7/7/2004

The Silence is Deafening

Just a month ago Smarty Jones' name made ubiquitous headlines in his bid to become the 12th. winner of the Triple Crown. Today that agonizing defeat at the hands of Birdstone (a name that will be as soon forgotten as that of Jean Van der Veldt's Open conqueror, Paul Lawrie) fades into the distance: along with tales of Funny Cide, and other so-called peoples' horses that just didn't quite make it.

Meanwhile the brain-surgeons at the NTRA believe that the sport has sprung a leak, in the wake of recent figures which suggest that attendance, handle and prize money are all down.

Well....hello. I'll be damned. Who would have thunk it, with such bright guys at the controls?

Now Greg Avioli and his dim-witted cohorts (29 of them) are going to be spending a great deal of time and money trying to figure out how to combat rebating and all other forms of apparently unfair competition that threaten their little tea party

Boo-Hoo....Boo-Hoo!

Its absolutely mind-boggling just how stupid these people (in charge of the so-called sport of Kings) are. The horse has bolted, men. And there's no point shutting the stable gate now.

Sadly very few people care, though. And this is the major problem, because racetrack operators console themselves with ill-gotten gains from slot machines (a bit like allowing your daughter to fund her education by being a prostitute), deluding themselves that all is o.k., while Joe Public couldn't give two hoots.

Indeed, for all the money that has been invested in the NTRA, the current malaise is quite shocking. The silence is defeaning, and with the prospect of a poorly attended Breeders' Cup (by foreign horses) this fall at Lone Star Park, the future looks bleak.

Never mind....Saratoga is just around the corner. Now there's a thought.....lets shut down every racetrack in North America, except Belmont, Santa Anita, Keeneland, Churchill, Gulfsteam, Del Mar and Saratoga.....and just race at these select tracks during their optimal seasons. The MAIN MEET each day would be covered by a whole page in every daily newspaper across the continent and every lottery terminal will offer special exotic wagers. This way the pools will be so big, no rebater or off-shore bandit-bookmaker could possibly compete.

Now that might be a bit too simple for the NTRA to understand. But here's hoping.