Quote:
Originally Posted by parsixfarms
The purse "problem" from the task force isn't what you are citing. The issue was that you had $7500 claimers, in some instances, running for a $30,000 purse. Running a horse over its head, whether sound or not, is not going to result in significant earnings for the owner/trainer if the horses can't compete at the level.
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Agreed that the task force report issue is not *exactly* the situation at hand, but given how slippery this entire subject has been, I chose to go one step ahead; to wit, how long is it until you have a $10,000 plater running for a $20,000 tag and a $40,000 purse where that intermediate class aspect is lost in the discussion? At the end of the day, the report discussed claimers running for three, four, and five times their own price. This is precisely why I suggested a performance parameter before accepting lower grade claimers into your $20,000 basement price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by parsixfarms
I understand completely what the impact of raising the bottom claiming price to $20,000 might be. The issue is, in this political environment, how many races can NYRA, for want of a better word, "safely" conduct. If that number is only 25 or thirty per week, so be it. That is a lot better than having the political opportunists, feigning outrage over equine fatalities, shutting racing down altogether should more bottom level horses break down.
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Which brings us all the way back to one of my very first posts in this entire thread (exchanged with Steve Byk). Explain again why NYRA should continue winter racing? Would anyone really miss January and February? Why not close from December 15th through March 15th?