Travers saddle towels-NYRA = no class.
 

Let's get one thing clear, I beleve that the horses are the true stars of our game. I did enjoy the races yesterday at Saratoga as I am sure most of you did. I am sure that to some of you this will sound like something small, but I think it shows how things are behind the smoke and mirrors of NYRA's public image they try to project at this time.
The Grade 1 Travers Stakes with a 1 million dollar purse is run with a field of seven on National Television(including the KY.Derby winner) with a corporate presenter(N.Y.Lottery) in your top race of the meet wearing old saddle towels with velcro stick on letters that come off with each stroke of the jock's whip. The pony people all had to wear sponcer nylon jackets in 100+ heat index weather. No corporate logo, No American flag, no race logo, NOTHING on the towels!
A chance for RACING to attract more corporate sponcers lost. A chance for the hardworking Groom to have a memento, gone. A chance for the owner, trainer, and jock to sign the towel and auction off for a charity, gone.
The "little things" can become "big things" in every business and game. NYRA your "tell" is showing. You have no money, and your ability to run racing from the "backside" to the "Frontside" is showing cracks everyday including your biggest day.
B.J. gets $90,000, Hal gets $450,000+, take care of your own, but you fail to help those who put on the game, and the Game itself.
Thank you for a chance to vent.

Interesting insight. Judging the whole freaking meet on something maybe 2% of the horse racing population may give a shiat about. Wow.

Got to Dubai......and stay there!!!

They have the perfect opportunity to offer NYRA Limited Edition Saratoga Action Figures© but they instead chose to offer free folding chairs.

I was looking forward to the Carl Nafzger Travers Day action figure with kung-fu grip...but noooo, NYRA instead took the easy way out and offered something that people can sit their fat asses on because everyone knows that's what the powers that be at NYRA have been doing for the past 20 years!!

RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!!!!

So you really think NYRA did this to screw the "pony people" and goomsmen?

They didn't have the money to have professional saddle towels because they spent it all giving away useless gifts like chairs and coolers, so people can pay admission 10x and walk off with ten chairs.

That or they are broke from refunding all the money from starting gate errors. :)

Going to the races? Don't forget to bring a towel.

I can actually add something to this discussion. I have collected a few saddle cloths over the years (I have Sunday Break's Belmont Stakes cloth, as well as Proud Citizen's winning cloth from the Lexington, and Banks Hill's cloth from her very last race). I met a guy at Gulfstream Park this winter who makes saddle cloths for the racetracks. He told me that NYRA is incredibly cheap, and only uses specially made cloths for Grade I races these days in order to save money. However, I also noticed that the cloths in use yesterday were the generic velcro cloths that were once only used for overnight stakes.

I didn't find this to be a huge offense. It was more just something I laughed and rolled my eyes at.

Who is BJ?

Interesting point and something I'd never have noticed...

(Nice to see you back. I remember a nice post of yours about the horse coming first way back when).:)

Can i go too?

I wanna visit Thajja!

The original poster does make a great point, why doesn't NYRA have more corporate sponsors? I don't want to hear this tradition garbage, the Kentucky Derby is sponsored by Yum and it doesn't bother anyone.

Maybe NYRA should get some people involved that know something about running a business instead of running a non-profit.

you're the worst character ever, Towlie.

They just did.

Great. Where is my 4% takeout pick 4? :) Ellis can do it but NYRA can't?

What is up with the fear of superfectas in NY too? What are 10 cent supers too cheap for the NY crowd?

10 cent supers suck.

I hate to tell you this but in most cases corporate sponsorship is a negative for fans. It is just one more indian that falls ahead of them on the totem pole.

This guy sounds like a groom who was pissed that he couldn't sell the stolen saddlecloth on EBay... the point of the saddlecloth is to IDENTIFY THE RUNNER, not a phucking jerry bailey bobblehead replica collectible