National Thoroughbred League

[PhantomOnTour]

I'll set the odds of this succeeding at 50-1.


https://www.drf.com/news/new-horse-r...unch-september

I don't see how this is attractive to the bettors in any way

[PalaceOfFortLarned]

“We’re going to try to get the best horses we can get without breaking the bank,” Ludt said. “It’s going to be a balancing act. We’re not going to be buying cheap claiming horses, but we’re also not going to be buying Grade 1 winners.”

There is no way this can be real.

[elhelmete]

I skimmed the article, to be fair, but didn't see a lot that seemed in tune with reality.
Also I saw no mention of what happens if any given horse is injured or just in some way not in form to race on a mandatory race day.

I could keep going...are the races meant to be over a mix of surfaces...and if so it would seem a bit iffy (to bettors and the horses themselves) to insist that a horse run over a surface for which it's not necessarily suited.

[ScottJ]

Each league “event” will include three races open only to horses that are owned by the company, the organizers said. Each team will be able to enter one of their six horses in each of the three races, for a maximum field of six horses in each race. Betting will be allowed on the races, administered by the track, with the proceeds of the betting going to the host track and its horsemen, the organizers said.

Cannot wait for a preplanned set of six horse fields. Better yet, how long does it take for a race not to fill or an "entry" is needed with two horses from one team?

Tom Ludt, a former chairman of Breeders’ Cup Ltd. and former president of the Vinery sales and breeding operation, has been hired as the league’s president of horse operations. Ludt said on Monday that he will begin buying the horses for the company this summer, in anticipation of an early July draft. All the horses will be acquired privately, Ludt said, and the company will be looking for “high-allowance, low stakes-level horses.”

Anyone with NW2/NW3 allowance horses, listed stakes, overnight stakes or even Grade III talent must be looking forward to the $100,000+ claiming tag.

[Sheffwed]

so tell me how this will work without rigorous drug testing or similar minimum standards applied

like Repo Rocks sounds like the perfect horse for this category and how would that fly with the general public?

or is that okay, and is this like those unregulated Georgia racing debacle meets?

[castaway01]

In a fictional world, something like this is a good idea.

The problems are too vast to overcome---horses (and those who manage them) are flesh and blood and not robots, there are better ways to make money in the industry, small fields like this are not appealing, there is a structure of better races in place already where you can pick your spots and win rather than get involved with something new, etc.

[thaskalos]

If they depend upon the live attendance in order to pay their bills...then they are doomed to failure.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

If they depend upon the live attendance in order to pay their bills...then they are doomed to failure.

That was my first thought too.

They better hope the promotion somehow increases handle and they can get a piece of the pie from the tracks and also add sponsorships because getting people to the track is no easy task.

[elhelmete]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

That was my first thought too.

They better hope the promotion somehow increases handle and they can get a piece of the pie from the tracks and also add sponsorships because getting people to the track is no easy task.

And the used the word "thousands" and "Kentucky DOwns" in the same article.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

That was my first thought too.

They better hope the promotion somehow increases handle and they can get a piece of the pie from the tracks and also add sponsorships because getting people to the track is no easy task.

I don't see how the tracks can be accommodating in this venture, considering that this league is acting as "competition" for the wagering dollar against the rest of the horsemen upon whom the game depends for its livelihood.

[VeryOldMan]

What an unfocused mess - I don't see how it can possibly succeed in the form suggested.

Has anyone here ever heard any clamor for a team sports concept for horse racing? I sure haven't.

And then when you read the piece, it sounds like they're suggesting the teams are simply the mechanism to have an "events" business.

“It’s an events model,” Lane said. “It’s based on the idea that we can bring thousands of new people to the track, and we can bring the kind of people that sponsors want to reach. So it’s no different than Preakness weekend this past weekend. We’ll be running events the entire weekend, not just the event at the track. It’s not just the races, it’s the lifestyle around the races.”

Why do you need teams in order to come up with a series of higher-profile events? If the people are coming for the "event", why would they have a particular affinity for these "team" races beyond whatever excitement you can already get from the existing race card?

This seems even dumber than the "teams" in LIV Golf.

[Andy Asaro]

Twitter

Twitter

[elhelmete]

Originally Posted by Andy Asaro

https://twitter.com/racetrackandy/st...83942165041152

Yup, money (that could have been used for more urgent horseracing needs) will get burned and nothing will happen.

[dilanesp]

This isn't going to work, but I'm glad some rich and famous people care about our sport.

[dlivery]

Originally Posted by elhelmete

Yup, money (that could have been used for more urgent horseracing needs) will get burned and nothing will happen.

What was money is now blowing away!