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Originally Posted by oracle80
Bellamy,
Thats not the real problem with KY racing. The real problem is the lack on continuity on the racing schedule and constant schlepping around that you have to do.
NY, Cali, Florida, and illinois all have continuous racing within proximity of a small distance geographically. True NY and Cali require trainers to head to Del Mar and the Spa, but only 6 or 7 weeks respectively and the trainers cant wait to go.
Kentucky's schedule makes it life on the run. In the spring you get Keeneland in April and then Churchill until very early July. But after that, you get the Pea Patch down at Ellis with miniscule purses and noplace to run good horses. So many have to head to Arlington or even NY. Then you have to decide how long you wanna stay in those places, or whether to head to Turfway which is in a totally different part of he state altogether.
Then its back to Keeneland for 3 weeks, back to CD for 4 weeks, then back to Turfway or shipping out to another jurisdiction altogether from December until April.
Mike, these are folks with families. Its also very hard to find or ship good help on the road all year long. And if you set up shop at CD as a home base, you have the privilige of traveling an hour and back to lexington each day for 7 weeks a year, or even farther to Turfway.
Its a grind buddy. I mean regular people will gripe about a 45 minute commute to work and back each day. Try vanning horses even longer all the time and driving it yourself.
Life out of a hotel room orrented rooms isnt that much fun either.
Jones took off to Delaware because it made sense. Big purses, proximity to ship to NY or NJ easily. And he can put down roots from April until November. Then he can ship to KY or Fla until Oaklawn opens and then back home to Delaware.
Purses alone won't fix KY. They need a continuous racing circuit that makes sense and allows horseman to live a semi normal life as far as travel goes.
Horsemen in Ny are basically ok. AQu and Bel are right near each other, and its just one ship down to Florida in the winter and up to Spa in the summer when the kids are off from school and the whole family enjoys the 6 weeks. Same with horseman in Cali with regards to SA and Hollywood, and identical scenario with Del Mar.
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I have to disagree with this. The racing schedule is fine in Kentucky. They run Turfway from Dec to April. Then to Keeneland for one month. Then to Churchill from May to August. Then to Turfway for one month. Then to Keeneland. Then to Churchill. Churchill, Keeneland and Turfway are all within 1.5 hours of each other. Most trainers in KY will take the two Keeneland meets off because their horses dont fit with that type of high level racing. Each Keeneland meet is 4 weeks so it is no big deal for the trainer to give their horses a rest. The trouble with KY racing is that the purses are so small (with the exception of Keeneland). Slots is only part of the overall fix. Slots, when used correctly, can begin the foundation of racing improvement. However, it cant be seen as a cure all with no desire to build upon the slots money. What is happening is that trainers from Mountaineer is coming in and claiming horses at a low level and then shipping them back to Mountaineer to run at the same level but for more money. Ernie Fletcher has totally destroyed the racing industry in KY. New York has the best breeders program I have ever seen. However, KY doesnt have one and I do not know why. The racing schedule is fine, there are so many other things wrong that it isnt a totaly fix. But Jones leaving is a huge loss.