Miff:

Speaking of paychecks, Tim Smith has collected a very substantial one over the past few years, first as President of the NTRA and more recently as the head of the "Friends of NY Racing" without having any recognizable impact on racing anywhere.

You need to get people who love racing and/or who's livelihoods depend on racing to get involved to address racing issues. John Nerud, who may not be willing to take the time from his golf game, comes to mind. How about some of the organizers of large racing syndicates (Barry Irwin, Cot Campbell)? (IMO these syndicators have saved racing as some of the large wealthy owners of the mid 20th century drop out of the game). How about Crist or Beyer? How about a little input from the recently retired Jerry Bailey? How about Steinbrenner or Stronach? (egos would have to be checked at the door). These are people who would probably welcome the chance to have input and would seek no compensation. Someone just needs to get all of these distinct voices into one choir, so to speak. You would think that the amount of money being siphoned away from the racetracks (and the states they operate in) by offshore wagering facilities would be enough of a threat to bring some of these parties together.

Speaking of Crist (pissed at Crist, again) he was very offended that Gov Pataki tried to get Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro involved in NY Racing. His point seemed to be that she was an "outsider" and couldn't grasp the complexities of NY Racing; sometimes the "outsider" perspective can be more valuable than the "insider" perspective, and the "insiders" have not done so well with racing recently. (I must admit that I have admired Ms. Castro for the gracious way she has handled 15 years of abuse from IMUS in the Morning)