HEY COMMISH! YOUR CHANCE TO BE HEARD
By Ray Paulick
Are you happy with the job racing regulators are doing? Could these individuals who serve on commissions, boards, or government agencies, many of them as unpaid political appointees, be doing a better job? What about the paid staff at the commission level, or the racing commission stewards or veterinarians?
That’s what Ed Martin, the president of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, wants me to sound off about during a panel discussion tomorrow at the RCI’s annual convention in Lexington: what’s working and what isn’t working on the regulatory side of this struggling industry.
I’ve got my own opinions to be sure, mostly about things that aren’t working. But I want to know what you think. If you’re an owner, breeder, trainer, horseplayer, industry employee or casual fan, I’d like to know what message you think I should carry to this gathering of racing commissioners. Pretend you’re racing commissioner for a day: what are the issues most important that racing regulators can act upon? What needs addressing now?
Please use the comment section below to make your voice heard. (If you have something to say you would prefer not be seen publicly, please send me an email at ray@paulickreport.com).
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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Tags: american graded stakes committee, association of racing commissioners international, ed martin, Horse Racing, national association of state racing commissioners, Paulick Report, racing board, racing commission, racing regulators, Ray Paulick, RCI, rci convention, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, TOBA
April 20th, 2009 at 11:02 am
What if the Uniform Guidelines for Foreign Substances was truly uniform, so that no horses anywhere could race on drugs (and does the relationship with the Association of Racing Chemists make that easier or more difficult)?
April 20th, 2009 at 11:09 am
National unified standards and licensing.
Elimination of changing odds during the race.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:28 am
How about the idea of pharmacies at race tracks and all med’s to be released by Rx only to horses stabled at the track. The vets cannot go on the track with any drugs except emergency/ colic drugs in their cars.
We call it veterinary accountability!
April 20th, 2009 at 11:45 am
consumer confidence in racing is at an all-time low for good reason and it is time the rci did something about it!
1. elimination of race-day medication. every race run today is tainted by drugs of one form or another. in some instances it is illegal drugs masking illegal drugs. get rid of them as other major racing countries have done.
2. establish a regimen to enforce the above, whether this is through making vets and trainers report all substances administered to a horse within 48 hours of a horse running or setting up ‘no medication barns’ for entries 48 hours prior to a race.
3. uniform licensing, drug testing and penalties. the current system is laughable. and scoff law trainers and yes vets can be found on every track.
4. investigate a ‘humane’ whip and punish ‘excessive’ whipping that so turns the stomach of old and new fans alike.
5. regulate warm ups so that horses about to race are properly exercised. if necessary, get rid of ponies and pony riders who cannot raise more than a canter in the pre-race routine (look at video from foreign tracks where ponies are NOT used to see how their mounts are allowed to warm up pre-race.)
April 20th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Uniform Guidelines for ANY Foreign Substances with suspensions with clear written rules, such as how many MONTHS not days and the following people connected with the trainer who has been suspended:
Assistant trainer/s will not be allowed to take over during suspension.
The OWNER will not be allowed to race ANY of their horses during suspension.
The VETERINERY will not be allowed on any racetrack during the suspension.
Put some teeth into the rules and things will change quickly.
April 20th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
The Mullins case!!!! NYRA regulators are patting thmesleves on the back for taking him to task. If thyey really wanted to make a statement, they would have suspended him immediatley for the 15 days. Mullins agrees to serve a 7 day suspension but picks when he is going to serve it. This happens all the time. Regulators treat drug issues way to casually. It’s easy to see why the casual fan or non fan, thinks this is a druged sport! The regulators slap on the wrist approach, plays right into PETA’s hands. Just about every trainer in the business has had multiple drug offenses and when that hand that trophy out on May 2nd, they may be handing over to one of the most drug abusive trainers of all time!
April 20th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
1. As Pennsylvania announced on April 15, eliminate the injection of joints with corticosteroids within seven days of a race. This will take effect in Pennsylvania on June 1, 2009.
2. Force racetracks to institute the same monitoring systems on the racing side that they have in their slots parlors both video in the barns and IT to monitor wagering.
April 20th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Ah, Ray, you already know my answer: Eliminate medication nationwide, test for it and stick to it. It will be too hard to pull the plug cold turkey, so suggested starting with next crop of two-year-olds and go from there.
Plus I agree with everything PA Guy says above. Ditching the ponies is also an excellent idea, but falls pretty low on the list of problems.
April 20th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Eliminate monopolistic distribution of racing signals and video. The horsemen should be able to enjoy “free enterprise”. Tracknet is the death blow to our industry, they have suckered other tracks to join using their sinals as the trap…In any other industry litiigation would have been underway long ago.. Eliminate the up front $50k TRPB “background checks”. Each state conducts the exact same vetting prior to licensing. This is redundancy and a restriction on growth. The TRPB needs to go back to checking tattoos and out of the homeland security biz.
April 20th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
#1 I ‘d encourage independence of thought and avoiding the baying hounds to control the dialogue. Horse racing has huge issues that involve other than therapeutic meds, whips, horse slaughter, etc. These need to be identified, looked at and acted on as funds become available.
Closing Tracks
Understanding Internet Marketing (to generate revenue)
Horse Safety
These are the present major issues that it seems to me need to be dealt with nationally. Commissions could be helpful e.g. in seeing what could be done to save Fairmount Park, if anything–is this their job–unknown to me, but anything Illinois Commission could do, should be looked at in interest of racing.
The area of horse safety needs significant emphasis, and recognition of the obvious:
minimun training and racing standards for entry–the old “two breezes and your in” needs serious reconsideration, as does the warm up culture at many tracks.
pre-race diagnostics need to include trainer record keeping and mandatory reporting
of every problem, and scientific diagnoses for televised races.
Warm ups–again–what you see at such places as Beulah, St. Louis, River Downs–forcing horses to run being walked to the gate–this needs to be looked at as it contributes to losing owner after owner due to injury.
April 20th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
and, investigation of catastrophic breakdowns followed by appropriate suspensions for negligence. Old Fashioned reportedly was sore after the Rebel–true or false–who knows–and yet the sport was a few strides from another A-bomb.
April 20th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Quit giving the big trainers different penalties than the little guys. UNIFORM drug rules THRUOUT the nation.That eliminates the, “I didn’t know how they do things here” excuse. State investigator ride with the vets all day. Check securtiy records and see what time the vets are coming in the night before the race or morning of. Surveillance cameras in barns. This works both ways. If a trainer is hollering somebody got to my horse, well then it should be on the camera. Mainly, just come down hard on these repeat offenders and give the trainers that have been in the game for years with not so much as a high bute a fighting chance. As well as their owners and betting public.
April 20th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
wagering integrity and race-day medication
April 20th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Ca. and it’s CHRB is the is the only State in the nation that allows a majority of licensed horsemen to serve on its Board. All licensed horsemen are automatically members of the T.O.C. They routinely race their horses on tracks that they control, and are subject to stewards rulings that are supervised by themselves.
John Hay Whitney said years ago “when Sportsmen lose control our game is in trouble”
The public perception of conflict of interest and potential corruption issues are prime targets for any “Commish” considering Drugs,Late odds changes, uncoupled entries in smal fields ,infighting with each each group over power.
The racing managers have failed to ask the question of themselves “Why do we race”.
We race primarily to attract the the public race fan and the wagering dollar. It is a gambling game. What the fan wants is rare to be considered at all.
The managers should concentrate to do everything in their power to change the negative public perceptions about racing and they have a failed grade “F”
April 20th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
To echo what the others are saying: NO raceday medications. Period. It works in Europe, it can work here. Also, there should be strictly enforced, uniform penalties. Others have alluded to the Jeff Mullins fiasco. These slaps on the wrist are intolerable–and even when suspended, having assistants do everything is just as bad.
Finally–we need a national authority. If Congress finally decides to step in, so be it. They should. The sport can clearly not regulate itself anymore.
April 20th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Hi Ray,
I’m a horse racing fan first and foremost; I love the sport and want to see it flourish. The most important issue affecting racing is the lack of credibility and trust within the sport. No amount of empty talk and marketing can overcome the perception of rampant cheating as evidenced by lenient rules on medication, lax enforcement, weak penalties (see Mullins story), etc. The fans/bettors and the horses are being victimized. We’ve seen how similar issues have ruined the Tour de France with key differences being large sums are money aren’t being wagered and innocent animals aren’t involved.
The entire sport needs an ethical overall. Clear, simple, consistent, and strictly enforced rules across all racing jurisdictions would seem to help. It’s a tall order given the alphabet soup of racing organizations, but if you can’t trust that the sport is on the up and up; and that the folks in charge have integrity; it will only get worse. The general public is largely indifferent to racing which may be a blessing in disguise given the state of chaos and disarray. A few more high-profile scandals involving cheating, especially if directly linked to animal endangerment, we will see that indifference turn to opposition. However, strong, pro-active action on part of the industry to improve integrity, trust, and safety will be met with public supprt. It can go either way but the industry to take action now.
I believe people should be considered innocent until proven guilty and I’m not advocating frontier justice but right now it seems like a very permissive environment. At this point it’s time to get serious about safety and integrity and start instituting stiffer penalties and then banning repeat offenders for life. There are so many good, decent, hard-working people in racing that it’s a travesty a few bad actors are dragging everyone else down.
We have a great sport, I think the greatest sport, but saying it is not the same as proving it. I’ve heard a lot of talk but actions speak louder than words.
April 20th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Nationwide ban on medications.
Uniform and severe penalties.
National database for injuries, catastrophic and otherwise. Must include training injuries, not just race occurances.
April 20th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
No cortisone joint injections. The PA rule is a start but ain’t enough. No to cortisone. Yes to better equine AND OWNER management, rest or retirement as appropriate.
Trainers are all too often afraid to loose horses if they suggest the need to rest sore horses to owners. Too many other trainers are willing and ready to drug then drill these horses some more for the new owners. It easy to do since pre-race exams are such a joke. This is why rest and retirement should be mandated by officials to protect horses and our best trainers and to help fill up races later with sound horses off drugs racing at their best level. Upon their return to racing, these fresh horses should be able to race at least 4 times without risking their being claimed.
Race horses have been pushed to their catastrophic limit and the reputation of racing is in the sewer.
Reasons? Greed, absence of moral and pity. Abusive and delinquent claiming rules, too much racing, casinos needing live racing to make a killing with VLTs and all, compromised and sloppy pre-race exams to fill an insane number of races, abusive drug use to train and race sore horses, drug-pushing vets laughing all the way to the bank, ridiculously small penalties for cheaters, powerful lawyers to get them off, horses with congenital flaws and drug-induced race records sent to the breeding farm.
Racing has a lack of funding for adequate surveillance, security, investigation, drug testing and apply big fines and bans at all tracks.
Racing needs a central authority to remove all conflicts of interest between horsemen, track owners, racing commissions and officials, and run a tight and humane ship under its stringent rule of law.
This environment has attracted the wrong kinds of owners, trainers and vets. The HBPA and racing protect and honor perps as they get bigger and more powerful. It is not about character and merit, it is about figs.
Jockeys have their priorities upside down: they want someone else to pay for their health insurance yet they fail to protect themselves by saying NO! like Michelle Nevin did when she refused to exercise Stardom Bound. Jockeys should worry about the condition of horses they agree to ride first and not worry about who will pay to repair them after their horses crash! Most injuries can be prevented. It is not about the surface, it is about humans who contribute to racing infirm horses with blocked joints, chemicals, including abused therapeutic drugs which contribute to destroying horses.
Horse racing shouldn’t be about the ruthless exploitation of horses, in particular in claiming races. Owners shouldn’t be able to toss their broken horses into claiming races with blind examining vets rubber stamping their racing. Examining vets should be able to monitor horses daily and stop all infirm horses from training and racing. There are many obvious red flags which are being ignored day after day.
What about the horses who are also dropping dead, even two year olds, what is killing them? A central authority should take possession of all dead horses, perform a necropsy then release the results.
Racing shouldn’t be about chemicals, blinkers and brute force to get “all they’ve got” and beyond, it should be about having fun, honest competition, racing the best against the best at whatever level. It should be about healthy and fit horses trained to enjoy competing against one another as they are bred to, based on instinct, being among other runners, the sound of running hoofs around them, voice encouragement and a hand-ride. We would still have a WPS in each race. Wouldn’t it be better for handicappers to study genuine ability, running style, jockey favorite racing styles, how horses are coming up and tactical skills, rather than who is sore but still racing today and who got juiced and by whom?
Golden Gate Fields just had a very popular Dachshunds Derby. People enjoyed watching these dogs enjoy themselves because it was fun, innocent, different and without danger. Food for thought!
April 20th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Ray,
Everyone knows the serious issues, but my thinking is that if racing can’t get together on this, they’ll never come to a consensus on anything: Will post times between same-tier racetracks ever be coordinated?
Thanks, and best of luck.
April 20th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
What is the justification for breakage? Why are winning horseplayers further penalized, after paying a large commission (takeout) to play, by a process that was designed to simplify payoff computations that today are done by computers; and, to simplify bet payoffs that today are done by computers via betting accounts or vouchers?
April 20th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Let me speak as an owner who has spent too much money on the sport.
1) Integrity:
No one told me that to have a “real shot” at making a go of racing, I would have to hire the most pharmaceutically advanced vets and trainers. I chose “horsemen” who’s exceptional care and conservative nature all but guaranteed happy, healthy but disadvantaged horses. Time to regulate nationally, fairly. Punish crime (real punishment, not the laughable kind we have seen).
2) Transparency:
I heard they outlawed steroids, in an effort to “level the playing field”. The NTRA says it’s 99% DONE. But I contacted the State of Florida and found out that it was still being used, OFTEN, until April 1st. Until then, it was issuing “warnings”. So what’s happening now? Am I to be the police, do I have to be the guardian of legality? Where is the industry concern. Where’s the industry watchdog? Who know’s what’s what? WHO IN A POSITION OF POWER CARES, WHO CAN AFFECT CHANGE? Which leads to:
3) National Leadership
Too many jurisdictions throwing too many unenforceable regulations. It’s time. The government needs to step in. We have proven unable to manage ourselves fairly. Treat the owner, gambler, and most important, the HORSE fairly. Time to get it done.
That’s a good start.
April 20th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
National racing license. Long overdue.
Enforce a “ride to the wire” rule like they do in Europe where jockeys are penalized if they quit riding when they see that they are not going to win. That second and third place money means a lot to everyone; bettor, owner, trainer, assistant, exercise rider, and especially the groom. Even fifth money can sometimes pay the owner’s training bills.
April 20th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
a) Like everybody else here wants: nationwide ban on medications, uniform standards
b) An independent investigative unit for the sport. Such an agency would also have to take over the entire controlling process. Even the best doping tests are meaningless if the system can regularly be unhinged by such simple methods as a small bribe to some underpaid racetrack worker for switching urine samples after they’re taken. Recent events suggest that f.e. there may be widespread violation of detention barn rules in CA, which the CHRB either ignores or is unaware of. Influential horsemen hold too much influence over racetracks and local authorities to allow them to sweep their dirty business under the carpet.
c) sharp increase in punishments for drug violations. No point in setting up the best standards in the world as long as the income generated from cheating far outweighs the punishment you occasionally have to accept. Punishment is also needed for vets and owners. It’s an old truism that any regulation is only worth as much as the means invested in enforcing it.
d) A basic one: a transparent and complete database of infractions for every horseman. No blank fields. It has to be crystal-clear what the violation was and which punishment was ultimately handed out. Such a db has to be easily accessible for everyone on the RCI’s website. Most importantly: no more behind-the-scenes solution. How are horseplayers supposed to trust the process if its not even clear which and how many infractions a major trainer has.
April 20th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I am sure you will be asking about drugs, overuse of the whip, wagering integrity, and the many horse-rider safety issues related above.
One topic that hasn’t already been mentioned in this post - and forgive me if I missed it - living conditions for backstretch workers. Our industry can and should do a better job of taking care of the folks who take care of the horses.
April 20th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Best luck in your endeavor, Mr. Commissioner for a day. Were you to actually be able to act on the issues of horse safety, trainers who give illegal drugs (via the use of masking drugs like L), and those owners who condone drugging horses, you likely would not last a full hour as commissioner. Me, I started keeping track of the win percentages of trainers and no longer wager on races with trainers who consistently win 20% or >; there are still plenty of races to play, but that number is shrinking.
April 20th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Shorter race meets. The fact that tracks like Penn National and Charles Town run year-round — especially considering their geographic locations — is absolutely ridiculous.
Winter racing in Pennsylvania and West Virginia?? Why??????
April 20th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
We don’t even race in Northern NEW MEXICO in the winter…
April 20th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Number one priority needed for horse racing is: across the board identical rules & regulations from state to state, need I say “just like any other sport.” Then when someone goes to another state to participate as an owner/trainer/jockey/horse/fan you wouldn’t have any excuses about not knowing the rules.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Thanks for giving us the chance to sound off and I hope you’ll give these ideas to the racing boards. Here’s my biggest beef. Too many racing board members, at least here in Illinois, never talk to horseplayers. If they go to the track it’s to the turf club or luxury suites. Why dont they learn what needs to be done by wandering around and talking with horseplayers? They talk with the track owners they are are getting a filtered line of b.s.
Better yet they should have some kind of ongoing dialogue with horseplayers. Without us they got nothing to regulate.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
#1 Nationwide ban on race day medication, with penalties that include life-time bans from the sport and address responsibilities of owners, trainers, vets and tracks.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Absolutely, uniform drug policies with a goal of zero race-day drug use allowed.
Penalties that actually impact both trainer and owner. Increased penalties with each violation with a life-time ban after a number of positives. Penalize owners at the meet as well.
Trainers/owners with a set number of violations not allowed to be considered for Eclipse Awards, which includes horses they train/own.
Entity established to represent the welfare of the horse. (I realized with the Paragallo case that there are entities to represent the owners, the breeders, the trainers, the gambler, but none for the horse). Barn inspections on the track to monitor horse care.
A nationwide fund to care for ex-racehorses post racing career. A fee attached to registrations and race entry fees (particularly high-end stakes races) to fund the program. Any non-profit retirement center to be reviewed by above entity to meet set qualifications.
An anonymous wistle-blower hotline to report cases such as the Paragallo case.
April 20th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
I hate that the suspensions and/or fines are handed down so late after the infraction. If a rule is broken, the penalty ought to begin immediately rather than later. Thanks for allowing us to sound off.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Our business in California is dying and the blame can be shared among the racing board, owners, trainers, track operators and breeders. I don’t think any one group can turn the ship around on their own, but we are in a serious crisis and need all of the above constituencies to work together and get state government to understand our dire situation.
All those bigshots on the CHRB starting with John Harris need to step up and lobby Governor Schwarzenegger and our senate/assembly leaders.
April 20th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
The State regulatory paradigm has failed along with our alphabet soup of Thoroughbred organizations. Please ask for their resignations and their support for deregulation of the racing industry under an NFL/NBA style single commissionership (not the NTRA thank you)with oversight by the US Congress.
April 20th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
#1 Dray 33 is correct. It starts with integrity which unfortunately is determined in the privacy of one’s own mind. In order to practice it you must be willing to make the right choice at your own peril. Trouble is, our society tends to mock such an individual as the worse sort of fool.
#2 A single, national policy that defines the ‘rules of racing.’ It must supercede state authority. The NFL does not have 38 opinions on what constitutes a touchdown. Uniform medication policy that starts and ends with ‘no.’ Look to the FEI, or that matter the AHSA –uniformity in policy.
#3 Prepare to go to war with the states. Racing commissioners need to be removed from the political process. No credibilty exists under the existing format(s). Serious work needs to be undertaken to redefine the relationships between state governments/racing establishments/gambling interests. When a state government is allowed to engage in legislated thievery — or basically wage attrition against another state under the umbrella of law, something is amiss.
#4 Accept that #3 is unworkable.
#5 Try to work from a platform that accepts the fact that the ‘racing model’ really has no comparison in either sport or business. Professional human athletes are paid for ‘potential;’ race horses — after the fact in real terms. Wagers are placed on football, but they don’t constitute a player’s salary, whereas the racehorse is paying everybody’s salary from the governor on down to his own feed bill. With so many mouths to feed, he is awfully tempted to ‘adjust’ the rules. That is intrinsic to any competitive venue, the difference here is how many millions to how many outstretched hands. If the relationship to gambling is based on integrity then maybe we need to nationalize purses and not racing. A way needs to be found to reward talent, not creativity.
#6 I think racing needs to deconstruct a bit. Maybe peel off a few layers and take a look at what did work and how. Technology has always been a big player and it has always had more influence than it really should for the price of admission. This is still a game that needs breeders, owners and trainers. A lot of leverage exists if it’s all pushing the same rock up the same damn hill.
Best of luck Ray.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Many good suggestions and a general consensus are reflected in the posts on this thread. That said, nothing will change unless there is a single governing authority with jurisdiction over all horse racing from coast-to-coast. An infraction in California should result in a suspension or other penalty that applies everywhere. If a trainer, vet or owner breaks the rules anywhere they should pay the price everywhere. Uniform rules and uniform penalties with uniform enforcement would change everything rather quickly.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Part of the problem the racing industry faces is there are to many people racing horses that simply cannot afford to be in the buisness. This may sound cold but if you are depending on a cheap claimer to win a race so you can make your car payment then mayby you should find another way to make a living. To many trainers race horses that have no buisness racing anymore. To often you see a horse that at one time competed at a high level drop into a low level claiming race. In my opinion racing jurisdictions need to be held accountable. One way this can be done is if at the local level the stewards, state vets, and racing officials met once a week and reviewed the past performance of horses racing at their tracks. Any horse that is consistently performing poorly or droping way down in class should be given a close look maybe even having x-rays done on areas that may be a problem. After that an informed decision can be made as to weather the horse will be allowed to race any longer.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
1. Same rules and regulations nationwide
2. Ban all medications
3. Lower takeout to attract new players.
4. Give breakage to the bettors, it’s their money.
5. Less racing days and time off between meetings on each circuit.
6. Lower prices on admission, programs, food etc.
7. Intergrity and security with the tote system.
8. Grading and evaluations of all Stewards.
9. Full disclosure on all inquires to the public, who voted which way.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:28 am
How are the changes needed going to be paid for?
April 21st, 2009 at 1:21 am
All nice ideas but until the RCI is made of individuals that understand or even care about the game it is doomed to be a failure as are virtually all politically appointed groups. The fact they need to even ask for a thread like this is troubling.
Is the opinion of 40 or so people on the internet the best way to gauge where their focus should be?
April 21st, 2009 at 1:24 am
There needs to be Uniform National Racing rules and regulations with a single national racing authority and a Commissioner with the power and resources to enforce the rules.
Studies should be done to find out the optimum safe racing surface and all tracks should use the same surface.
Medications should be totally banned for 3 days before a horse races.
Triple Crown races should be run at the four year old level instead of the three year old level. This would give the horses longer to mature and would lead to less injury to young horses being pushed too hard to win before they had matured enough to sustain the rigorous training needed to become a true champion. (look at all of the good horses that have succumbed to injury on the derby trail already this year)
Violation of the rules should have severe consequences if it involves cheating or drugging, up to and including lifetime banishment from all racetracks and jail.
The national commission would have to have transparency in all of its affairs, sanctions and findings with the betterment of the sport and the safety of the horse being its prime objective. Honesty needs to be restored to horse racing and rigorously enforced.
April 21st, 2009 at 7:10 am
Take the power and influence in the game away from the trainers and HBPA organizations and give it to the horse owners. Make the owners responsible for the actions of their trainers and vets.
April 21st, 2009 at 7:11 am
All good answers. And especially Joe’s (#18) response regarding a longer “safe box” for claiming following a lay off.
April 21st, 2009 at 8:10 am
make printed rule books available to all licensed participants (not just internet)
a mandatory short course approved by racing bodies prior to appointment to any racing commission
create a distinction between regulatory functions and operation of a racecourse to eliminate another california crisis
employ/contract qualified consultants to specific areas of contemplated change prior to issuing edicts detrimental to horseracing
establish and publish all trainer/veterinary alliances, employment, on all trainer registration forms prior to a race meet and monitor changes
April 21st, 2009 at 8:40 am
Racing has the opportunity through the RCI to completely overhaul it’s medication policies and should seize the day. And start with the vets, the drug dealers of the school yard. I love the idea of an on track pharmacy, controlled by the state where the vets have to register before each use. It works for 300,000,000 humans, why can’t it work for the equine world? Why should vets be phamacists ?Imagine if one state, just one, took this bold step ?
April 21st, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I hate to pat myself on the back but read post number 40 then read the end of Ray’s blog about attendance of the illustrious commissioners. These people and going forward the Federal govt dont give a damn about the sport and probably never will.
April 21st, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Hello All:
I have not read any of the prior posted responses, so I apologize if I duplicate anything.
I would like to see:
(1) Uniform medication rules. Let’s make it happen!
(2) That all tracks would report all exotic wager pays on either a $1 probable pay basis OR a $2 probable pay basis. Some tracks use the $1 basis and some tracks continue the $2 pay basis. This lack of consistency is confusing to players playing multiple tracks.
(3) The end of the IRS confiscation on winnings of $5,000 or greater on a base wager.
(4) Racing action on cable TV (ala HRTV AND TVG) in states where there is NOT internet wagering allowed. Getting sports on TV drives sports growth. More is more!
(5) A serious investment in fan education. An educated fan will be more confident in his/her selections and will wager more.
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:13 am
we have inexperience trying to regulate experience
horseracing is a historic sport with strict rules that need to be studied and respected
we accept any inch of relative experience in any aspect of the business/sport without qualifying its reality
leadership must be drawn from within the sport/industry and utilized
rules and applications without any rational or science is completely detrimental to our history and operations
wagering should be an adjunct to the sport, not the dictating factor to our operations
horseracing in America has lost its purpose and is misunderstood by most of its current operators and regulators
America has many fine sports that are flourishing and acceptable to the public. Horseracing has chosen lotteries and gaming
as its model rather than the specific principals and historic values passed on to us and that are in play in other civilize communities
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:34 am
[...] and tried to impress upon them that horseplayers are fed up like I’ve never seen before. I asked readers of the Paulick Report to tell me what they think should be the top priorities of state racing commissioners, and owners, breeders, [...]
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:38 pm
1. All drugs on track must be Rx from vet, not floating around in trainers’ hands.
2. Hold vets accountable.
3. Hold owners accountable.
4. Get ride of TV monopoly on races.
5. No more steroids and no more equine growth hormone at ANY stage in animals life including before yearling sales; uniform medication rules.
6. Hold owners responsible for fate of used-up horses (slaughter).
7. Make penalties real: you get days, you don’t get to pick when you take ‘em.
8. Quit trying to cover up and hide stuff. JUST STOP. Public gonna find out sooner or later; people turned off from racing; big name like Hollendorfer, his filly ends up at slaughter 11 days after last race with him, and the whole mess gets swept under rug. Small time trainer does same and gets crucified. MAKE EVERYBODY FOLLOW SAME RULES.
9. No more shadow owners. No more hide behind companies owned by daughters, whatever; you owner, then you owner. Period.
10. UNIFORM REGULATION AGAINST SPEEDING UP TRACKS ON “SEXY” RACE DAYS.