Confessions of a Racing Secretary

[Clocker]

An article by the racing secretary at Parx about the current situation of the industry.

[BettinBilly]

Thanks for the post, Clocker.

As much as I think my career has been hard, I'd take it any day VS a Racing Secretary. Especially in today's racing climate.

[whodoyoulike]

Thanks for the link. I noticed something interesting, at least to me.

excerpt:

As we've added all these levels of complexity, we've all but forsaken our obligations to management, horsemen, and horseplayers. Let's write good, honest races that horsemen can understand and support, good, honest races that bettors can play with confidence. If they understand the race and find it competitive, they will bet it.
If we have the racing stock in the stable area to justify it, let's write the straight allowance races that allow horses to progress toward higher levels of competition. That was the purpose of these races from the very beginning. They serve the owner and trainer, and they give the horseplayers a field of horses that match up well.
And, let's write the higher-priced open claiming races that allow horses of that level to compete against each other for money that matches their quality. Our colleagues at Keeneland write these races, and we should, too.
Will there always be a place for optional claimers in our racing programs? Of course, they are here to stay. But we shouldn't allow them to be a crutch, an easier race to fill that sometimes has unintended bad consequences.
By keeping it simple we can best fulfill our duties to management, horsemen, and horseplayers. In the end, those obligations are in no way inconsistent, and we can do our part to keep horse racing engaging, exciting, and viable. Let's take the pledge to KISS.
Sal Sinatra is the Racing Secretary at Parx Racing.

His priority order seems to be screwed up as businesses go. This is similar to another article in a previous post about the decline at Fairgrounds.

When will these business executives realize that they need to consider the customer FIRST then race tracks (which are similar to employees) and finally the horsemen's interests (management/owners). This is what all successful businesses do.

You need a good product (racing) which draws in the customers (bettors). The tracks (employees) should make sure the customers enjoy their experiences and the horsemen (track mgmt./owners) will then be entitled to share the profits (or losses). JMO

[lamboguy]

what a great job Sinatra has done there. when was the last time we saw a 9 race card in that place?
what do you think is going to happen when the turf season is in? they can only run 2 turf races a day there, does anyone really think they will find enough horses to make 8 or 9 races?

Sinatra had his shot with all the slot money to create a real top notch racing program. instead he gave his stalls to all the hobo's of America that can't win a race anywhere else if their lives depended on it. he chose not to give the stalls to the good trainers, and the few that are in there don't have full strings there, and Anthony Dutrow has left the place.

Sal must be happy with the average on site daily handle under $50,000 a day. Sufolk Downs does more with worse horses.

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

Sinatra had his shot with all the slot money to create a real top notch racing program. instead he gave his stalls to all the hobo's of America that can't win a race anywhere else if their lives depended on it. he chose not to give the stalls to the good trainers, and the few that are in there don't have full strings there, and Anthony Dutrow has left the place.

How are stalls allocated, there in particular and at most tracks in general? Is it entirely at the discretion of the racing secy.? Do horsemen pay rent for stalls? Are there any requirements in return for stall allocations, such as if a stable has "X" stalls, it is expected to have "Y" starters per month?

[lamboguy]

Originally Posted by Clocker

How are stalls allocated, there in particular and at most tracks in general? Is it entirely at the discretion of the racing secy.? Do horsemen pay rent for stalls? Are there any requirements in return for stall allocations, such as if a stable has "X" stalls, it is expected to have "Y" starters per month?

he had Doug O'Neil there, he's gone. Tom Iamotti there, he's gone. Anthony Dutrow there, he's gone. Trombetta was there, not sure if he still is. i am pretty sure that Servis is going over to Monmouth this year as well. there are a few decent trainers still left like Cal Lynch, Butch Reid, Klesaris, Guadalupe and Ramon Preciado. go over to the Maryland circuit that doesn't have slot machines in its tracks and they have a solid group of trainers.

[jballscalls]

Originally Posted by Clocker

How are stalls allocated, there in particular and at most tracks in general? Is it entirely at the discretion of the racing secy.? Do horsemen pay rent for stalls? Are there any requirements in return for stall allocations, such as if a stable has "X" stalls, it is expected to have "Y" starters per month?

Most tracks I've worked at there is a stall superintendent who works in partnership with the Racing secretary. And I know at PM there is a starts per stall that is kept for trainers from the previous years to predict allocations for stalls the upcoming year.

[Shemp Howard]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

what a great job Sinatra has done there. when was the last time we saw a 9 race card in that place?
what do you think is going to happen when the turf season is in? they can only run 2 turf races a day there, does anyone really think they will find enough horses to make 8 or 9 races?

Sinatra had his shot with all the slot money to create a real top notch racing program. instead he gave his stalls to all the hobo's of America that can't win a race anywhere else if their lives depended on it. he chose not to give the stalls to the good trainers, and the few that are in there don't have full strings there, and Anthony Dutrow has left the place.

Sal must be happy with the average on site daily handle under $50,000 a day. Sufolk Downs does more with worse horses.

If the racing hobo's of America are stabled at Parx, what do we call the pretender's at Penn National (besides indicted)?

[Rise Over Run]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

what a great job Sinatra has done there. when was the last time we saw a 9 race card in that place?

I looked it up - March 24th, only 8 races in each the 9 cards since <---- Pathetic

Originally Posted by lamboguy

Sinatra had his shot with all the slot money to create a real top notch racing program. instead he gave his stalls to all the hobo's of America that can't win a race anywhere else if their lives depended on it. he chose not to give the stalls to the good trainers, and the few that are in there don't have full strings there, and Anthony Dutrow has left the place.

If you recall, this place BOASTFULLY PROCLAIMED they would be the SPA (Saratoga) of the mid-Atlantic back in ~2005 with the approval of gaming in PA and the slots-fueled purses. I'm still waiting......


Sal has a nice working vacation coming up with the Atlantic City Turf Festival the last week of April. It doesn't matter what he cards, the fields will be filled beyond capacity with AEs.

[Delawaretrainer]

Not sure if it is a factor but there are still a core group of trainers that have ridiculous stats that everyone is scared to claim off of. I have seen their horses in the past get claimed, plummet. New guys take the horses to penn to try to get them claimed and no one takes them. 6 months later they are still running bad.

Also, they ban trainers and they run in someone else's name and train at a training center across the river. Nobody does anything.

I've seen horses that I know are bad bleeders (out the nose with max LASIX) win by 10+ lengths for these guys with little rest between races. It is mind boggling to me. But you can't say anything because maybe they figured the horse out legally, who knows.

But the perception is there.

[onefast99]

I wonder why sal never brought up the real reasons he cancelled a possible Monmouth Park/Parx get together where NJ breds and Pa breds would race together in restricted races at both tracks. That was a win-win for all involved!

[Robert Goren]

There is little doubt that Parx is one of the poster boys of what is wrong with Racinos. I am sure how much of it is Sal's fault. Whether we like it or not the horsemen hold all the cards right now and they are milking the system for all they can even if means putting tracks out of business with impossible to meet demands.

[johnhannibalsmith]

Originally Posted by Robert Goren

... even if means putting tracks out of business with impossible to meet demands.

Is this an actual reference to something in your very special way or is it just some poetic new way to meet your quota of satanic horsemen posts?

[Valuist]

Originally Posted by Shemp Howard

If the racing hobo's of America are stabled at Parx, what do we call the pretender's at Penn National (besides indicted)?

David Coverdale would say drifters because the US audience might feel the word "hobo" sounds too much like homo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_I_Go_Again

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by Robert Goren

There is little doubt that Parx is one of the poster boys of what is wrong with Racinos. I am sure how much of it is Sal's fault. Whether we like it or not the horsemen hold all the cards right now and they are milking the system for all they can even if means putting tracks out of business with impossible to meet demands.

That has been your view since the casinos in NJ gave monies to the horseman to keep them from putting slots in. Where are both sides today? The AC casinos are running on fumes and the tracks are being run by private ownership fighting each other for each and every dollar! You can't wave your welfare for the horseman flag anymore in NJ.