Del Mar opens Wed. Racing hurting all over the place

[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Foal crop has nothing to do with it yet. Owner crop is down significantly. That is the single biggest problem in the sport right now yet no one wants to admit it or talk about it. People in the sport worry all the time about attracting new customers (which obviously is important) yet the people who are footing the bill for the show with a 95% loss rate are increasingly disappearing. The sad truth is that it is a lot harder to find a guy with enough money willing to buy into ownership than it is to find people who may be interested in the game in general or in becoming a player. The vast majority of the people who follow this board play the races to some degree. What % do you think have the wherewithal to claim a $15000 claimer and pay the bills on a B circuit? 10%? Less? Can you name 1 person in the media or from one of the organizations that have addressed this problem or even acknowledged that it exists? Is there any movement to make the game more attractive for owners?

I absolutely agree. My foal crop statement was more forward speaking...

For example, in LA there were 1,678 registered foals in 2010 versus 2,316 in 2009. Yet racetracks are still required to run 84 days within 21 weeks... so the same amount of races, with less and less horses to race in those races