the 18 new people ..
 

who just came into our sport ..... left after reading the drf on fri....

do our trade pubs need to me more fan friendly? surley they could have put this one on the 3rd page.. you have the three most identifyable horses/trainers in the last 6 months looking like crooks.. .. not that they arent ..but.. drf had a chance to bust balls and brought that leg from wayback ...

Many would argue that the trade pubs are and have been TOO positive for too long.. and that had they been vigilant and responsible, (as opposed to beholden to the industry), we wouldn't have wandered blindly to the point we've arrived recently.

I have 'editorial' choices to make daily myself, and it is VERY hard. You don't want to be negative but are obliged to report the facts as they are presented. It is irresponsible to do otherwise.

We know how hard you work Steve and I/we really do appriciate all of it.. Even when you let your personal opinion of certain issues come out..

This is why the 'media' is in a lose-lose position. They report what's going on--and because it's a negative story-- you get some people who are upset that they "led with it."... If the DRF had put this story on page 3, there would be just as many people who'd be pissed that they 'buried it.'

Ultimately, they just have to report and lead with the big stories, if they start worrying about who they'll upset, they'll start losing their integrity (assuming they have any :D ).

i guess so thats why i posed the question,the print media vs the live show steve has to do is a bit diffrent. drf is a mainstay for horseman and handicappers. i guess news good or bad is news..with the currrent events it may have been prudent to tone it down ..

i don't think drf should be the one getting fingers pointed at it--the trainers who are currently adding to the woes of racing should be! if racing doesn't want a black eye, then they need to take steps to let people like asmussen and dutrow know that they aren't wanted; that their actions won't be tolerated.

and kentucky racing needs to give dutrow a stronger sentence. he is NOT a first time offender. since there is no nat'l body, each jurisdiction needs to change its rules--don't use reciprocity just to bench a trainer who is suspended elsewhere-offenses need to add up, regardless of where they occur. if clenbuterol is a class two drug, then he should be charged with having his 4th, or 7th, or whatever # of class two violation it is for him--not just his first if it's his first with clenbuterol.

Agreed -- excellent point, but the trainers, AND owners, vets, etc. and so on. Right down the line.

The other thing is, and I try to remember this and put myself in someone else's shoes -- when we watch horse racing on a major network, ESPN, or read about it in the NY Times, etc., we have to remember that broadcase, that article . . . is not being put out there for "us" so to speak. Different marketplace, different consumer, much broader market (more, closer to, entry level) with a hopefully larger and wider mass appeal.

Eric

you see so much behind the sene's that sometimes it's Very hard not to be negative sometimes:(

a blind eye has been turned for too long to all involved. get tough, now, or it'll only get worse.

i read an article one time at work....it was about stealing and the % of the population who won't steal, regardless of opportunity. i think that study could apply here.
it said that roughly 12-15% of people won't steal, regardless of opportunity. about another 10-15% will steal if given any opportunity at all. so that leaves the 70% or so in the middle...where will they fall? where do you want them to fall? they are on the fence--if they work for a place that isn't very strict, where they see stealing going on, and nothing done, they may fall off the fence and begin to take things as well-after all, management doesn't care, nothing is done about it, so it must be ok.
but, if you immediately get rid of anyone you catch with your hand in the cookie jar, anyone else who will steal will leave to find easier pickings, and those on the fence will either remain there, or fall to the side of 'i won't steal, as it won't be tolerated'.
i think that analogy applies here. you have some who will not cheat, some who will, and then all the rest-the majority--where does racing want them to fall??

I remember when Blood-Horse yanked Haskin's great and truthful article on early retirements from their website...but obviously we know who is giving Blood-Horse the advertisment money.

I personally do not think to many outsiders (people not betting/handicapping, even the casual fan) are buying or logging on to the DRF. Do you think the weekend warriors who visit the track once every couple of weeks even know who Assmussen and Jeremy Rose are? And as horse players who are looking for the news (no matter how negative it is), we know we can get it from sources like DRF. It would almost be like the Wall St. Journel not covering all the financial scandals. It is their duty to print it just like it is the duty of the form's to print all the negative news.

Nothng but the grave will stop the gambler. I've heard 'God dam crooks are going to steal this race' or 'it's all fixed' for the past 30 yrs. Instead of leaving the track or sitting out, the program or form is quickly turned and the entire process repeats itself.

There's cheating in every sport sans maybe billards. The Russian Mob is alleged to have fixed some Wimbleton Matches, NBA refs are fixing games with calls and everyone from MLB players to high school girls are using steroids.

Unless a zero tollerance policy is passed with years suspensions handed out instead of weeks it's always going to be a problem. Now I got to run. Where's my milkshake?

The problem with the publications is that they rely on trainers, jocks, and owners for their stories (for the most part). When they (people above) get pissed, they are under no obligation to talk to the press. It is sort of like baseball up until the 1980's. The press protected the players. Then MLB made the players talk to the press. At this point, the press was able to report the good and the bad.

..

I would argue that the weekend warriors ONLY know names like Asmussen and Rose... you're talking about horsemen who receive national press attention. What the weekend warrior doesn't realize is that drug infractions and agressive use of the whip is nothing new for these guys.

"Public" perception has always been the problem -- whether the public is educated or uneducated (which is another, but related issue). It falls upon the sport and the industry to change that.

And yes, the blind eye has been the problem for far too long.

Eric