bravo mr paulick, bloodhorse

Originally Posted by Cajungator26

That is SO true, Joel... it's like that all across the board in the horse world. Showing jumpers was the same way for me. It used to cost me $115 every 5 weeks for shoes ALONE per horse.

Here's the thing though for me... IMO, if an owner is ignorant about the business, then they should make an active effort to become as knowledgeable as possible before jumping in head first. I think that more often than not, people are ignorant about things and ignorance is a HUGE problem. It's nobody's fault but your own if you don't know what kind of game you're getting into. I'm not saying that its right for owners to get ripped off, but if more people knew what they were getting into, there would be less chance of them getting ripped off.

I agree with your sentiments whole-heartedly, but most prospective owners with that sort of money don't care to afford the time to do that because they don't realize that they could be jumping into a business where they really have to be worried about trusting their confidants/agents.....It is a bizarre shame....

On top of that, we need to make it as easy as possible for owners to get into this game because we need all of them that we can get.....if we start getting a big reputation for scandle and shinnanigans then it is going to do one of two things for people trying to get into the game from an owners investment standpoint:

1) Prospective owners are just going to say 'screw it' and invest in another hobby that they'll enjoy since they realize it won't be a profitable investment - thus why take a chance at getting ripped off on top of it?

2) Will do a lot of research like you mentioned before entrusting anybody with there money....While that is the sart thing to do anyway if you want to be an owner, the way it hurts horse racing is that we're making it harder for someone to be an owner because now they have to do all of this studying and research to understand who to trust because it is such a corrput game....If we have that bad of a reputation that we make it that hard to invest then it is a huge detractor to our sport...We need to make it as easy ad relatively risk-free as it can be....We can't tell them that they will probably lose money and that they might get ripped off at the same time, can we?...NO..

...we need to clean up the game and we need to do it sooner rather than later..........

[Cajungator26]

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

I agree with your sentiments whole-heartedly, but most prospective owners with that sort of money don't care to afford the time to do that because they don't realize that they could be jumping into a business where they really have to be worried about trusting their confidants/agents.....It is a bizarre shame....

On top of that, we need to make it as easy as possible for owners to get into this game because we need all of them that we can get.....if we start getting a big reputation for scandle and shinnanigans then it is going to do one of two things for people trying to get into the game from an owners investment standpoint:

1) Prospective owners are just going to say 'screw it' and invest in another hobby that they'll enjoy since they realize it won't be a profitable investment - thus why take a chance at getting ripped off on top of it?

2) Will do a lot of research like you mentioned before entrusting anybody with there money....While that is the sart thing to do anyway if you want to be an owner, the way it hurts horse racing is that we're making it harder for someone to be an owner because now they have to do all of this studying and research to understand who to trust because it is such a corrput game....If we have that bad of a reputation that we make it that hard to invest then it is a huge detractor to our sport...

I agree with all of that as well, but for me, I tend to be a bit careful about EVERYTHING that I devote my time and money to (including relationships lol) no matter how trustworthy the people are. It stinks that we have to do it that way, but it's human nature (unfortunately) to be liars and cheaters. You've gotta watch your back for everything.

[2MinsToPost]

since honestly I am feeling lazy today could somebody provide a link to these 2 pieces?

[2MinsToPost]

I found it

Originally Posted by 2MinsToPost

since honestly I am feeling lazy today could somebody provide a link to these 2 pieces?

[ironprospect]

After my first knee jerk reaction to hearing the news

why do these people need to be industry based?

they are basically running a union

do all the people working at the office of laborers 436 know how to build a six story shopping mall??/

do they know about collecting dues???
getting better insurance/retirement policies???

how much interaction does the guild as a collective have with the industry as a whole???

with the betting public???

personally I would not choose to do business w/ the reverend

but as to any effect this ISSUE is going to have outside of the guild/

i'd say very little

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

I agree with your sentiments whole-heartedly, but most prospective owners with that sort of money don't care to afford the time to do that because they don't realize that they could be jumping into a business where they really have to be worried about trusting their confidants/agents.....It is a bizarre shame....

On top of that, we need to make it as easy as possible for owners to get into this game because we need all of them that we can get.....if we start getting a big reputation for scandle and shinnanigans then it is going to do one of two things for people trying to get into the game from an owners investment standpoint:

1) Prospective owners are just going to say 'screw it' and invest in another hobby that they'll enjoy since they realize it won't be a profitable investment - thus why take a chance at getting ripped off on top of it?

2) Will do a lot of research like you mentioned before entrusting anybody with there money....While that is the sart thing to do anyway if you want to be an owner, the way it hurts horse racing is that we're making it harder for someone to be an owner because now they have to do all of this studying and research to understand who to trust because it is such a corrput game....If we have that bad of a reputation that we make it that hard to invest then it is a huge detractor to our sport...We need to make it as easy ad relatively risk-free as it can be....We can't tell them that they will probably lose money and that they might get ripped off at the same time, can we?...NO..

...we need to clean up the game and we need to do it sooner rather than later..........

One thing people who earn their living in the horse racing industry should give a lot of thought to is this... Stop referring to horse racing as a "game." It is a sport and the term game has negative connotations, as in, "Boy, that unscrupulous horse person really gamed me on that deal." For the life me I cannot understand the use of this term. Why is it referred to as a "game?"

[Downthestretch55]

Originally Posted by SentToStud

One thing people who earn their living in the horse racing industry should give a lot of thought to is this... Stop referring to horse racing as a "game." It is a sport and the term game has negative connotations, as in, "Boy, that unscrupulous horse person really gamed me on that deal." For the life me I cannot understand the use of this term. Why is it referred to as a "game?"

S2S,
Yes, it is a sport, but my guess it got called the "greatest game" for a reason.
Should it be called a game? Maybe as much as chess.
One happens on little black squares, the other happens on dirt or weeds.
I think it has to do with the mental challenge...just my two pennies worth.
DTS

Originally Posted by SentToStud

One thing people who earn their living in the horse racing industry should give a lot of thought to is this... Stop referring to horse racing as a "game." It is a sport and the term game has negative connotations, as in, "Boy, that unscrupulous horse person really gamed me on that deal." For the life me I cannot understand the use of this term. Why is it referred to as a "game?"

Because its entire existance these days is basically predicated on the fact that it is a gaming opportunity to most of its customer base, rather than a sport...the tracks don;t make money off of 'fans'..they make money off of selling bets on horse racing - thus it is more of a game than a sport in mine and many other opinions...we can't treat it like a sport like most conventional sports and leagues because out revenue dependency is is on a totally different plain than any other sport......that is just a fact...

It is a sport as well, but it is probably more appropriately a game....I don't necessarily have a huge problem with that.....it is what it is to whoever the customer is....I realy don't associate a negative connotation to the word game.....

[SentToStud]

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

Because its entire existance these days is basically predicated on the fact that it is a gaming opportunity to most of its customer base, rather than a sport...the tracks don;t make money off of 'fans'..they make money off of selling bets on horse racing - thus it is more of a game than a sport in mine and many other opinions...we can't treat it like a sport like most conventional sports and leagues because out revenue dependency is is on a totally different plain than any other sport......that is just a fact...

It is a sport as well, but it is probably more appropriately a game....I don't necessarily have a huge problem with that.....it is what it is to whoever the customer is....I realy don't associate a negative connotation to the word game.....

Well, why don't they refer to the races as games? As in, "I bet #2 in the first game." The term does have negative connotations, IMO.

Originally Posted by Cunningham Racing

Because its entire existance these days is basically predicated on the fact that it is a gaming opportunity to most of its customer base, rather than a sport...the tracks don;t make money off of 'fans'..they make money off of selling bets on horse racing - thus it is more of a game than a sport in mine and many other opinions...we can't treat it like a sport like most conventional sports and leagues because out revenue dependency is is on a totally different plain than any other sport......that is just a fact...

It is a sport as well, but it is probably more appropriately a game....I don't necessarily have a huge problem with that.....it is what it is to whoever the customer is....I realy don't associate a negative connotation to the word game.....

Very well said. I have been trying to put this into words for a while but I dont have to now.