Tag: The Paddock

The New York Post's Editorial Board has published an op-ed this week which strongly condemns Governor Kathy Hochul's support for a $455 million plan to update Belmont Park.

“You can make a 'cultural heritage' case for keeping New York's horse-racing industry alive, even though the free market would execute it,” the op-ed concludes. “But don't insult the public by pretending the state can reap a windfall by burning more taxpayer cash on this money pit.”

The New York Racing Association advanced the multi-year project to re-imagine Belmont Park with a modern grandstand alongside the hospitality offerings and amenities fans now expect from sports and entertainment venues. NYRA also committed to updating and enhancing a variety of facilities for the backstretch community, including the construction of more new housing than at any point in Belmont Park's history. In addition, the project will unlock the 45-acre infield at Belmont Park for a variety of community uses.

NYRA claims it will pay off the bonds over the upcoming two decades, but the End Horse Racing Subsidies Coalition released a study questioning whether the “declining” industry would be able to do so.

Hochul defended the plan in another story in the Post, saying: “The alternative is to have a site that deteriorates, loses value, has a detrimental effect on the surrounding neighborhood. And it also helps become the death of an industry which is synonymous with New York State the racing industry. One part of the Triple Crown.”

NYRA spokesman Patrick McKenna defended the plan in the same story: “The construction of a new Belmont Park will create thousands of jobs, generate billions in economic activity and secure the future of thoroughbred racing in New York State. That's why this transformational project enjoys broad support among New Yorkers, elected officials, organized labor and the statewide business community. A modernized Belmont Park on Long Island would come at no cost to taxpayers and result in the finest sports and entertainment destinations anywhere in the country.”

Read more here: New York Post Op-Ed, New York Post story.

The post NY Post: Belmont Park Modernization Plan Is ‘Burning More Taxpayer Cash’ On A ‘Money Pit’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Last week, a trainer did something which is not always a given in horse racing. The gesture was largely lost in the shuffle of social media and a subsequent busy Saturday of stakes racing, but I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge it.

On Feb. 23, a racing fan on Twitter captured video of a horse trained by Michael Stidham in the saddling area at Turfway Park ahead of the day's fourth race. It's a little hard to tell exactly what's going on, but in one video, the employee appears to jerk on the horse's nose or lip chain and strikes the horse open-handed on the neck. In a different clip, the same person hits the horse on the top of the head with his hand.

If the person thought they were correcting the horse for some undesired behavior, that isn't depicted, but much of the response to the video came from Twitter users who made it clear no context was going to excuse that treatment of the horse.

The next day, the Dubai World Cup-winning trainer released the following statement via his social media:

We here at the Stidham stable have been made aware of a video being shared widely on social media appearing to show one of the stable's employees treating a horse in his care in a manner incompatible with the barn's typically extremely high standards of horsemanship.

Michael Stidham has the following statement on the incident:

“Regarding the actions taken by one of my employees before the 4th race on Feb. 23 at Turfway Park: The Michael Stidham Racing Stable condemns any mistreatment or abuse of horses in any form. This type of behavior, for any reason, is unacceptable in my stable and inexcusable.

“The actions taken by this trusted employee of more than 20 years are entirely out of character. He has been reprimanded and reminded that any mistreatment of any horse under my care is unacceptable and abhorrent. Accountability in our sport is absolutely necessary and I take complete responsibility for this incident.

“I apologize to the racing public, Turfway Park, and all affected parties. I will speak to Turfway Park stewards and accept any action taken against my stable or my employee. We pride ourselves on providing the best care possible for our horses and will reemphasize stable standards after this regrettable incident.”

As I've written before, I've seen really excellent, patient horsemanship on the racetrack, from riders and handlers alike. I've also watched people lose their temper with horses in ways that probably weren't productive for either the human or the horse. I don't think that problem is limited to racing. Racing tends to have more activities videoed and streamed each day than other equine sports however, and in the age of social media, if someone is acting inappropriately with a horse, there is a growing chance that it's going to be immortalized online. The original video, as of this writing, had over 250,000 views if Twitter's analytics can be believed.

What I found notable about this situation was Stidham's swift reaction to it. It would have been easy to wait for the whole thing to blow over, as it was sure to do because Twitter is fueled by a constant churn of outrage followed by amnesia and the algorithm doesn't keep content high on users' feeds for too long after publication. Instead, Stidham composed a statement unequivocally condemning the employee's actions, while also reinforcing that this was a trusted, experienced person. He expressed a willingness to face any regulatory action that could result. He apologized to viewers of the video, recognizing that it was distressing for some people to see. And more than anything, Stidham took responsibility for the incident because the person was employed by him to care for his horses.

It's not a given in the modern racing world (or the world at large) that someone is willing to accept responsibility for the actions of their representative.

While there will doubtlessly be people who use the video to villainize horse handlers in racing regardless of Stidham's response, he has shown that he is listening to the public's concern for horses. And that is a step in a positive direction. The world is already watching us, more carefully than ever before. We won't always be perfect in that spotlight, but we can at least acknowledge that it's there.

The post Voss: In The Face Of Something Wrong, Stidham Responded The Right Way appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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There is no doubt in my mind that racing must bear down on the drug issue to build confidence in the sport among fans and bettors. But I don't believe the decline in racing is caused by this very important problem. Bettors have suspected chicanery in racing for a long, long time, but they stick with it nevertheless. They will suspect it going forward even if drug violations are brought under control. It's the nature of things.

The way I view the decline is very different. It has more to do with the economics of participating in racing. And you can see this most clearly in the ongoing decline in the foal population, over the years.

As a small-time breeder who began in the mid-1980s I recall that my foals were among 40,000-plus being bred each year. Today there are under 18,000. In Ohio, where I began, the number of foals increased marginally every year during that period, but it increased. We may have been dreamers in Ohio, but isn't that what racing is all about?

A couple of weeks ago four 3-year-olds competed in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes as a kickoff to the Derby prep season out West. All four were trained by a single person, the inimitable Bob Baffert. That type of field is on its way to becoming normalized. This boils down to the fact that breeders like me and trainers like the men and women who trained for me over the years are leaving the sport.

Because of the economics of the sport.

The best runner that I bred was Numerically, the Ohio Horse of the Year in 1993. His unraced sire was Four Ten, whose stud fee was $500. This stallion was a son of champion Graustark out of Eastern Princess, a full sister to champion Bold Ruler. My mare was an unraced daughter of Red Ryder, a full brother to leading stallion Mr. Prospector. In 1990 I had access to championship bloodlines for $500.

Try to put a pedigree like that together today for less than five or six figures. It's not possible.

You may think that this is OK as long as a few bigger racetracks can still field a program. So what if the lesser tracks decline? So what if the small stables decline? So what if there are fewer horses being bred?

So what? So, this is more likely the beginning of the end. And it's a slow, slow ending. I don't care if some whales fatten the parimutuel pools. I don't care if the sport takes place in a bubble. It just won't be racing as we once knew it and the only times that you're going to see large crowds at the races are on the premier days. Kentucky Derby. Breeders Cup. But perhaps those crowds will also decline when the big event turns out to be Cox vs. Cox vs. Cox.

When I was a kid, sneaking into Aqueduct every Saturday, there were always 30,000 or more people in the stands. It was exciting and infectious. That excitement drove me to get into racing, even if it was with $500 stud fees and unraced mares.

You might argue that casinos have eaten into the horseracing gambling population.  But they aren't the cause of what's squeezing the sport. The cost of being in the sport is, to me, the real problem.  People like me are NOT going to bet that Baffert will beat Baffert, or that Cox will beat Cox or Pletcher will beat Pletcher. This isn't the sport we want to be involved with.

Look, I'm not blaming them. This is just where the business and the sport have ended up.

Racing needs to find a way to bring back the $500 stud fee (metaphorically speaking). Racing needs to keep more people like me in the game or we can all jump on the withering bandwagon, cheering on fewer and fewer horses, fewer and fewer stables, fewer and fewer trainers…until it's gone.

The drug problem must be solved, but people like you good folks at Paulick also need to analyze the bigger issue, which is the shrinking of the sport and the loss of the thousands of horsemen and horsewomen who once made it what it was. They are not dying off. The sport is simply going down without them.

We didn't need to get into racing to make a bet. We did it for love.  Lose the love and all you have left is another casino game.

— Al Milano

Lexington, Ky

Breeder, owner, fan

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