Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruffian1
The problem horsemen faced with million dollar races was the money always left the state. The backbone of racing was doing all the heavy lifting for the big wigs.
It was a real catch-22.
That’s what made Md. Million so successful.
Summer racing also drastically reduced field size. Md. Started running in the summer and everyone else started running in the winter. They collectively shot one another in the foot.
Back in the day Bowie was totally packed on Saturdays IN THE WINTER.
Nobody could agree on anything and our HBPA couldn’t agree on what to serve for dinner much less any agenda. Once I was part of that, the whole underbelly was there for me to see. I was young and wondered, what the heck did I get in the middle of?
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Your first sentence in this post says everything in a nutshell about why the state got involved and sided with the horseman. Larger purses just encourages money from outside the state to poach purse money from local farms and horseman. MD racing isn't, nor never was, on the same level as New York and Kentucky. We are for one weekend in May. Many of our farms were once owned by large financiers that were a large part of racing in New York. They are important to racing history in MD. They are the reason we have an infrastructure of not only thoroughbred, but other segments of competitive horse competition. Most of the people involved in this infrastructure are only a few miles from Pimlico. My point is this is why it’s beneficial for the state to invest in Pimlico. MD’s biggest celebration is Preakness. I know on the national scene it’s one race, but it’s a big thing for us. It’s worth it to us. Hopefully a rebuilt Pimlico will bring the crowds levels back to the event. Kentucky has put a lot of money into Churchill and it’s working for them. New York is in the middle of doing the same thing. I hope it works for them just the same as it works for MD.
