BEYER: Crown thriving but tinkering could be in order

[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

I wasn't making an argument. I was asking a question. I would, however, think that if I was a Maryland horseman, I'd probably be a little upset about it. Yes, you want the exposure but the eyes of the racing nation are already upon Pimlico for that day anyway. Making the purses bigger for the Shaeffer and the MD Breeders' Cup and the Dixie aren't going to make a single person decide to play Pimlico the following Wednesday if it's not a track they already play. The bigger purses might attract better fields that day but I don't know that they make people more interested in Pimlico during the rest of the year. I am not sure I'd be ok with them coming up with a lot more money just to give it away to foreign shippers who have no vested interest in Maryland racing while those of us that do get nothing. I agree that you want your home track to have a big day but I think that you want your local horsemen to benefit from it, not everyone else.

I'm speaking from direct experience. When the Super Derby undercard features a name - a horse, trainer... you name it - the card does better from a business standpoint. The more names you have, the more people feel comfortable playing the signal, and thus the better it does.

If the Preakness undercard was for MD-bred horses only, would it do as well? Definitely not. Would people turn on the signal before the Preakness? Doubtful. Big undercards help. Fact.

Now, do horsemen love it? No. But horsemen do love the exposure the track gets, and it does nothing but help the track long term, definitely not hurt.