bobphilo Wrote:
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> This is what can be expected when a sport becomes
> primarily a business so that, from a strictly
> business point of view, it was the right decision.
> The problem is that for racing to continue to
> exist as a business it must be perceived by the
> public as a sport whose participants are not
> solely acting in their own self interest. What is
> lacking in racing is a powerful central governing
> body whose primary interest is the protection of
> the sport. Instead we have the inmates running the
> asylum.

[b]Bob, if you go back ten and even more years on the TG board (or any other
place where thoroughbred racing is discussed) you can see similar comments, all
difficult to dispute. The one continued piece of news in the racing world that
I have been reading is that handle is [i]UP[/i] almost everywhere. The
breeding/auction/pinhooking industry is seemingly going strong. There is
activity at the claim box. New shooters are coming into the game via
partnerships, syndicates and "racing clubs." Of course, Racing can always be
improved, BUT as long as the vital signs (especially handle) are positive (and
the "inmates" do not care where the money is coming from, the mythical two
dollar bettor or the Bots), the motivation to change will not be strong. To
burst the bubble surrounding a common misconception, the "crowd" at any live
racing venue is very young, in many cases too young to bet, or even read. So
young people are being exposed to the races. To be generally negative about the
sport/business of thoroughbred racing is almost a reflex at this point and
probably needs reexamining.[/b]


> I'm not sure I remember this correctly but I once
> read that the German Jockey Club, in addition to
> never having raced on performance enhancing drugs,
> a horse must also have raced for 2 full seasons
> before it can stand at stud. Other sports have
> powerful central bodies for their own protection.
> That's why athletes in other sports would never be
> considered for their Halls of Fame after only
> playing a few games. In addition, this is what
> racing needs so we can have uniform drug laws as
> well.

[b]There are many ways a stud book could be "edited" for lack of a better word.
The question is whether it is appropriate to use the stud book to make changes
in the way races are run and the way racehorses are managed. Hypothetically,
one might be inclined to restrict the stallion register to promote endurance
and soundness (with the ancillary benefit of keeping racing stock in training
longer). Establish a certain minimum number of starts necessary for a horse to
enter stud, or say that a horse must race at least once as a 4YO before being
admitted to the stallion register. Under those restrictions, two lightly raced
sons of Northern Dancer (Danzig and Compliance, each of whom raced only three
times)(Compliance never broke his maiden but went on to sire Fourstardave and
Fourstarsallstar, among others) would never have stood at stud.[/b]