Feinstein Wants Santa Anita Halted

[classhandicapper]

Does racing even need California?

If Baffert, O'Neil, Sadler, Hollendorfer, Mandella etc... moved their horses to OP, CD, and BEL, there would be clear downsides for people in the industry in CA, but it might actually be a net positive on the quality of racing overall.

[horsefan2019]

Originally Posted by elhelmete

Why not in-state but not on-track?

You can include in-state OTB's as well, but the point is people no longer have to go to the track to bet on races.

[bob60566]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

Does racing even need California?

If Baffert, O'Neil, Sadler, Hollendorfer, Mandella etc... moved their horses to OP, CD, and BEL, there would be clear downsides for people in the industry in CA, but it might actually be a net positive on the quality of racing overall.

If four out of the five did that John would be laughing all the way to the bank year round.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

Does racing even need California?

No.

Nor NY, nor Florida. Nor.....
NO track or circuit is irreplaceable, although many think they are.

[HalvOnHorseracing]

Originally Posted by cutchemist42

I'll be honest, I'm a 33 year old that actually can watch a race very easily with no bet on it. A trainer on another forum has taught me a lot about trip handicapping that I can actually appreciate the race for what it is. It helps that I'm into other raced/timed sports like luge/F1/various sports and touring car series.

In some parts of the world that have high takeouts, people actually still watch it as a sport.

I just don't buy that the packed grandstands in the 20s was simply because every poor person in America was laying down $40/race.

I think you missed the point. It isn't the beauty and athleticism alone that brings people to the track. Sitting through a race you could have bet is not nearly the same thing as sitting through a race where betting was not allowed. Trust me. Attendance would fall drastically.

Yes, millions of people watch the races that more millions of people bet on. I watch the Epsom Derby and the Irish Derby with no money, but I've been a loyal fan for longer than you've been alive.

I didn't reference the 20's, but since you brought it up, three sports dominated: horseracing, baseball and boxing. You know why the stands were filled? Because there wasn't TV to watch or ADW's where you could bet. Football was in its infancy, and was for the most part uncontrolled. Basketball was at least as far behind. Six teams comprised the NHL. You had to go to the track to make money.

I'm sure you also realize this. The minimum $2 bet represented a significant amount to the people making $50 a week. But the lure of making money was hard to resist.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

Does racing even need California?

If Baffert, O'Neil, Sadler, Hollendorfer, Mandella etc... moved their horses to OP, CD, and BEL, there would be clear downsides for people in the industry in CA, but it might actually be a net positive on the quality of racing overall.

In a strict sense, no. In fact, it's possible the sport is better off with no California than with the current situation here, at least in Southern California. (The tapeta surface at GGF does no harm at all to the sport.)

On the other hand, the sport would be much better off if we could somehow recapture the contribution California made 30 or even 25 years ago.

The problem is, I don't think that's possible. The public no longer cares about racing and can easily be roused against it. Despite what PA says, the people with real power in California politics don't give a hoot about it. And our horsemen are absolutely beyond the pale-- they LIKE a system where they can run doped up horses in 6 horse fields year round. (In their partial defense, the costs here are higher than anywhere else and we don't have nearly as many rich people who are willing to blow their money on the sport the way we used to. So they have to get by as best they can.)

To actually fix racing in California, you would need the public to care about fixing racing, instead of just being pissed off about breakdowns. And that just isn't where we are right now.

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

The public no longer cares about racing and can easily be roused against it. Despite what PA says, the people with real power in California politics don't give a hoot about it.

WHAT? That's EXACTLY WHAT I WROTE. What do you mean despite?!?!?!?!?

[FenceBored]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

To actually fix racing in California, you would need the public to care about fixing racing, instead of just being pissed off about breakdowns. And that just isn't where we are right now.

To fix races it's better not to get the public involved.

[Jeff P]

Earlier today at Belterra Park, the 3-2 favorite, #5 Beu Dan broke down in the upper stretch during the running of race 4.

The track announcer described it as "unseating the rider."

A few minutes later, the announcer cut back in to let everyone know that Deshawn Parker was ok and that he was now walking back to the jock's room under his own power.

A few minutes after that, when the replay was shown, the video had been edited. The part of the race where the breakdown took place had been removed from the footage.

Less than 90 minutes later, at Gulfstream Park in race 5, the #1 horse Dempsey broke down on the far turn.

Gulfstream's track announcer described it as "being eased."

When the replay was shown, once again, the video had been altered. The part of the race where the breakdown took place? Once again, removed from the replay.

Please understand my intent here isn't to throw stones at track announcers and video crews.

They're just doing their jobs - following procedure.

Sadly, the procedure itself has been repeated so many times over the years that we've gotten to the point where it is simply the norm.

What do we do when a breakdown occurs?

As an industry we attempt to whitewash it away.

Our track announcers downplay it in their race calls.

Our track video crews remove all traces of it from the video footage.

As an industry we pretend it doesn't happen, hope no one really notices, and move on to the next race.

In my opinion there's a downside to that.

You see we've actually gotten good at downplaying it.

We've been downplaying it and sweeping it under the rug for so long that I think we've succeeded at making ourselves numb to it.

Being numb to a wrong (any wrong) has unintended consequences.

As human beings, if we don't really feel a wrong: We are seldom motivated to do anything about it.

The events I described above aren't unique. They take place at every race track and with (Imo, alarming) regularity.

I play a lot of races, and I generally play at least five days a week.

It seems like I see at least one breakdown (at some track somewhere) almost every single race day.

After witnessing not one but two breakdowns within 90 minutes of each other today:

It hit me that if I can become as numb to this kind of wrong as I have - and make no mistake it is a wrong - then maybe we as an industry have become a little too good at sweeping our breakdown problem under the rug.

Maybe we shouldn't be striving so hard to do that.

What if we started allowing our track announcers to be more like other sports announcers? What if we actually let them describe all of the events surrounding a race, including breakdowns, 100 percent in their own words?

What if we started allowing our track video crews to be more like other sports video crews? I'm certainly not saying the camera should zoom in and linger on a fallen horse. But I am asking: What if instead of making such an effort to scrub all traces of negative events from our track video, we simply let the camera show exactly what happened, including breakdowns, during the running of each and every race?

I know one thing that would result:

Our sport would get some (Imo, badly needed) transparency.

I know another thing that would result:

We'd feel each breakdown a little more.

Maybe we'd feel them a lot more.

Who knows? If we as an industry felt them strongly enough:

We might even be motivated enough to invent better ways of lessening the likelihood of breakdowns in the first place - as opposed to sweeping every damn one of them under the rug.



-jp

.

[fast4522]

Originally Posted by Tom

No.

Nor NY, nor Florida. Nor.....
NO track or circuit is irreplaceable, although many think they are.

I think it would be more preferable to take away Dianne Feinstein's Lasix.

[BCOURTNEY]

Why not just amputate the California infection and all that goes with it from racing altogether, is it really that hard to imagine a life in racing after California and TSG? It sounds like a smoother path and much easier to navigate than the involvement, the ivory tower and feed them cake routine.

[bob60566]

Maybe this is all playing into Frankie and Belinda long term plan,And i do not think for one minute if they do like the ways things are going in more ways than one. Del Mar and Golden Gate will hold the fort. and everyone is happy.

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by bob60566

Maybe this is all playing into Frankie and Belinda long term plan,And i do not think for one minute if they do like the ways things are going in more ways than one. Del Mar and Golden Gate will hold the fort. and everyone is happy.

I'm confused. How much more information needs to be given before people stop lumping Frank Stronach into anything happening at TSG? He hasn't been involved in decision making for some time.

I'm not taking sides, or offering an opinion, just some facts as there seems to be some constant confusion.

[bob60566]

Intresting new article

Nicola Speranta, an Arcadia realtor, describes the racetrack’s location as real estate “gold.” She adds that were it ever to be converted into a housing/commercial development, the value would be “in the billions.” (Stronach paid US$126 million for the property in 1998).

Maybe she does not like Frankie new plan for San Anita

https://www.thewesternstar.com/busin...elinda-316871/

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by bob60566

Intresting new article

Nicola Speranta, an Arcadia realtor, describes the racetrack’s location as real estate “gold.” She adds that were it ever to be converted into a housing/commercial development, the value would be “in the billions.” (Stronach paid US$126 million for the property in 1998).

Maybe she does not like Frankie new plan for San Anita

https://www.thewesternstar.com/busin...elinda-316871/

This has been known for years. Indeed, for a long time it was assumed that HOL would stay open and SA would close, because SA was so much more valuable to develop.

The fact SA hasn't closed disproves conspiracy theories about the Stronachs. They like racing.