Quote:
Originally Posted by King Glorious
It’s not perfect by any means but what is happening now doesn’t work when it comes to growth of the sport. In other sports, they have eligibility requirements. You can’t enter the NBA draft until you’re 19 or have been out of high school for a year. There are guys that could come in right away and play and that rule hurt a guy like Kevin Durant and whatever team would have wanted to draft him but it was put in place for the betterment of the game. In the NFL, you have to be at least three years removed from high school.
It doesn’t have to necessarily be wait til they are four. Smart people can get together and figure it out. But if the current way is driving people away, it makes zero sense to just continue with the status quo. Just on here, you have people that have been fans for decades talk about how they are losing interest. If you can’t keep the interest of those already in the house, how much chance is there of bringing new people in?
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My loss of interest has nothing to do with horses retiring early. And don’t think horses running longer will intrigue new people.
As much as I love the sport of racing, the gambling part is what has always drawn me in. Frankly, the gambling product for the most part sucks. Small fields, races that aren’t competitive, move up trainers that perform miracles and betting a horse at 4-1 in the gate and seeing his odds change to 2-1 out of the gate are a few of the things that has me taking an extended break.
The Breeders Cup, that ridiculous track they souped up for no reason and performances like Knicks Go was the push I needed.
I’m not crazy about horses running so infrequently and retiring prematurely, but I think the only way to bring in new blood is make the gambling part as attractive as possible. It’s not very attractive right now, IMO. If it wasn’t for contests I would’ve been gone years ago. But racing should take a long look in the mirror because if someone like me is fed up, how many others are there that are as well? I eat, sleep and drink this sport.