What business are we in?

What would Google do? Preservation is not a strategy.

The second article could prove instructive to racing management, in all its guises. (Note to management, pay attention to below policy in particular):

LOW PRICES ARE GOOD (FREE IS BETTER)

Google doesn't charge people to use its search engine. In fact, the fastest-growing Net companies—from Google and Skype to Amazon and eBay—don't charge what the market will bear. They charge as little as they can bear. With networks of people, the more users you get, the stronger your competitive position. Scale can trump short-term profits.

Chatham House Rule.

What is the level of debate we are having? Who is having this debate and where?

There is no pain free way to get out of this mess and sacrifice is required from all parties. Hoping to cash a lottery ticket is not a business plan and no amount of wishful thinking will make it a sound strategy. The deadweight loss imposed by irrational tax burdens, reminiscent of the Danegeld without its inherent charms, is a practice that defies comprehension.

I will stipulate that Waldrop, Marzelli et al., might not be as stupid as I constantly say they are. They might not be amoral, megalomaniacal bastards. They might actually have a shred of concern for the game, if only in as much as it affects their pocketbooks.

So why can't they take their position of influence and wrangle the dysfunctional parties to the proverbial table and have an honest discussion, free from the soundbite and kabuki-theatre that accompanies most conferences? Assure the respective parties an honest and private forum to air out their concerns. Infighting and recrimination is not conducive to developing a cohesive strategy.

Once something is outlined it can be brought to the public forum.

The Agora

Why can't we have the discussion here? (Not here, here, someplace people actually frequent.) Is there one I am missing? Who will host this?

Halsey Minor, Remi Bellocq, Fred Pope, Andrew Black, Ray Paulick, Seth Morrow ( I am sure there are others) all understand the power of the internet and the direction the world is headed. A discussion is required and it needs serious people.

The game is not doomed, it must change though. It needs to shed the waste at the margin. Something is seriously wrong when the number of races you card surpasses the next three countries combined, while the handle per race is next to last of twelve.

Racing in the U.S. managed to build its own pyre of cinnamon sticks but out of the ashes it can rise, reborn.

It just takes an honest and open exchange of ideas.

Nostalgia and anabasis

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

-J.R.R. Tolkien

Horse racing is rich in traditions and pageantry. The history of the thoroughbred alone is one steeped in mythos and praxis.

The underlying nobility of the horse is what has persevered throughout. It cannot be tarnished by incompetent marketing, risible administration, the Jersey Act or ADW disputes.

That history and 'brand awareness' is unique and it is a commodity.

I would suggest we take one final step back, gather everything that was good about this game, the insouciance, the nobility, the work ethic and the crowning moments, and compile an almanac for the ages.

An encyclopedia of newspaper articles from, 'when it was a game'. A tribute to where we came from before we forge ahead into the new century with a clean sheet.

New authors and countless possibilities.

Asking the question

President Obama just concluded an interview in the Oval Office. The topic of discussion was the upcoming fiscal stimulus and the responsibility of Wall Street to exhibit some discipline, in light of their receiving taxpayer dollars to bail them out of the situation Congress got us into.

As a last question, a reporter asked President Obama who he liked in the Super Bowl. Apparently, due to campaign contributions and whatever other reason he managed to throw out there, Mr. Obama holds the Pittsburgh Steelers near and dear to his heart, second only to the Bears.

Maybe the NTRA can start working on planting a reporter in the Oval Office before the Fountain of Youth, to ask President Obama who he likes to complete the trifecta?

I would settle for Kentucky Derby week. He has probably heard of that.

Any movie, any time

Netflix has a thing, where you pay $9.99 a month and you have access, through certain approved devices, to their entire online library of movies. These are streamed through your internet connection and available at any time, in unlimited quantities. You can also, still use their mail service, as always.

That movie you thought was the next big thing, turns out to be crap, twenty minutes in? No problem, just pick something else. No additional fee, no nothing.

Maybe DRF or Brisnet could use this concept in their PP presentation. The card you paid for has no betting value for you? No problem, just get the next one, or another five.

What do they care? You paid up front and if you are not betting, those cards are no good anyway. It's not like anybody can use today's PP's, tomorrow. There is no copyright infringement or anything.

Lese Majeste

A friend of mine is a sports attorney out on the east coast, and although he is Canadian and a Leafs fan, he is an O.K. guy. He used to manage a minor league hockey team and then made a very short run as an agent, before jacking up his whole life and going to law school.

He would call me every once in a while and share some obscure case article he was reading or tell me how he had no idea why the hell he left the front office to do what he was doing. During one of these calls, before I put down the phone and went to make a sandwich, as I usually do when he calls, he told me how he was planning on writing one of his term papers on the Jockey Club but reconsidered when his professor advised him, with no small emphasis, 'The Jockey Club does not like to be written about.'

Who cares what the Jockey Club likes? Equispace, and my apologies to him if Wilford Brimley appears at his door with a leather suitcase, has a great piece on the slightly skewed salary structure this not-for-profit organization has developed.

Small wonder they don't want to discourage breeders from breeding as much and as often as they can. Need to keep those registration fees coming.

Who has access to Jockey Club information? Spread the word. Stick it to The Man.

Where is Garrett Redmond when you need him?

...Of Mus Musculus and Homo Sapiens

"If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans."
-Woody Allen

Today, at the Davos economic summit, Professor Michael Porter of Harvard Business School, fielded questions on Squawk Box, regarding the current business environment. Some of his answers:

• '...we are not necessarily organized to do strategic thinking...'
• '...we don't make long-term plans...'
• '...if an industry competes on price alone, profitability suffers.'
• '...other countries have a long-term plan. It's written down.'
• 'Sound long-term strategy is effectively how you're going to deliver unique value.'

I don't know if the NTRA has anyone at Davos. I would not imagine they do.

Let's hope they at least get CNBC.

Illinois Soaps

Like shit through a tin horn, so are the days of our lost and useless lives.

Apparently unsatisfied with a .98 winning percentage, Frank C. Calabrese, of Dreaming of Anna and Lewis Michael fame, has fired Wayne Catalano, yet again.

How one manages to win every single title available in Illinois for eight out of ten years, and lose $2 million dollars in the bargain, is beyond me.

By several accounts, Calabrese and Catalano never liked each other, and Calabrese describes Catalano as having character flaws. Poor bastard, good thing I don't have any of those.

Rod Blagojevich, the epitome of character flaw, rogered the Illinois race tracks, but good. Just so you don't think we only claim presidents born out of state as our own, Illinois can breed a scumbag just like the rest of you.

Blood in the streets

"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,.."
-Kipling

It is Betfair's world and we are just living in it.

An adage on Wall Street encourages one to buy when there is blood in the streets. In theory, when everyone is panicking or in distress, is the time when most bargains can be found.

The Breeders' Cup is seeing its sponsors go the way of GM's corporate aircraft fleet and still looking for a sponsor for the, Europeans are going to kick our ass Invitational.

The Betfair Breeders' Cup Classic has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

Ideas to shoot down

If we just look at the after racing life of thoroughbred horses, we get a good idea of how poorly the system is set up.

Many owners are thoughtful and caring. They provide a safe retirement for their horses or donate them to facilities that attempt to do that. Others, much like in any other facet of society, just view the horses as a commodity, whose usefulness is over, when the training costs start eclipsing the purse money.

Has anyone discussed the concept of a quasi "social security" for horses?

The funds could come from purse monies at a graduated rate, based on the purse itself and race grade. For example (these are just back of the envelope numbers):

• (Tier 1) GI races and purses over $300,000-5% of winner's share goes to fund. 2% for all other awards.
• (Tier 2) G II/III and purses over $100,000-3% of winner's share and 1% for all other awards.
• (Tier 3) Listed stakes and purses over $60,000- 2% of winner's share and 1% for all others.
• (Tier 4) Purses over $30,000-2% of winner's share.

Have the funds go to the NTRA or whatever organization is set up for this purpose and they can manage the dispersal of funds. Have one office for all retired thoroughbreds. Concentrate the effort and get more bang for the buck.

Have all individual charities that want to receive these funds, meet whatever criteria the umbrella organization determines are important. I would recommend separating the criteria from nepotistic affiliations or country club acquaintances; Jockey Club patronage should not be a factor.

The criteria, set out for public scrutiny, would be a blanket policy. If you meet the criteria, you get the funding, as a factor of how many other groups are eligible for the funds. The backward looking nature of this criteria would, I think, prevent any politics or chicanery.

Say this idea goes into effect this year. All the purse monies collected go into the fund and are to be distributed in FY 2010. This year, all the facilities that want to apply for the funds fill out the application and if they meet whatever criteria are laid out, they qualify. At the end of the year, say 50 retirement groups qualified, those 50 groups split the funds in the pool equally. All the monies get awarded.

Individual retirement foundations are, of course, allowed to seek their own external donations, just as they do now but they could supplement those funds with this network. One of the criteria could be that if your organization gets more than (X) amount of dollars in external donations, you don't qualify for the fund monies.

Maybe stipulate that if a stallion stands in excess of $50,000, 3% of those fees are subject to the charity. Any horse that stands prior to its 5yo season, 20% of those monies are owed to the fund.

The Jockey Club could easily enforce this policy by refusing to give breeders the foal papers, if the stud farm fails to pay its dues.

I'm spitballing here. What are the flaws? What are the suggestions?

We've run out of coffee

Here's the reason Waldrop, Marzelli, et al. have been dragging their feet on those silly reforms. No reason to implement any changes now.

And I thought they were too stupid to look ahead.

Virtual Reality

In my previous post, I postulated the preposterous idea of the NTRA developing a video game where one is put in charge of the game from the management office. Run the game as if you were in charge of the economics, the politics(mafia), the calendar, the Jockey Club...everything.

On reading this post, I started thinking that the idea might not be far off.

Screw the video game concept. Why not create the game in Second Life or whatever other virtual world is out there? If there isn't something set up already.

If economists can glean insights from a virtual bank run, in a video game, why can't the witless figureheads in racing management float a trial balloon in the virtual world and see what shakes out.

I guess the thought of being proved fatuous and de trop, isn't appealing to anyone in the management office.

If it's in the game...

MLB 2k announced their new iteration of the genre. The concept involves leading a team from the front office. Apparently, no actual games are played, just determined by whatever roster you manage to put together.

The NTRA and racing in general could learn a lot from these games. They could develop a game where one is placed in charge of an inept marketing agency and tasked with bringing a rational resolution to the fiasco we know as horse racing.

Then again, Waldrop, Couto, et al., would nix the whole project during trials, when my two year old solves the entire game, inside of 30 minutes, during beta.

On Sartin, Hackers and the Snafu principle

In his book, Modern Pace Handicapping, Tom Brohamer takes a shot at presenting the Sartin methodology in layman's terms.

It involves simple math in determining feet per second calculations based on running lines and beaten lengths. The numbers are then compared to a track bias based on running styles and winning percentages.

The calculations are easy and reveal exact figures that any data cruncher would be happy to have.

The problem is, those precise numbers are derived from information that is spotty at best. The numbers are taken from the running lines, which are made by the chart callers. At the various points of call, the person in charge of calling out beaten lengths and running order, is guesstimating where the horse is in relation to the other horses and they are doing this for all the horses in a race, 9,10,11 times a day.

What is the argument against putting RFID chips in the saddle cloths? Is this really such a point of contention, that tracks and racing execs think more and better information would be detrimental to the game? If the information were better, more people might be inclined to play. The track could then rake their standard usurious rate from the pool.

Open source the information. Why isn't Google working on this? Get Sergei on the phone. Doesn't Google have some mechanism where one can submit ideas for their crazy time off projects? Everyone is encouraged to pursue something not business related and Google will let them do it. At least one of their employees must have, at least heard, of horse racing.

Linkage

1. Maybe the NTRA could start something like this, to sort out its problems.
2. More reason to get horses in the classroom, or boardroom. Or any room.
3. Some ideas are too stupid to pass up. More camera angles. Helmet cams, whip cams, bridle cams...
4. Not horse racing related but cool.
5. Can't find horse racing anywhere. Cricket? You bet.
   

Why does Rice play Texas?

GreenbutGame called me out in a recent comment.

'Out of curiosity, what would you do differently?'

I normally prefer to cast aspersion from the comforting recesses of the heckler's seat and generally have nothing constructive to contribute to a conversation; that said, I am also never one to avoid making an ass out of myself and will do so again.

I don't know how to design or build an airplane but I do know when one does not handle properly or when it needs some work. I can't tell you when to play a cover two but I know when the other team puts thirty points on the board, whatever strategy you are using is not working.

I fly airplanes because I am not smart or qualified enough to do anything else. I have never had a real job or worked in a corporate environment so I am ignorant of the politics and bullshit that is involved with getting anything done.

The cockpit is not the place to worry about who is right, only what is right and rank means nothing when a course of action is required.

Having no knowledge of what parties are involved in the dealings with the NTRA and the laughable process Mr. Waldrop refers to as the Alliance, I am going to work with a few assumptions:

1. I have reached the position with a certain amount of inside information at my disposal (I know where the bodies are buried).
2. I have a firm grasp of the inner workings of the industry.
3. I care about the game more than my own job.

When President Kennedy announced the goal of landing a man on the moon, NASA had a total of just over 31 minutes in suborbital space flight to work with. It had not developed the technology that was required to develop the technology to launch a man out of Earth orbit.

But NASA had the vision, knowledge, faith and financial backing to persevere.

Racing needs an Apollo program.

I guess financial backing is the place to start since every incompetent imbecile in this game is too stupid to do what is right.

Approach the Sheikhs. Promise them whatever it is they want but get their money. Use it to clean up the game. Ban every and all drugs and use the money for universal testing.

Dr. David Marlin, renowned equine exercise physiologist, in his book Equine Exercise Physiology, states, "The efficacy of frusemide in reducing pulmonary vascular pressures during exercise has been extensively demonstrated; however, evidence for its efficacy in preventing EIPH (exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage) has been lacking."

Pullthepocket, in a recent post, shows the Shibboleth of the first time lasix angle. Lasix is not used to prevent bleeding. It is used to mask the other drugs trainers use. Eliminate lasix and take a big step toward eliminating drugs.

Identify the players in this game. The trainers and owners who have the respect of the industry and not just the talking heads. Jerkens, Servis, MacAnally, McGaughey and Nafzger...probably others too. Call in the jockeys, the owners that really care, Lael stables, the Whitneys, whoever else.

Above all else, bring in the government. Whether it be the states attorney's general or the Attorney General of the United States, make sure that the racing industry knows you are calling on big brother to watch the entire proceedings.

The top of the list is the elimination of drugs. No ifs, ands or buts. No prevaricating, no trying to appease the jagoffs that just don't get it. Make that your legacy and damn the rest of them. Why the RICO act can't be used against trainers that violate the drug policy, I don't know but try to get it in the mix.

Impose crippling fines on any trainer and owner that violates the rules.

Will this ruffle feathers and possibly alienate somebody? Absolutely but they won't have a leg to stand on when your policy is no drugs and they are the ones who won't go for it. How do any of these players hope to make a persuasive argument when the message is 'We are for drugs in the game'?

If the fight is the elimination of drugs, nobody can stand up to that and look good. Once that is in the bag, everything else is gravy because the legitimacy of your position will be established.

Eliminate the drugs and forget everything else. Do what is right.

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

The written word

By noon, EST, this country's 44_th President will take the oath of office.

By tonight, many will be talking of the hope and promise this country can aspire to; many will play his inauguration speech ad nauseam, straining to extract that last drop of meaning from his words.

I was not consulted in the drafting of the speech but I would be remiss if I did not tip my hat to the team of writers that make poetry out of prose. The change and promise that President (elect) Obama inspires, is a function of the man, but it in no small part is a result of the writers, who allow us to envision something better.

Heck of a job Wally

'You land a million planes safely, and then you have one little mid-air collision and you never hear the end of it."
-NY Tracon Controller

There is no try.

Something either gets done or it does not. When it does not, someone is responsible. It's what separates us from the socialists.

When the hell did it become acceptable to fail miserably at your job and just expect to continue in that position?

Here is Alex Waldrop's last post. Full of passive verbs and flaccid arguments.

'Governance documents are being authored.'
'A draft of certification standards has been identified and is set to be shared...'
'And a plan for the next 100 days will be presented to the Alliance Board in late January.'

These are words from somebody stalling for time because he doesn't have the faintest frigging idea of how to make anything happen.

This game has been dysfunctional how long? Eight Belles went horribly wrong in May and f*&%ing 'documents are being authored'.

If he had a shred of decency left, Mr. Waldrop would scramble to find what is left of his manhood, author his own resignation, and submit an application to be the director of FEMA.

The name game

There are, currently, two opportunities for one to name an unraced horse. One just happens to involve a little bit of money.

Thatsamore has shares available in a two year old Peace Rules filly. Members get to name her.

FoolishPleasure has a slightly less capital intensive(free) opportunity to name more than one horse.

Give them both a shot.

The beatings will continue until morale improves

This was the year I would start the little Pinwheel on her adventures in handicapping. We barely sat down to decipher the hieroglyphics of the Form before the body blows began to reign down.

Go Between and Indyanne, Godspeed. Down the stretch, The Turk and Green but Game have touching tributes.

This raises the question of whether or not the CHRB and racing in general considered what would happen if they changed the surface and the breakdowns continued (Go Between excepted).

I don't know either way but it seemingly begs the question of the synthetic solution.

Markets for anything

With the not complete failure of the recent legends race and people having odd fetishes, what if the NTRA managed to limp their way to a decision and pull together whatever KY Derby winners are still out there and tour them around the major tracks during this racing season.

Everybody loves a parade and would probably pay to come see a KY Derby winner up front.

Of course, that would require coordination, marketing, consensus...oh, never mind.

Progression

Why do they run $62,500 Maiden Claiming races?

What makes anyone think a horse so slow, an owner is willing to get rid of it straight away because the feed bill will eclipse the purse money, will get claimed away?

Is it vanity? Do tracks card these races so owners have something to point to? Why would anyone keep a horse in training if it can't get out of its own way?

If, class will tell, and maiden claimers are ostensibly the bottom of the barrel, why would anyone pay that much money for a horse which almost certainly will never come close to recouping its cost?

The Handicapper's Condition Book warns bettors away from any horse running in a maiden claimer in its first start. Why? Because odds are it cannot win.

If the bettor is unwilling to risk his capital on the horse, why is an owner willing to do just that? Do they hope the horse will get claimed away by a greater fool and save them from the colossal mistake they made by trying to make this horse a runner? Is it just that?

I understand there are games played within the claiming game, the darkening of form of a quality horse and so on but those are the exceptions and not the norm. Most maiden claimers are slow and without ability. That is not to say they should not be running but what sense does it make for anyone to think a 62.5 Mcl could compete against Lava Man who ran for a 50k tag? Charismatic, who ran for 62.5?

Try explaining to a first time race goer why the horse that is offered for $62.5k is not even close in quality to the horse running in an open $35k claimer. WTF is that?

I read a post on Gallop France where she discusses the progression of horses across the pond. The lowest level are the claiming races and then they move to handicaps, which are, as I understand it, a version of our Allowance races but require a certain performance within prior races in order to qualify for the next one. The weights assigned in those races are determined by the prior performance.

This is not the most pressing issue in our game today but I think there is too much ambiguity in the racing quality out there and the presentation of it to the public. If the industry doesn't understand its own product, how can they be expected to present it to the consumer?

How many runners work their way through their allowances before tackling stakes company? Guadalcanal ran in the Belmont last year as a maiden.

If the grading of races was designed to select the best horses for the purposes of breeding, how does it serve that purpose if a GI race could, in theory, be filled with straight maidens?

Sure, it's nice to enter your horse in the Belmont and hope that every horse in the race dwells at the gate so you have a shot at the money but that shouldn't be the way it works.

Why not have a minimum criteria in order to qualify for graded races?

If we are going to have a progression, let's at least have it mean something.

I touch myself

I have very fond memories of the Divinyls but I wouldn't recommend trying this on the "A" train to Aqueduct.

Nary a (Pin)drop

"Those who know, don't speak; those who speak don't know."
-Lao Tzu

Paulick Report has a debate going on one of his posts.

This is a serious discussion and deserves an honest debate. There is a fair amount of back and forth going on among the various commenters(?) but absent from the discussion is anyone from the NTRA, Jockey Club or C-suite track execs.

It is possible they are involved in sober and thorough discussions amongst themselves and are waiting to iron out the roadmap and present a cogent and definitive plan. It is possible, Marzelli, Waldrop and Phipps have resigned themselves to the sickening truth and are prepared to fundamentally change the game.

It is more likely, they have completely misread the field and are so morbidly stupid, they are out of touch with the way the game is played. The villagers are at the gates, pitchforks and torches clutched in the bloodless hands of a population eviscerated by incompetence and esurience.

They sit in their tower, luxuriating in their delusions and cobra venom, unaware of the vultures circling overhead.

It's a Web 2.0 world and while I have no idea what that means, people keep saying it, so it must be true.

Halsey Minor is quick to pop up in a comment stream whenever his name is thrown out. An article, which I forget where I read it and can't find, regarding the DRF dismissal of PEB, brought on a childish display of name calling and petulance normally reserved for the halls of Congress but not before Remi Bellocq chimed in to clarify his father's position. Various versions of Vic Staufer also materialised.

These are busy and serious men but they understand the medium through which we operate and where the groundwork is laid.

I don't read a lot of posts or comments but I have yet to see Waldrop, Marzelli or any track exec chime in on a discussion.

But I guess Lao-Tzu was right; those guys must know a whole hell of a lot...

Assorted links

The TBA is slowly taking over the world.

Our photo contest deadline is tonight. Don't miss the opportunity to show the Eclipse committee that spelling matters.

We have expanded our stable and now come to you from EuroDisney and have doubled up our reporting from the land of the Sunday Silence invitational. We have allowed a certain calcium ingesting rodent to join the ranks as well as a guy who does not get paid for putting hats on people. The Red Wings are killing me and the root of all evil but I recommend reading about X-Men racing here.

In other news...

Anyone looking for a one stop shop for information on racing partnerships, please visit this site. It is past time something like this existed and will, I think, go a long way toward throwing the irresponsible managers out of the game.

The Illinois Equine Humane Center recently rescued a few horses from a dispersal sale and like too many organizations out there, could really use some assistance. It's too late for tax season '08 and it's not the holidays but if you have it within your means to help a rescue, any rescue, please do so. Spread the word or volunteer.

The annual cost of direct mail, for any charity, ranges from $25-over $100, per recipient, depending on how fancy the mailers are. Fewer than 3% of mailers elicit a donation. Please help them spare some of that cost by passing this along.

You bring the dream, we've got the cream...

Is this really the best slogan that Darley stud could come up with?

Really?

The honor system

Marketplace had a story yesterday on when people are inclined to cheat.

Apparently, if mixed with a group of peers, they find cheating acceptable if other members exhibit those qualities. If, however, they are with a group dissimilar to their own identified group, they have a tendency to walk the straight and narrow.

I don't know what the hell that has to do with horse racing but it got me thinking.

What if, when trainers entered a horse, they had to sign an affidavit stating that no illegal substances were used on the horse.

If found to be cheating, they would agree to being tarred and feathered, drawn and quartered, forfeiting all their worldly possessions and made to watch episodes of My Redneck Wedding.

That last one might be a little harsh.

The Pamphlet Press

Brooklyn Backstretch poses a timely question in her recent post.

Where is the coverage that our sport deserves? Does the lack of formal training preclude one from the right to disseminate information? What responsibility, if any, is placed upon the blogger? Who is better, Mary Ann or Jeannie?

Within the First Amendment, lies the protection of speech and of the press.

I am not a legal scholar and am in no way versed in the nuances or arguments within the law. I will venture, however, that when the First Amendment was written, there did not exist such a creature as the Press we know today.

In the years preceding the Revolutionary War, anybody with access to a printing press could roll out a few pamphlets, writing whatever the hell they damn well pleased, often anonymously. There was no guarantee that what they wrote bore any resemblance to the truth or lay within the ephemeral bounds of reality.

The idea that citizens could express their dissatisfaction with their government, at that time, was anathema to kings and sovereigns. The founding fathers recognized that in order for a government to have some credibility with its citizens, it needed to afford them the right to object and express disdain. The press they were protecting were the sundry pamphleteers, today we call them bloggers.

Today, it is easy to dismiss the fundamental right we enjoy and our access to information dulls our appreciation for its provenance. When access is transparent and information is freely disseminated, the truth has a way of surfacing. If someone posts something inaccurate or stupid, they will be called on it. Time is the great equalizer and when a source develops a reputation for sensationalism or libel it is almost impossible to recover from that.

Passing yourself off as an expert or something more than what you are is the quickest way to destroy your credibility. People read and watch what they like; what they are comfortable with. Small minds take comfort in provincial thinking.

Those who do not question the source of their information deserve the shaft when they receive it.

Trust but verify.

Tragedy of the commons

This week's issue of The Economist, contains an article about horse racing in China. Normally ahead of the game, The Economist takes a back seat to Not to the Swift, who has been following the progression of Sino racing.

The Chinese, while not allowing outright gambling, issue free lottery-like ticket vouchers and if your horse wins, it entitles you to a certain number of lottery tickets.

US tracks, following this example and cashing in on the masses' desire to pay the stupid tax, could apply for a license to sell lottery tickets.

Maybe even make the tracks a state unemployment agency. After all, in England, the best place for a betting shop was:

At one point in the 1970s it was said that the ideal location was "close to a pub, the Labour Exchange and the Post Office", the first being a source of customers in a good mood, the other two being sources of ready cash in the form of The Dole and state pension money, which was dispensed through Post Offices at the time. -Wikipedia

David Stern, NBA commissioner, was on the floor of the NYSE, commemorating the 30 years of Sino-US relations and promoting the NBA expansion into China.

Maybe Waldrop could call Iavarone and have him set up a confab with his broker buddies; try getting the NTRA some exposure. After all, those Wall Street types will bet on anything. Then again, those same broker buddies are probably in the unemployment office.

Funny, how it all comes full circle...

Arena Racing League

What did the XFL, USFL, WFL and NFL Europe (or whatever the hell they ended up calling themselves) get wrong?

They went up against the NFL. Arguably the strongest sporting brand in North America.

Racing has no such creature.

What is to stop a renegade but well meaning group of millionaire owners from going it on their own and setting up a racing league without all the crap? Get the Sheikhs and Halsey Minor involved. Put the money into it and get it right from the start.

Use alternate tracks if you have to. Aiken, SC has a nice little meet that no one has ever heard of. Double up at tracks that do harness racing. Have the sulky gang go Thursday/Friday and the thoroughbreds run Saturday/Sunday. Keep the meets short. Make it a tour, like the circus but without the freaky ass clowns.

Ban all drugs, impose stiff and immediate penalties for violating the rules and go after sponsors. Use the sponsors to fund the purses. Make gambling ancillary. Serve good food.

Show the public everything that is good about this game.

After all, nobody took the AFL seriously until a good 'ol boy from Alabama pulled a shocker in Super Bowl III.

Put up or shut up

AA defines insanity as Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

I am not a bettor. I have toyed with the idea of giving it a go and have read many books on the theory and technique of betting for a living but I just don't have the time necessary to devote to the endeavour. So I don't do it professionally or even well for that matter.

I enjoy the occasional flutter and have no problem dropping a couple large ($20) on a race. When I do it, I don't give a dam about the takeout.

I understand how it works but as I see it, if I am willing to take the 4-1 offered on what should be a 5-1 horse, then I take it. Sunk costs are sunk and it does me no good to worry about that extra 4% that went as takeout or breakage. If I don't like the odds and an appropriate cushion for my poor handicapping, then I don't bet.

If I were just looking for action then I could just bet the numbers and hope something comes in. As I understand it, the way one makes a profit in this game is by showing a high enough percentage of winners at favorable odds. Does this possibly reduce the number of betable races? Definitely, but the odds don't care.

I understand the outcry against takeout and breakage and all that and I am not unsympathetic to the plight of the bettor but, as I see it, the only choices are:

1. Effect change
   
2. Just shut up and bet.

If the bettor funds the game, and I don't disagree, then the bettor is in a unique position to make the changes necessary to bring the parties to the table.

Walk away. Stop betting.

Socialism as a government or a fiscal policy is stupid and wasteful but Jimmy Hoffa knew a thing or two about getting people to listen to him. Go ask him.

Breeders, trainers and owners are probably all up in a tizzy right now (well if any of them read this they would be so I guess I'm safe) because this would directly impact them but something has to give if real change is to happen. It has to come with pain, there is no easy way out of this and the intransigence and dysfunction that has governed this game to date is sickening.

Gina Rarick of GallopFrance, has an excellent piece up at the Paulick Report regarding the global struggles confronting the game.

Change will not come from the top. Pullthepocket has a piece he wrote in 2007, which he posted again at the end of last year (yes I mean 2008) and which will be timely and pertinent at the end of this year. HANA and Cangamble are fighting a tireless and thankless battle; we need to help them.

Bettors, it is your ball; if you do not like the game, take it and go home. Watch how quickly the other kids will listen.

I went to an animal abuse convention and a horse race broke out.

Back in college, there was a guy at our local hockey games, that would yell, like a jackass, "Hey buddy....red ice is nice!" every five minutes. Apparently he liked to see the fights, to the exclusion of the game.

Hockey had an image problem with the fighting and banned it a few years ago. Do fights still happen? Yes. Is it as prevalent as it was? No.

Why? Because the league demonstrated that it wasn't kidding around when it came to enforcement and penalties/fines.

Racing cannot hope to engender the same adherence to its so called rules because it is dysfunctional and inconsistent in their enforcement.

There is genuine disgust at the use of the whip. Many people are turned off by this one act and will never give horse racing a chance. The outcry, on the international stage, is gaining ground...except of course, here at home.

I don't pretend to know the severity of the abuse or the effectiveness of the whip. I have received my share of belt spankings and I know that I did not enjoy them, so I would assume that the horse feels less than adoration for the tiny person wailing away at them.

I imagine that beating a horse 10+ times in the straight, in order to get it to run, is probably not the best image for the game. Does anyone think Shaq would improve his free throw percentage or Romo could win a game that matters if someone were pounding the shit out of them?

The racing overlords are not going to make any sweeping changes to the game. The system is broken.

Maybe they can wrap their atrophied, provincial minds around the smaller things. Limit the whip to five strikes (maybe that is still too much) in the straight, exceed that and suspend and fine the jockey a ridiculous amount.

This is a small thing that would go a long way. It's not like I'm asking them to eliminate the drugs and the cheating.

What would the jackasses come out and root for if they did that?