How can horse racing take advantage of the chaos in team sports?

[bigeastbeast]

There has be a way to reach the pro sports fan turned off by the USA hating seen in the NFL and the NBA.

Ads proclaiming that the horses never complain,etc.Any ideas?

[thaskalos]

I have an idea. How about a horseracing ad proclaiming:

In our sport, there is no "racial injustice"...as there is in society at large. Here...we will charge you 16%-31% to participate...REGARDLESS of your race, or creed.

[AlsoEligible]

Originally Posted by bigeastbeast

Ads proclaiming that the horses never complain,etc.Any ideas?

"If our athletes are on their knees, we'll shoot them in the head."

[VigorsTheGrey]

Who says the protest will not spread to include horse racing...? Can't you envision all the affecting jockeys coming out from the Jockeys room and taking the knee while the anthem is playing prior to the races...? Does not racing have an assumed heritage of white privilege...the sport is ripe for this type of social protest...not that I agree with it.

[Jeff P]

I can see it now...

All of the riders agree while in the jock's room to line up on the track apron just prior to the playing of the anthem, and kneel once playing of the anthem commences.

Then, for absolutely no reason, Kent Desormeaux stands up in the middle of the last verse - just before the anthem is completed.




-jp

.

[elhelmete]

Of all the professional sporting events I've gone to, horse racing by far has the least % of people standing and removing their hats for the flag/anthem.

[AlsoEligible]

Do most racetracks even play the anthem before racing? I mean, I've seen it for the big days. Triple Crown, Breeder's, etc.

But on a normal raceday, I honestly don't recall hearing it. Or at least, no one cared enough to put down their programs and stand up for it. Maybe it's more prevalent at some tracks over others?

[cj]

Originally Posted by AlsoEligible

Do most racetracks even play the anthem before racing? I mean, I've seen it for the big days. Triple Crown, Breeder's, etc.

But on a normal raceday, I honestly don't recall hearing it. Or at least, no one cared enough to put down their programs and stand up for it. Maybe it's more prevalent at some tracks over others?

I always thought it got played everywhere, pretty early before the card, but I could be wrong.

[outofthebox]

Originally Posted by AlsoEligible

Do most racetracks even play the anthem before racing? I mean, I've seen it for the big days. Triple Crown, Breeder's, etc.

But on a normal raceday, I honestly don't recall hearing it. Or at least, no one cared enough to put down their programs and stand up for it. Maybe it's more prevalent at some tracks over others?

Played at every track i've been to. But like you said, seen plenty of people disregard it while watching the simulcast tv's and reading the forms.

[elhelmete]

At SA and DMR and the old HOL and LRC it's played about an hour before post and it's followed up with today's changes.

[dilanesp]

I have bet on horses who took a knee coming out of the gate.

[DSB]

Originally Posted by Jeff P

I can see it now...

All of the riders agree while in the jock's room to line up on the track apron just prior to the playing of the anthem, and kneel once playing of the anthem commences.

-jp.

If this scenario ever played out, ICE should be called immediately and turned loose on the backstretch.

That would be the last time the jocks pulled that nonsense.

[VigorsTheGrey]

It is really difficult to have a conversation about racial issues because there is so much political correctness now...and this is especially true when it comes to language use itself...I never know what the current PC and appropriate language to use when referring to "persons of color"...Don't know if it is ok to say "black people" or "African-Americans" or "person of color" (as if "white" is not a color")....

In the NFL case, it seems to be a "you fill in the blank" issue stemming from recent white/ black tensions initially unrelated to the NFL...The NFL has been used as a stage for the grandstanding, showcasing, of social/ political tensions originally extraneous to the NFL...The travails of Colin K., who initiated the bent knee phenom, has transformed him into a galvanizing type of wounded hero-warrior or disrespectful figurehead for these issues depending on one's opinion...

The Sport of Racing is very different...there doesn't seem to be a very high percentage of black Americans involved in the limelight spots for there to be much of a protest....but there is a large percentage of Latinos present in the jockey, trainer, owners levels, who, if they chose to align themselves with the protestors, could definitely make a similar social statement...if they indeed chose to use their work venues to grandstand larger social tensions...

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by elhelmete

Of all the professional sporting events I've gone to, horse racing by far has the least % of people standing and removing their hats for the flag/anthem.

That varies depending on the region. I have been to tracks where I would worry about getting beaten, if not shot, if I was sitting and/or wearing a hat during the anthem.

[Ruffian1]

Originally Posted by AlsoEligible

"If our athletes are on their knees, we'll shoot them in the head."

If you ever had to witness a horse having to be put down, I doubt you would make light of it.