The future of Arizona racing continues to be a hot topic among our readership. Today, we're printing two letters with different viewpoints on where change needs to come from.
My dad took me to the horse races in 1968 when we won a race at Agua Caliente. Despite the doors of the cab opening on the bumpy trip from the border to the tack, I have been hooked on horse racing ever since. I have seen so many things, including the $250,000 yearling Majestic Prince in his air-conditioned stall at Johnny Longden's barn by the stable gate at Santa Anita in the late 1960s. I was lucky enough to be on hand the day he won the Santa Anita Derby. “What an athlete” was all I could think.
We moved from California in the summer of 1971. We won our first race at Turf Paradise in 1972 and my dad (who passed away in 2017) and I have been running horses in Arizona ever since. I have corrupted two daughters and two grandchildren to love the sport of horse racing and appreciate the beautiful athletes Thoroughbreds are.
Despite the purses at Turf Paradise being at levels I never imagined, I am disgusted by the state of racing in Arizona. There is a book I read that says greed is a sin. AMEN. With the claims at record levels at Turf Paradise (and all over the country) people can enter a horse that is not 100% sound and good chance it will get claimed and off their payroll. Really good chance of a horse getting claimed if it is in one of the many $3,000 claiming races run at Turf Paradise every day where 2-4 are taken every race.
We can fix the problem. The wheel has already been invented. I have claimed and run horses in Kentucky at Turfway and Churchill. I have seen it with my own eyes that every horse that runs at those tracks goes thru an extensive exam in the morning. If the horse is not 100% it is scratched. I have dropped claims on horses that have been scratched at the gate and had claims voided when the horse did not pass the post race exam.
TUP is supposedly doing morning pre-race exams. With the Creative Plan sad story and our breakdown rate per 1,000 starts double the rest of the country, the current plan is obviously not working. With two horses with broken leges opening day at Rillito in Tucson, I am sure their pre-race plan is non-existent or even worse that TUP.
Turf Paradise used to have a check box on the claim slip saying if you wanted the horse no matter what condition it was in after that race. Who was the brain surgeon that stopped that? There were no exams after the race anyway and now you just go to the claiming pen and pray your horse can walk out. With mutuel handles in the millions of dollars daily, why not take $1,000 a day and pay a high quality experienced vet or two to check the horses in the morning and after the race?
I am an accountant for many businesses and hear all the time that there are quality people that want to work but you have to pay them. The vet shortage at Turf Paradise is well-documented. Put good cash in their pockets and a good vet will show up. Maybe every horse that runs gets $5 to $10 taken from the owner's account for a vet checking their horse. I would think every owner/trainer and the Turf Paradise management team would think it is priceless to know their equine athlete was sound before running. Yes, athletes get hurt in all sports when competing, but knowing the athlete is sound before their event is a no-brainer.
At what time are we going to put the wellbeing of the horse first? These beautiful equine athletes are filling a lot of pockets at TUP. It's time the owners, trainers, and Jerry Simms (the owner of Turf Paradise) dig in to their pockets to ensure the safety of our beautiful Thoroughbred animals and enhance the Sport of Kings.
–Bill Smith, owner
Diamondback Thoroughbreds
On the morning of Tuesday, March 1, 2022, my phone started ringing off the hook and I immediately knew something was askew — and it probably wasn't good.
As a horse racing professional who just completing opening weekend of racing at Rillito Downs in Tucson, Arizona, I had a sense trouble was brewing on the horizon. Why? The more success Rillito Downs reports, the bigger target they become for people who have axes to grind against the sport of horse racing, the racetrack owners and operators, and horse racing professionals. On opening weekend, Rillito reported record attendance on both days and nearly tripled the live handle for both Saturday and Sunday. Don't get me wrong, I've had my share of issues with racetracks in Arizona and elsewhere, but I also realize it is one of the toughest industries to operate. It's like being a fish in a barrel … and the shots are coming faster than you can swim.
So why the open letter to Commissioner Goreé? To ask him to think before he acts. Think before he writes articles replete with intentionally inflammatory and inciting language in letters to the editor such as the one he wrote and the Paulick Report published on March 1, 2022 (Goreé: Arizona Horse Tracks Are 'A Killing Field' And It Has To Stop). As I read Commissioner Goreé's letter and his attempt to annihilate certain government and elected officials, and individuals in Arizona's horse racing industry, I wondered what would cause an individual to spew forth such destructive rhetoric when just days before he stood on the grounds of Rillito Park and praised track management for such a fine job in getting the track ready for opening weekend. Reading through Goreé's letter, I saw the reason: this guy's got an axe to grind and he's not a happy camper.
Goreé doesn't like that the Regulatory Wage Assessment (RWA) was lowered, cutting nearly $1 million in funding to the Arizona Department of Racing's annual budget. A tough call to swallow, considering the department's annual budget in past years hovered around $2 million annually. Goreé's disruptive comments didn't stop there. He went full force in his letter's opening statement, providing readers a devastating visual image of a horse who broke down at the Rillito track on opening weekend. No one likes to see a horse break down, just like we don't like seeing soccer kids get trampled on the playing field or Olympic athletes meet suffering last-minute injuries preventing them from getting to the podium. But, to add insult to injury, Goreé's call for an immediate moratorium on horse racing until “proper funding is enacted” was akin to Biden's shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline without any forethought of the impact of this decision on the everyday worker, the family, and the economy. Imagine what would happen to the thousands of horse racing industry workers, families, and businesses who suddenly find themselves on the bread lines — if you can even find bread at the local stores on some days. And, don't even get me started on what would happen to the inventory of horses coming off the racetrack. I don't think there are any federal eviction prevention programs in the “Build Back Better” agenda that horses can apply for should they find themselves homeless.
Don't get me wrong, we should all work to improve any industry in which we operate, but we need to do it wisely and not in a manner that incites outrage, confusion, hostility, and bias. We must be the problem-solvers and work in good faith to find solutions to our issues.
What I find puzzling is Commissioner Goreé's method of expressing his opinions. Goreé knew full well, or should have known, the widespread dissemination of the Paulick Report and the outrage his comments would elicit. Perhaps that was his intent, perhaps not. Is Goreé trying to shut down the horse racing industry singlehandedly or is he so blindsided he's not able to fully realize the impact of his negatively-charged comments? I have personally observed Commissioner Goreé for several years at racing commission meetings and, while I may not agree with some of his operatives, I believe he views his role to be that of an agent of change, leading the charge to horse racing accountability standards.
With that in mind, I'm countering Commissioner Goreé's agenda and asking him to lead the charge to hold the Arizona Racing Commissioners responsible for enacting the powers and authority delegated to them in Arizona Administrative Code Title 19, Chpt. 2. Arizona Racing Commission (19-02.fm (az.gov). Namely, when the commission holds their monthly meetings require each organization detailed on the commission's standing agenda to present monthly reports. For years, I have observed these commission meetings and month after month, year after year, I see the same organizations not providing monthly reports to the commission about their operations and activities. That is, except for one group: Turf Paradise, who always reports whether we like to subject matter or not.
So, Commissioner Goreé, before you start throwing the gauntlet at the horse racing industry, I think you need to do a little bit of housecleaning with the Arizona Racing commissioners. If you as a commissioner set the standard of accepting “no reports” or “no presence” at commission meetings, what right do you have to criticize others when you do not hold these same organizations responsible for reporting to you, the commissioners? It is not acceptable for these organizations to state repeatedly “no news” to report to the commission or not show up to the commission meeting. There obviously is quite a bit of news as you have pointed out in your various articles submitted to the media for publication. And you don't hold back submitting your articles with sensationalized headlines accusing racetracks of being “killing fields.” Are you guilty of creating your own killing field by not upholding your oath to the racing commission?
Hold these organizations responsible for monthly reports—that's part of your job!
In closing, Commissioner Goreé, and with all due respect, I support your efforts to create a more responsible and safer environment for the horse racing industry. What I do not support is the throwing of stones at the industry … especially when one resides in a glass house. Let's work together to solve the problems, not be the problem throwers.
—Tim Kelly
Tim Kelly is the former President – Pima County Horsemen's Association and has served as a former Commissioner for the Pima County Horse Racing Commission. Kelly also served as the Parimutuel Manager for Rillito racetrack for 28 years.
If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, please write to info at paulickreport.com and include contact information where you may be reached if editorial staff have any questions.
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