… I will keep watching and writing every time he puts his foot in it. It should be fun.OA,
Glad you could join me on “Muckraker’s Row.” ;)

After three years of reading your posts here, I'm convinced there isn't a straighter shooter on this board, so I'm not about to challenge your observations and conclusions, but because I'm such a huge fan of the individual I think you're discrediting here without naming (no doubt because he didn't name a certain NYRA exec in his blog piece widely discussed on this forum), I feel compelled to point out that your imitation of what you profess to detest is the sincerest form of flattery.

As far as getting your comment on his “Rose” piece published, that article was also published on the horseracinginsider.com site where comments are not pre-authorized. There was already one comment there trashing him as usual, so you won’t feel alone. My point is that while he may not submit to abuse on his own site, he doesn’t shy away from it either. Coincidentally, Paulick linked to “Rose” in his “best of the blogs” section.

There is no shortage of NYRA critics in cyberspace today, but I remember this blogger being among the first to take Bruno to task for standing in the way of NYRA’s retaining the franchise. I believe he also defended NYRA against Capital Play’s more despicable attempts to discredit them.

I don’t doubt that your knowledge of what transpires inside NYRA exceeds my own exponentially, but isn’t it possible that NYRA insiders are justifiably overly-defensive after the tsunami of unfair and undeserved criticism that has engulfed them for over three years?

One statement of yours was not an observation or conclusion, but rather an echo of a parroting of an innuendo. Can you confirm that “the fellow hasn’t left the press box in years” and that he doesn’t have “any sort of connection with real fans.” In fact he has been HANA’s biggest booster among turf writers since the blog went live. He always links to the latest entry there regardless of how old it is. I’m pleased to be part of a discussion he’s currently enabling about the prospects of protesting the BC, so I guess it’s hard for me to be objective as well.

I’m glad you’re committed to keeping this blogger honest. I’m going to try to be right there with you to make sure he get’s what he deserves … and no more.

[Bobzilla]

It's not realistic for me to expect to agree with any one turfwriter 100% of the time. I agree with Steven Crist more than any other writer over the broad spectrum of racing's issues but I cannot say honestly I agree with him all the time either.

I'm all for everyone going after a writer en masse if his outrageous actions and missives or self-congratulatory behavior call for it. I guess I'm just surprised that your target is who I believe it is. Of all the ones we could go after from time to time this individual would not be at the top of my list for attack. I would agree with you, however, that he should have posted your argument which you took the time and effort to send him and not have backtracked and changed his own writing once he learned the facts didn't support his argument.

[OTM Al]

Hey Indulto. I'm not saying he doesn't write good things. He has. Just the other day he had a very important piece about the horse slaughter issue. He even had your piece on there, which was pretty good :). However, any time something at NYRA comes up, he seems to jump gleefully at it. Maybe he just wants to be a boat rocker. Maybe when NYRA was down he felt it better to go after those that were up and now that NYRA is up it is his target. Perhaps he believes himself to be in the Woodward/Bernstein mould of journalists. Frankly though I feel that he simply doesn't adequately research his pieces. He presents no other side to any story. And I'm just plain sick of the whining. At least you are trying to do something. He is simply negative and negativity like that is going to do nothing to help racing.

I'm not saying things aren't wrong. Some pretty serious mistakes have been made recently, but guess what. No one noticed because they were busy whining about the same old tired retreaded crap. That's why I said guys like this are now part of the problem. Compare his writing to Crist and Beyer. They aren't always positive, but when they are not, they present ideas. They try to show how to make negatives into positives. So I'm going to call him on anything showing extreme bias. But only with facts. He like all of us is entitled to his opinions. I don't want a flame war, I just want accurate reporting.

[OTM Al]

Hey JP. I did not name him intentionally nor will I and I ask that no one name him in personal attacks. This is not what this is about. He's not the only blogger I've responded to, but because of his credentials, he should know better than the others. He has a long list of his credentials on his site, very respectable and I'm sure well deserved. I want him to live up to that.

I want bloggers and all media to write about all the issues, warts and all. But I want facts. I want the real story, not just the plucking of the low fruit because that gives one something to write about. If your read any of the blogs out there, I know you can figure out who this guy is. But my purpose here is not an attack on him personally. He's done nothing personal to me and frankly he's nothing personally to me. Its the attitude that I'm tired of. When someone who should be influential and should be in the position to do good allows his craft to sink to cheapshots and the only research he presents is that which is in agreement with himself, I am going to call him and anyone else that does it on it. So he is my poster child for the moment, though he is certainly not alone. We always say we as players deserve better. To me this is just another case of that.

[cj]

Paul Moran. It is only fair to mention his name if you are going to attack him.

[George Sands]

One statement of yours was not an observation or conclusion, but rather an echo of a parroting of an innuendo. Can you confirm that “the fellow hasn’t left the press box in years”

What I want to know is the name of the potted plant who hangs out in the pressbox and stares at Paul Moran all day and then reports on Moran's movements.

[OTM Al]

Like I said cj, its not a personal attack. It's an attack on an attitude. Yes, that is who I am talking about, but he is not the only one out there doing this sort of stuff. I don't want this to be personal because its not intended to be.

And George, there are a few people who's job it is to be up there. Calling them potted plants is exactly the kind of garbage that needs to be stopped. It is correct though to say that I should not have said that about him. Its something I heard from more than one source, but I will retract it an appologize publically for it. Name calling is not what I want here. That's what has gotten us to this current state.

[George Sands]

George, there are a few people who's job it is to be up there. Calling them potted plants is exactly the kind of garbage that needs to be stopped.

You misunderstood. My "potted plant" line was meant to describe only the person who started this nonsense when he claimed that Moran doesn't get out enough. I'm not knocking the people in the press box. I'm knocking whoever was knocking the guy in the press box.

[OTM Al]

Like I said, I heard it from a couple different sources. It was however a poor thing to say given what the point of this is and once again I retract and publically appologize.

[Indulto]

You misunderstood. My "potted plant" line was meant to describe only the person who started this nonsense when he claimed that Moran doesn't get out enough. I'm not knocking the people in the press box. I'm knocking whoever was knocking the guy in the press box.Knock Knock.

Who's there?

The water guy.

The water guy who?

The water guy who takes care of the potted plant.

[OTM Al]

Today in the interest of fairness I come to praise Caesar rather than bury him. He wrote a piece on how he had received a survey from the Dept of Agriculture representing the Task Force on Retired Horses. He clearly has a passion in this area, and anyone that likes animals can't be all bad in my book. What he told of was a question that asked about having a certain amount of money from registration fees, purses, etc be a mandatory payment to support retired horses. He touched on both sides of this issue. I posted a message, unfortunately anonymously cause I couldn't get my Google password to work (not saved on this machine so guess I'm not remembering it right) asking that he give us a fuller description of what was asked and said by way of introduction, if not an actual scan of the document. I believe this would greatly help inform fans and would be owners what the powers that be are thinking. This is positive work and thus deserves commendation.

To think I expected him to have written something about the lawsuit that was announced yesterday. Interested what if anything he has to say there...

[Indulto]

Today in the interest of fairness I come to praise Caesar rather than bury him. He wrote a piece on how he had received a survey from the Dept of Agriculture representing the Task Force on Retired Horses. He clearly has a passion in this area, and anyone that likes animals can't be all bad in my book. What he told of was a question that asked about having a certain amount of money from registration fees, purses, etc be a mandatory payment to support retired horses. He touched on both sides of this issue. I posted a message, unfortunately anonymously cause I couldn't get my Google password to work (not saved on this machine so guess I'm not remembering it right) asking that he give us a fuller description of what was asked and said by way of introduction, if not an actual scan of the document. I believe this would greatly help inform fans and would be owners what the powers that be are thinking. This is positive work and thus deserves commendation.

To think I expected him to have written something about the lawsuit that was announced yesterday. Interested what if anything he has to say there...http://paulmoranattheraces.blogspot.com/2008/09/tax-by-any-other-name.html (http://paulmoranattheraces.blogspot.com/2008/09/tax-by-any-other-name.html)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
A tax by any other name ...
By Paul Moran… But the imposition of what would amount to a retirement tax on owners is absolutely unacceptable, not unlike Obama’s proposal to raise capital gains taxes. Both discourage investment.

This is an industry in need of new blood and money. Piling a new tax in any guise on top of the already daunting expenses involved in breeding, training and racing horses will eventually drive many of those already involved to other more secure investment.Seems like Caesar doesn’t support Social Security for thoroughbreds. ;)

[OTM Al]

Near success today. A comment was posted criticizing his column from yesterday dealing with the departure of a NYRA official. I simply posted a link to an upstate paper's account of what happened, this article in fact

http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/sep/18/0918_landry/

and commented that at least some people could deal with such a situation with some class. Very short, nothing more than that. It somehow was posted for maybe an hour, but alas, now all you will see is

Comment deleted
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.

And the beat goes on.....