Letter to the Editor | Horse Racing Free Tips

Letter to the Editor: Nonsense

On March 9, Thoroughbred Daily News published a letter to the editor that lambasted the Thoroughbred industry's media as biased while hiding his or her identity under the cloak of anonymity.

To which I answer without anonymity, nonsense.

I don't really know the motivation of this anonymous toxic waste, although it fits into the pattern of blaming the media for just about everything that goes wrong in an industry or a society, whether characterized as “fake news” or not. The anonymous writer must have some beef with the industry and decided to turn to media bashing.

I covered my first horse race in 1978; I have worked for a major U.S. newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer; and I have been an editor or contributor to Thoroughbred publications, namely the Thoroughbred Record and Thoroughbred Times.

The motivation of most all the journalists I've encountered in that time, which probably number in the thousands, was to get the story and get it right. That means telling both sides of the story. True, I have seen instances where the text may have been influenced by a losing bet, and industry members have at times tried unsuccessfully to throw their weight around in publications.

But those instances are exceedingly rare. To say that these journalists are “dishonest,” to use the word of the anonymous coward, borders on libel. To take the Thoroughbred Daily News as an example, I have known Bill Finley since the early 1980s and have always—always—found him to be honest and dogged in getting the information correctly.

I read T. D. Thornton to help me understand complex topics, and I trust his reporting. I've known TDN Publisher Sue Finley for more than 40 years, and I can attest that her motivation is to present the news in an honest, accurate, and balanced publication.

They and others whose bylines appear in industry publications are not motivated by clickbait or negativity or fearmongering, to again dip into the anonymous writer's bucket by bile.

If you are not accurate, honest, and balanced in your reporting and writing, you fail. Period.

These writers have not failed; some industry members may not like what they write, but you can't please the biased individuals who turn to the anonymous poison pen to spew their grievances. Based on the last paragraph, a rambling dissertation about training champions and, well, I am not sure what, I can't figure out what the grievance is.

The anonymous writer ends with the exhortation or command to “Be better.” From the perspective of almost 58 years in journalism, my experience has been that writers and editors get up each morning determined to be honest, accurate, and balanced in their work and thus to be better day by day.

Don Clippinger, an Eclipse Award winner, was editor of Thoroughbred Record and editorial director of Thoroughbred Times until his retirement in 2009.

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Letter to the Editor: Be Better

Editor's Note: the author of this letter is known to the publishers of the TDN, but has asked to remain anonymous.

At this point, we have to be skeptical of any news story about the horse business. Most journalists have an agenda, and there are a lot of angry, envious people ready to feed publications what they want to hear. There are also a lot of readers eager to consume such negative stories.

It's a perfect storm of bogusness, with dishonesty at each stage of the pipeline, from the sources through the writers to the readers. This doesn't mean every story about the industry is wrong, but it means wrong will be the default. Clickbait and sensationalism is what they want. Sources of most stories are agitators that pull the strings by contributing to online fearmongering publications. The most intriguing aspect of the horse business is that money alone can't buy you a champion. It's multifaceted–from how horses are sourced to how they are prepped to how they are managed and ultimately trained. Average investors can play the S&P and look smart over time. Average investors can't win the KY Derby or develop champions without excellent infrastructure and laser focus. People always believe they know better and their structure will achieve higher returns. The only way to win with any consistency at the highest level is by retaining the help of proven sources that have established winning trends in the classic and championship races over several decades. Industry participants become very soured by competitors, who win and win at the highest level with regularity. We now more than ever need a level of enforceable accountability from our racetrack and industry publications. As an industry we need to hold our media to a higher standard.

Be Better.

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Letter to the Editor: Kip Cornett

This Sunday is the biggest day in American sports–Super Bowl LVII. While I enjoy this annual ritual, I much prefer the first Saturday in May–or really any Saturday where there is great Thoroughbred competition to watch.

I grew up a bettor, then became a marketer and ultimately an owner in the sport. And all three of these experiences I've enjoyed immensely. And for the benefit of each, I applauded the efforts to finally, finally, finally bring Thoroughbred racing under the long-overdue establishment of uniform safety and integrity rules through the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act.

I hate to say it, but I fully expected some corners of the industry to fight this. And they have. And they are only slowing down a train that badly needs to roll on to ensure the present and the future of our sport.

As a bettor I want a level playing field, as an investor I want to be protected–and as a marketer, my lifelong profession, I want a product I can proudly and honestly promote.

With the establishment of HISA to set and enforce rules for our sport and its participants, all three of those boxes could be checked.

To consumers under 40, the most important trait a brand can possess is “Trustworthiness”. It is at the core of building a relationship with a consumer. I would venture to say racing would score near the bottom of the sporting world with this next generation of owners and bettors.

No amount of advertising dollars can cure the damage caused when a brand cannot be trusted.

Competition for the entertainment dollar has never been more difficult. While I applaud some innovation in our fight for that dollar, if we continue to be seen–by our current customers, much less potential new ones–as a sport lacking fundamental safety and integrity, the clock will continue to run down on Thoroughbred racing.

The ongoing growth and acceptance of sports betting is a major opportunity for racing. And the more our brand is seen as doing everything we can to regulate and ensure integrity, the better our chances at getting a bigger piece of the sports wagering pie.

We have our best chance to change with the implementation and full industry support of HISA.

Uniting different interests and regulating any sport is never easy. And there will be bumps along the way that comes with any effort of this magnitude. But they can and will be addressed.

Watching the Chiefs versus Eagles on Sunday should remind us–that uniformity and proper regulation can truly lead to “Super” things. The NFL is certainly not perfect, but their journey to becoming the dominant sport in America can be traced partially to their willingness to unite and better regulate their game.

I urge anyone who desires a better future for our sport to support the efforts of HISA.

Kip Cornett

Chairman Emeritus

CORNETT

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Letter to the Editor: Opposing Is Easy

As the legal saga that is HISA continues to be bantered around the courts horse racing fans have heard some common themes develop from those in support of and in opposition of the legislation and regulations. Those in opposition have raised many points they have repeated used as arguments for what is wrong with the entire idea and process. One of the themes that has been made as part of every opposition argument is that there is a better way to go about this, and a better set of uniform rules and regulations can be made if the proper players were brought to the table to create them.

As a racing fan for the last 30 plus years I can say we all desire both uniform rules and a disciplinary set- up that provides for fair due process but quick resolution of issues with proper penalties. As a veterinarian and animal welfare advocate, I have fought for proper rules to ensure the welfare of these majestic equine athletes. As someone who has been involved in process of creating regulations on the state level for dog kennels in PA, I know all too well how hard it can be to reach consensus and have everyone agree on everything proposed. It is the nature of the process and human nature itself. However, I also have learned through all these areas that when something is not liked or desired, a counter plan or counter offer is usually made to provide an alternative to what is being objected to. The lack of any type of counterproposal or set of rules/regulations being set forth by the people in opposition certainly is puzzling.

All the key players that are claiming to be excluded in this process of creating uniform regs could easily have come together and formed a committee, group, or whatever you want to call it of their own and work on crafting a competing set of rules and how they are to be implemented throughout the country that would alleviate any constitutionality concerns. I have yet to see even an outline proposed from any of these opposition groups on what should be done instead. Continuing with the status quo is not one that will be accepted by anyone as it has shown to be woefully lacking in many areas.

The National HBPA Convention is happening soon. Will any kind of update be given then? Will a new committee be announced? Will we finally see this “better plan” that all opposed to HISA claim can be created? Or…will we merely see the same old statements of HISA being unconstitutional and it needs to be done away with?

It is always easy to be the party in opposition to something. It is much harder to be the ones to craft a plan that will work.

–Bryan Langlois, DVM, Racing Fan and Vice-President ThoroFan

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