What gives HANA?

[turfnsport]

Not a peep from HANA over the Life At Ten situation where horseplayers were hung out to dry to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Not a peep (recently anyway) about a takeout increase taking place in California that is only five weeks away.

However, I do see a blog entry about Pogo sticks.

At least in this small corner of the world, HANA is losing any credibility it might have once had.

The silence is deafening.

[Jeff P]

We didn’t want to do a “me too” piece about the failure to scratch Life At Ten.

But since you asked…

I think failure to scratch Life At Ten borders on outright theft. Further, it is my opinion that the public deserves nothing less than complete transparency and full disclosure of the events that took place in this incident. The fact that the probabilities of this actually happening are small speaks volumes about what the industry thinks of its customers.


About the California Takeout Increase:

Several weeks ago we sent out an email blast to our membership asking them to fill out a short survey related to the pending Thoroughbred Takeout Increase.

It looks like nearly two thirds of the HANA member-players who took the time to complete the survey are in full support of an organized National Players’ Boycott of California racing.

Further, in talking with my own customer base, it appears that about 80% of the JCapper player community supports such a boycott too. Based on conversations I’ve had with hundreds of other players over the past few months, I’m guessing that a very high percentage of most of the other horseplayer communities out there support an organized boycott of California racing too.

I’m not ready to publicly post details yet. But I will confirm that an organized National Players’ Boycott effort is underway.

Contact me privately if you want to discuss further (or participate in the effort.)

That’s all I can say for now.


-jp

.

[JustRalph]

Originally Posted by turfnsport

Not a peep from HANA over the Life At Ten situation where horseplayers were hung out to dry to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Not a peep (recently anyway) about a takeout increase taking place in California that is only five weeks away.

However, I do see a blog entry about Pogo sticks.

At least in this small corner of the world, HANA is losing any credibility it might have once had.

The silence is deafening.

What would them speaking out have accomplished? Pretty soon you start sounding like the boy who cried Wolf. There was plenty of outrage and light shown on this issue by the press. HANA has to choose its battles and keep its powder dry so to speak. If they start screaming about everything they soon become background noise. Just my opine.

[andymays]

Originally Posted by turfnsport

Not a peep from HANA over the Life At Ten situation where horseplayers were hung out to dry to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Not a peep (recently anyway) about a takeout increase taking place in California that is only five weeks away.

However, I do see a blog entry about Pogo sticks.

At least in this small corner of the world, HANA is losing any credibility it might have once had.

The silence is deafening.

This is real simple but for some reason the same things keep happening.

If HANA wants to be a membership organization then they need to do certain things.

Addressing injustices like the Life at Ten incident is one of them. That should have been done within 24 hours of the incident. Waiting until the investigation is complete doesn't cut it because the people doing the investigating are part of the problem. You wouldn't have to reach a firm conclusion within 24 hours but something should be written about the incident with more information to follow.

Letting members participate in bringing attention to problems in the industry is a no-brainer yet there is reluctance to do so. Why?

As I've said many times HANA should probably be a "Think Tank" (or Policy Institute) rather than a membership organization. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_tank

The status quo isn't working at all. The numbers of "active" members is much lower than total members and there is a reason for that. You can't just use members to conduct an experiment (survey) once a year and then put them back in their cages. What doesn't the Board get about that?

HANA has done a bunch of good stuff and net positive for Horseplayers but at some point they need to decide what they want to be. The "Think Tank" way seems to be the most comfortable for the current leadership. There aint nothing wrong with that either.

[turfnsport]

Originally Posted by Jeff P

We didn’t want to do a “me too” piece about the failure to scratch Life At Ten.

Wrong answer

Originally Posted by andymays

Addressing injustices like the Life at Ten incident is one of them. That should have been done within 24 hours of the incident. Waiting until the investigation is complete doesn't cut it because the people doing the investigating are part of the problem. You wouldn't have to reach a firm conclusion within 24 hours but something should be written about the incident with more information to follow.

Right answer

[turfnsport]

Originally Posted by Jeff P

We didn’t want to do a “me too” piece about the failure to scratch Life At Ten.

But since you asked…

I think failure to scratch Life At Ten borders on outright theft. Further, it is my opinion that the public deserves nothing less than complete transparency and full disclosure of the events that took place in this incident. The fact that the probabilities of this actually happening are small speaks volumes about what the industry thinks of its customers.

You use the words "outright theft" and the public deserves "nothing less than complete transparency and full disclosure of the events that took place in this incident," yet HANA as an organization remaining silent over this incident until I asked is very puzzling to me.

[TurfRuler]

On the flip side I heard that Life At Ten did not like the lights at Churchill Downs and showed her displeasure. I know that Life At Ten also suffered an injury in 2009 that could have affected her in the Championship Race. And one other point that the so-called complainer of HANA are missing, is that one horse can not win them all and will eventually run last as the favorite. It happens everyday at all racetracks in the world. Keep on betting favorites and keep on complaining about claimers as well as top handicap/stakes performers. But HANA should not let us know this common handicapper mistake.

[DJofSD]

Originally Posted by TurfRuler

On the flip side I heard that Life At Ten did not like the lights at Churchill Downs and showed her displeasure. I know that Life At Ten also suffered an injury in 2009 that could have affected her in the Championship Race. And one other point that the so-called complainer of HANA are missing, is that one horse can not win them all and will eventually run last as the favorite. It happens everyday at all racetracks in the world. Keep on betting favorites and keep on complaining about claimers as well as top handicap/stakes performers. But HANA should not let us know this common handicapper mistake.

What are you talking about?

LaT did not go off as the favorite.

No one is saying she should have won let alone win them all. You must be thinking of Zenyatta, and, if so, that has nothing to do with the LaT controversy or HANA.

Common handicapping mistake? Which one are you referring to that applies to LaT?

You seem to miss the point. Bettor's interests (i.e. money) were not protected by the people and offices whose functions exist for that very purpose. They at least could have given us a kiss.

[andymays]

How does that old country song go?

They (Churchill) got the goldmine and I got the shaft.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-p0zn3PijY

[DJofSD]

Originally Posted by andymays

How does that old country song go?

They (Churchill) got the goldmine and I got the shaft.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-p0zn3PijY

And I hope that when the betting public, HANA and others are done, Veitch and company will be singing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP2oT7F6DSo

[TurfRuler]

Originally Posted by DJofSD

What are you talking about?

LaT did not go off as the favorite.

No one is saying she should have won let alone win them all. You must be thinking of Zenyatta, and, if so, that has nothing to do with the LaT controversy or HANA.

Common handicapping mistake? Which one are you referring to that applies to LaT?

You seem to miss the point. Bettor's interests (i.e. money) were not protected by the people and offices whose functions exist for that very purpose. They at least could have given us a kiss.

First I , then I after reading your post about the LaT controversy, but I see you are still shedding .

[andymays]

The Life At Ten Debacle

http://blog.horseplayersassociation.org/

Excerpt:

A number of players and HANA members have told me in no uncertain terms that as HANA's President, I should have immediately called for Veitch's head on a plate.

A number of HANA members and players have also asked why HANA has been silent about the Life At Ten debacle. (And make no mistake: It was a debacle.)

It's a valid question. One that deserves an answer.

Please do not take our silence to mean we approve of what happened or the apparent attempt by Veitch to sweep it under the rug. We are every bit as incensed and bewildered over the events surrounding the Life At Ten incident as you are.

Our mission at HANA is to give horseplayers a voice. As a way of achieving that, we strive to shine a very public spotlight on racing's many debacles (and yes, there are many.)

[PhantomOnTour]

No disrespect to HANA, but they seem a powerless organization. All they have is the power of persuasion and a watchdog role imo. They would gain more influence if they could organize their membership into some difference making actions.
Protests, speeches, and attending meetings does not cut it. Racetracks will listen when HANA members can and do directly affect the handle. Seems that boycotts or showing support for a particular track are one-day events.

The LaT debacle is a perfect example. HANA needs to raise 10 kinds of holy hell over this. I suppose nothing will really happen unless some Congressman on the Hill forms a committee and has hearings under oath.

I went to the link from the above post and there is an article dated today (21Nov) about the LaT incident....why an article today? That's 2 weeks down the road.

[discodog]

Hana is more interested in getting a private room, and a few hot dogs, and free beer at the track than they are worried, or wanting to do anything to help the bettor.

The owners of LAT were blaming the track and stewards, the stewards were playing dumb, Johnny V was telling the world 10 minutes before post something was wrong and Pletcher admits the horse was not right when she came to the paddock.

To top it off the Test Barn was to full to test the horse after the race. The TEST BARN WAS TOO FULL. I mean after all there was only close to a half million bet in the WPS pools, and a measley 2 or 3 million in gimmicks, Why worry about the Bettor.

I have one question, when all is said and done, WHO GOT SCREWED.

[Charli125]

Originally Posted by discodog

Hana is more interested in getting a private room, and a few hot dogs, and free beer at the track than they are worried, or wanting to do anything to help the bettor.

You've posted this type of drivel before, so I have to ask, have you ever been to a HANA track meeting or are you speaking purely out of your ass? I've been to several and you're sorely mistaken if you think the above characterizes our meetings. A lot has been accomplished when you consider what a small organization we are, and that we all have jobs that tend to take up a good part of our day.

To all of the HANA detractors that complain about nothing being done. What have you done? Not that I expect anyone to do anything, but it's pretty weak to sit at your desk and try to make us look like a bunch of paid lobbyists when in fact we're unpaid volunteers doing as much as we can with our limited time and resources.

Disagree all you want with our positions, and let us have it when you think we've dropped the ball on something. We're a horseplayer advocacy group, and in order to advocate, we need to know what horseplayers think. Look at AndyMays for example. He gives us the most grief of pretty much anyone, but he only does that when he thinks we're doing something wrong, and he comes from a place of wanting to help.(No offense Andy!)

Just leave out the, "they're just doing it for the free beer" BS. I, and other HANA members have spent thousands of our own money attending meetings with tracks/equibase/etc., so trust me on this, we're not in it for the money!

I've never seen a volunteer organization that is fighting for your rights get so much grief from people hiding behind a computer. I understand complaints when you disagree, but to ignore the good that has come from HANA is just stupid.