Tag: The Paddock

I have been obsessed with horse racing for decades. Racing combines beauty, adventure, triumph, and (occasionally) the sophistication of a Hollywood movie. Throw in the excitement of gambling and “You had me at hello.”

I have bred my own horses, have invested in 30 horse racing partnerships (don't tell my wife), and have written The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told – the best-selling horse racing book since Seabiscuit. In short: I'm all in.

I believe horse racing is the greatest game in the world, and I am desperately fighting to remain engaged in the sport I love. It is from this desperation, written solely as a racing fan and horse player, that I write this letter. I have listed my issues with horse racing's current realities while acknowledging I don't have many solutions. Perhaps my next “Letter to the Editor” will include a few of my 'half-baked' ideas of controversial fixes for racing's demons.

When simulcasting was first introduced in the late 1980s I thought it the greatest invention since vodka. I could go to my local track, or stay home, while watching and gambling on live racing at the nation's greatest tracks. When other fans complained that onsite attendance was dwindling, I told them, “The track is still open in person. It's just not as crowded.” In retrospect I believe that simulcasting is simultaneously the best thing that ever happened to racing (it would be extinct without it) and the worst thing that ever happened to our sport.

Technology is transformative. The concept that I can download my  Daily Racing Form “Formulator” past performances, watch and wager on top stakes races daily, all from the convenience of my home office, is incredibly convenient. My wife says she likes me at home—but I have my doubts. Unfortunately, being a solo racing fan is like gambling in solitary confinement.

No one likes to eat at an empty restaurant. Walking through the nearly empty, cavernous Santa Anita stands—on all but a few big Saturdays—is depressing to me. I loved buying horses in public partnerships, sharing with fellow owners in celebrating our wins, and convening in the bar after our numerous defeats. I enjoy bringing my wife and friends to the races, especially the excitement new attendees show when seeing a powerful, sleek, stunningly beautiful thoroughbred up close enough to touch, in the  paddock, barn, or winner's circle. Now the track usually resembles that empty restaurant and when I ask friends to join me for a day at the races, they mention the racing deaths they read about, while looking at me like I'm an axe murderer.

My personal opinions of racing's future:

• Legal sports gambling will not save horse racing, but instead will be a fierce competitor. Why will gamblers pay takeout of 16 percent on a win bet (21 percent blended racing takeout rate on exactas, trifectas) on horse racing, but only pay 5 percent vigorish on a sports team bet (8.6 percent on a two-team parlay).
• Simulcasting will not create racing fans. If it did where are they?
• CAWs (computer assisted wagering groups) are driving out serious horse players like me! I don't mind competition. Hell, I don't even mind losing—but give me a fair shot. Let me get this right: I am supposed to pay takeout of 21 percent, and compete against a computer with better data and the knowledge of pools that I am not allowed to access, and then the CAWs are getting a rebate of 10 percent for consideration of their huge bets? And the CAW site is owned by the racetrack? I think I'll grab a beer, pay $5 takeout on a $100 dollar football bet, and call it an afternoon.
• Continue with all the great recent improvements for horse safety. Racing fans and owners love our horses. The fatalities numbers are way down. Bravo. Keep it up and add new technology like scans, etc. to get even better. But don't try to appease PETA and don't give unrealistic horse safety expectations to the public. What would happen if we took all the racehorses and let them go free in the wild? Do everything reasonable to make racing as safe as possible—but is it better to not breed horses at all, or to lose less than a small fraction of 1 percent while racing?
• Having played Hollywood Park and Santa Anita synthetic racetracks for a decade, I personally will not watch racing on synthetic surfaces. It is not just racing I enjoy wagering on or watching; if running on a track made of oatmeal is safer than dirt, then as they say on Shark Tank: “I'm out.”
• Racinos and slot machines will not save racing. Eventually economic reality will lead to the elimination of these subsidies and racing's umbilical cord will be cut.
• Racing is funded by gambling dollars and well-bankrolled horse players who do not want to view or wager on small five- and six-horse fields. The number of thoroughbreds bred has been reduced nearly 60 percent from a few decades ago. I believe that racing is headed the way of a few big “super tracks” racing year-round, plus the summer “spa” meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar, and the spring and fall Keeneland meets. I am sympathetic to those hard-working backstretch workers at small and mid-level tracks, but I don't see a future there. Respected podcaster Chuck Simon tells me that big tracks cannot exist without smaller satellite tracks feeding into them. How does Sha Tin racetrack in Hong Kong continue to thrive with huge fields and huge wagering pools?

I attended horseplayer heaven at both Saratoga and Del Mar this summer, loving the energy of packed stands, the roar of the crowd, and full fields to lose my money on. I left hopeful, re-energized, and headed straight to the ATM. I don't regret a single day I have spent at the racetrack.

How do I reconcile my adoration for this game with the realities of today's racetrack experience?

• My personal solution may unfortunately be to attend and simulcast only on racing's few big Saturdays per year.
• The only experience that rivals cheering home your own winning horse is watching your children compete at sports and I enjoyed that gift when my family was young. I love being as close to the game as possible, yet I have decided there is no reason to own additional horses to race in front of empty stands.

Several days this coming this year I will put on a sports coat and invite my wife to take out her “track hat” for a big-stakes day at the races. I will spend three hours of excited anticipation handicapping full fields of magnificent horses and will push my bankroll through the windows with happy abandon—all to enjoy the greatest game in the world.

Mark Paul – Beverly Hills, Calif.

Author of “The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told”

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The post Letter To The Editor: Racing In Crisis – Thoughts From A Passionate Fan appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Many of you may have seen that last week a bill was introduced in Congress to repeal the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, better known as HISA. I want to set the record straight as to what this legislation does or doesn't do, assure you that the bill isn't going anywhere in Congress, and conclude that it stands no chance of becoming law.

First things first – it's important to remember that any member of Congress can introduce a bill. They write the language, file the bill, and voila it's been introduced. Just in the 118th Congress, which began in the beginning of 2023, more than 10,000 bills have been introduced. Of those more than 10,000 bills, only 14 have become law. It's important to have that perspective to truly understand why the likelihood of this bill ever becoming law is next to nothing.

Now let's get to this particular bill. Introduced by Congressman Higgins from Louisiana, the Racehorse Health and Safety Act (RHSA) has just one cosponsor. In order for any bill to become law, it needs a lot of support, support that comes in the form of “cosponsors.” HISA had more than 260 cosponsors and was supported by both Republicans and Democrats. RHSA only has one, and both are Republicans. Without bipartisan support and many cosponsors, bills don't go anywhere in Congress.

Now to the lack of merits of the legislation. The very same people who spent years and millions of dollars fighting in Congress and in the courts against uniform safety standards and a unified regulator would now have us believe that they are actually for uniform safety standards and a unified regulator. The goal of RHSA is to repeal HISA, return the industry to the state-by-state patchwork regulatory system, and then create a unified regulator and unified safety standards. You read that correctly – this bill suggests rolling back all the work HISA has done, turn the industry back over to the states, and then create its own regulatory body and rules. Instead of trying to work with HISA, within the scope of the law, HISA's detractors are simply wasting everyone's time.

Congressman Higgins and the detractors of HISA know that it would take years to slog through the cumbersome process of passing enabling legislation in nearly three dozen racing states to establish RHSA. Repealing HISA to then enact RHSA with the consent of 38 states would be similar to the time-consuming process of amending the Constitution, which has only happened 27 times in more than 200 years. This bill is an untenable attempt to turn back the clock on track safety and anti-doping rules – which is precisely why there is so little support in Washington for the HISA repeal bill.

As I've said for months, these detractors need to put an end to their arguments. It is crucial that the whole of the Thoroughbred industry comes together for the betterment of our sport. In these challenging times, we must rally around HISA to ensure the highest standards of integrity and safety are upheld. The Racehorse Health and Safety Act would set the industry back when we should be setting aside our differences and working collaboratively towards a brighter, safer future for Thoroughbred racing under the guidance of HISA which is already the law of the land. Together, we can safeguard the integrity and longevity of this beloved sport.

Tom Rooney is the President and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). He formerly served in the U.S. House of Representatives for five terms, representing the state of Florida. 

The post Rooney: Congress Will Not Repeal HISA, Newly-Introduced RHSA ‘Stands No Chance Of Becoming Law’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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