Beyer still not sold on Big Brown

[ELA]

Originally Posted by CSC

This is a debate for another time...I don't begrudge owners for trying to maximize their investments; however I guess I miss the days of having owners like Allen Paulson. A Sportsman that sold the game, surely if he retired Cigar after the BC in 1995, I doubt many young fans at that time would have gotten into this game, and that is the dilema I believe. There will always be core bettors that play the game but will newspapers and the media continue to pay attention if the game loses more fans. Sorry I kind of said more than I perhaps wanted to...that's another topic all together.

I completely understand your point, and I agree. However, I am also very clear on and aware of reality. Rather than debate who is and how a sportsmen would act, what I see is a very quick trigger pulled when an owner "disappoints" the public. It's become the common reaction, however, it also often comes from people who just don't understand the business. I hear people "count other people's money" and talk about a horse who could breed 100 mares at $75k and that's $15m in the first two years at stud. I've read this nonsense more than once.

Another example is James Tafel and Street Sense. As soon as he decided not to run in the Belmont, the gates of criticism burst wide open. In my opinion that was foolishness. Sure, different people have a different definition, but to critcize Tafel and say he's not a sportsmen -- that's BS.

Eric