SOLD! Remington (Chickasaws), Thistle (Harrah's) sales OK'd

[dean smith]

Originally Posted by Kasept

A new bizarre suggestion... Why would a Middle Eastern-owned track specifically trip a "revival for racing"?

And what exactly is a "revival for racing"? If players and fans just recognized the game as it is currently as more than good enough for our enjoyment, the ridiculous assertion that racing 'needs' reviving would disappear.

Stop caring that a certain segment of the populace isn't interested in the game. What validation does anyone need from people too vapid to understand racing or too ignorant to take up handicapping/wagering as a pastime?

I'm not trying to challenge anyone's opinion here (you guys have all forgotten more about horse racing than I'll probably ever know), but wouldn't gaining interest and fans of the sport do a lot to solve most of racing's problems we hear about on a daily basis on your show? I'm not calling you a doomsayer by any stretch of the imagination -- you're usually pretty positive. But you also do a good job of trying to cover every aspect of the sport, and every aspect of the sport seems to have seen better days economically.

Wouldn't more people interested in racing equal more money wagered, more handle, and more attendance, thus resulting in bigger purses, bigger commissions, and more Carolina BBQ being eaten? And then wouldn't this interest bring in new money to the auctions, upping the value of horses, which would help the breeders, etc., etc. I can't think of one segment of racing that would do worse financially if more people suddenly became interested.

Even from a handicappers standpoint, wouldn't new fans' money equal bigger fields and pools? Good handicappers like yourself could start to get paid like it was the 1950s all over again.

I personally root for the popularity of the sport for these reasons -- although I must admit, a little validation from my vapid and ignorant non-horse racing fan friends would also be sweet...