Aqueduct Card

[richard]

Winning $17k for a $7.5 claimer ? That's goodness. It's about time purses went up for all levels imo.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by richard

Winning $17k for a $7.5 claimer ? That's goodness. It's about time purses went up for all levels imo.

In no way am I against purse levels going up. However when the purses get out of whack it leads to less competitive racing as owners are encouraged not to try to find the best level for their horses but can be rewarded by simply plunging them to the bottom. It wasn't that long ago that the bottom in NY was $12000. The goal in NY should be to get rid of the $7500 claimers and get a better class of horse not encourage owners to get more of them. I also understand that a lot of owners/trainers in NY have been discouraged by trying to compete with the corporate outfits and simply opt for cheaper claimers/NY breds. Towards end of the GP meet and through Keeneland there will be claiming frenzy as guys load up on claimers to bring to NY. Sure being an attractive destination to owners is a plus but as long as a few guys control all the good horses the overall quality of racing in NY will not do much more than inch up if at all.

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

In no way am I against purse levels going up. However when the purses get out of whack it leads to less competitive racing as owners are encouraged not to try to find the best level for their horses but can be rewarded by simply plunging them to the bottom. It wasn't that long ago that the bottom in NY was $12000. The goal in NY should be to get rid of the $7500 claimers and get a better class of horse not encourage owners to get more of them. I also understand that a lot of owners/trainers in NY have been discouraged by trying to compete with the corporate outfits and simply opt for cheaper claimers/NY breds. Towards end of the GP meet and through Keeneland there will be claiming frenzy as guys load up on claimers to bring to NY. Sure being an attractive destination to owners is a plus but as long as a few guys control all the good horses the overall quality of racing in NY will not do much more than inch up if at all.

I've been saying that as well. Higher purses are great, but keeping the claiming levels too low is turning the sport into an equine version of "Flip Men". The difference here is usually the living, breathing horses pay the price.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

I've been saying that as well. Higher purses are great, but keeping the claiming levels too low is turning the sport into an equine version of "Flip Men". The difference here is usually the living, breathing horses pay the price.

It is really stunning that a multi-billion dollar business can have no idea what to do with found money. Believe me when I bring this up to people in the business most either think I'm crazy or they simply have no understanding of what I am talking about. We spend far too much resources on debating Lasix or worrying about starting facebook pages when the entire structure of the business on the racing side has gotten so far out of whack. The dangerous part is that the existence of the sport on a state by state level is very precarious yet the JC thinks it is doing groundbreaking work, the horsemans associations more or less have their head in the sand and the tracks are being run into the ground, sometimes in racino states probably by design. Trying to explain to horsemen that we need to dedicate some of our funds to grow the game because when it comes down to it is our game (not the tracks) and we NEED horseracing to flourish is usually met with blank stares.

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

It is really stunning that a multi-billion dollar business can have no idea what to do with found money. Believe me when I bring this up to people in the business most either think I'm crazy or they simply have no understanding of what I am talking about. We spend far too much resources on debating Lasix or worrying about starting facebook pages when the entire structure of the business on the racing side has gotten so far out of whack. The dangerous part is that the existence of the sport on a state by state level is very precarious yet the JC thinks it is doing groundbreaking work, the horsemans associations more or less have their head in the sand and the tracks are being run into the ground, sometimes in racino states probably by design. Trying to explain to horsemen that we need to dedicate some of our funds to grow the game because when it comes down to it is our game (not the tracks) and we NEED horseracing to flourish is usually met with blank stares.

Is it because a rising percentage of trainers can't speak fluent English?

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

Is it because a rising percentage of trainers can't speak fluent English?

No the majority doesn't really matter. It is the people in power are entrenched and don't want to rock the boat. Well in most cases. Some of them are simply morons. The level of incompetency on the executive level in the sport of horse racing is amazing. On both the horseman and tracks sides. Of course as CDI and Penn Nat'l gaming, etc. keep putting non-racing people in charge of racing and the horsemen keep letting ourselves be distracted by bs like Lasix things wont change. They will probably get worse.