Sports - Gambling with success

He candidly offered the following advice. “If you see a runaway train, it is better that you get aboard and get to the controls; stepping in front of it will only get you run over.”

All right pal, I get your point, but let’s face it - I’m both too old and too slow to entertain any ideas about getting my hands on the throttle of a locomotive as powerful as New York racing.

The best I can offer is to keep readers tuned to the problems dancing on the aprons of racetracks. I implore for fellow Saratogians to become aware of the signs beside the tracks and what they could mean to us down the line.

We took a premature sigh of relief when later rather than sooner our politicians granted NYRA a franchise renewal but here we are going into still another temporary extension, our fourth. We continue to deal with the processes while issues plaguing racing fester unattended. The 30-year contract which Governor Spitzer presented to NYRA in early September was recently supplanted with a 25-year deal involving additional terms. During these several months NYRA has been hobbled with uncertainty, stifled to address the Off-Track Betting plight and stopped in its tracks toward resolving its bankruptcy.

Two newly formed racing organizations wasted a lot of time, money, and passion trying to attract an opportunity which did not exist. The convolution surrounding the ownership of Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga made it impossible for other entities to have any real opportunity to be granted franchises. Those organizations have faded into oblivion while the established bidder, Capital Play remains a forerunner for the installation and operation of the Video Lottery Terminals at Aqueduct. It is my bet they are champing at the bit for VLTs to follow at Belmont. Capital Play looms menacingly in my mind. They are a smart, calculating group of ambitious men and I do not think they would have spent so much money on their aggressive advertising campaign for the franchise without a clear goal in mind. They threw salt into NYRA’s open wounds while showcasing their own racing management prowess of the Melbourne Cup. What is their real agenda?

It seems I made a trainer’s mistake when months ago I suggested we put blinkers on our politicians to make them focus on the issues plaguing NY racing. We received focus but I am not convinced we had the horse facing in the right direction when he was set down for the drive. One thing is clear, we are not safely home.

NYRA is carrying a huge weight assignment in the race of its life. Capital Play has some very well connected lobbyists. A “dark horse” could be in position to surge into the lead if Hayward and Co. should stumble on any of the benchmarks included in the pending franchise.

Saratoga has enjoyed a long and successful run of being “The August Place to be.” It’s a beautiful history and a coveted tradition but it does not come equipped with immunity to the viruses plaguing horseracing across the country. VLTs might well be serving as a rabbit for an eventual winner that few of us would like to see in the winners’ circle.

I have just returned from a few weeks in Southern Califorina where I split my time between the Del Mar area and Santa Anita. I am full of ocean waves, delicious food, enchanted time with good friends, and tales from Clocker’s Corner. Richard Migliore sends a hello to all the home folks and says he is missing his winter dark day visits to Saratoga and that wonderful as Del Mar is, Saratoga Race Course will forever remain his favorite his track.

I wanted to write about many pleasant things and the different issues confronting West Coast racing but when I looked to the news at home I felt compelled to get back on the stump to heed your attention back on our same old problem. It’s too soon to fold up and coast home; our dependable racing scene is drifting; an ill repaired line or broken signal could leave us sitting on a side track. It would be foolish to deny the existence of a dark horse.

It has to be bothersome to the most disinterested of you that we just cannot seem to get racing on track. We should be talking “Derby” and looking to Curlin’s Dubai Cup race. Racing has so many heroes and intriguing tales. We should be attracting new fans by the droves but instead here we are mired down with administrative problems.

I want to talk to an agent who has a rider who wants to win. I am all for herding those with personal agendas away from the engine.

You can reach Marilyn at marilynlane@msn.com