Winner's Circle - Function versus luxury at NYRA

The success of the Saratoga meet will be more affected by the weather we have than by inflation, according to Hayward. We had beautiful summer weather in 2007 and it didn’t hurt to have Hard Spun, Street Sense, English Channel and numerous other name horses too. This meet we are more dependent upon unexpected stars to shine, while hoping the sun shines too, but not too warmly.

There are rumbles that we may see Curlin run in the Woodward Stakes, but I have not heard that from the horse’s mouth. He is though training at Oklahoma. A good way to see him would be to take on a hotwalking job or buy a horse or 1/100th of one in a syndicate. Get yourself a 2008 NYRA badge and with it you can go to Oklahoma!

Last year the on-track handle for the Saratoga meet was $123 million and the wagering from all sources was $583 million. People like to wager on horse racing. The job racing faces is to keep the fans happy and to keep producing more fans. Many of us feel that the best training grounds for developing race fans does not occur in luxury boxes. We should instead focus on the younger generation. Successful marketing campaigns from Range Rover to Turning Stone display that future success is best assured by making your product appealing to the young. When that generation reaches adulthood they will tend to go back to the places where they had good experiences as youths or in the case of Range Rover where marketing figured out how to plant the seed which germinates when combined with a driver’s license and money. Racing is behind the times in this department and not just NYRA but racetrack management at most of the tracks across America. Maybe it is time to turn the tide. Racing organizations themselves are not doing it. The individuals within the management hierarchy seem more concerned with making themselves look good now. They show little aptitude toward long-term plans to improve the fan base or maintain the facilities. The first priority is to build whatever it takes to keep fellow corporate executives happy. They are on the podium telling us everything is going to be fine, but it appears to me they are more concerned with insulating their own futures. Programs which will pay off 10, 20 years down the line are not being implemented. Is it because by then present management will either be retired or taking their specially conditioned résumés to jobs elsewhere?

The infrastructure of NYRA is getting shakier by the day. Our New York jockey colony refused to ride at Belmont last Sunday when a power outage knocked out the air-conditioning in the Jocks Room. Fifteen days before this power failure, a transformer was knocked out and from that day forward Belmont was running the risk of a power outage.

The late cancellation of a card is costly to everyone except the salaried guy, for him it is an unexpected day off. Horses are targeted to certain races; the trainers choose these races well in advance. Horses are often shod especially for the surface they are competing on that day.

Owners travel from far and wide to see their horses run. To pre-race vet a horse with the usual Lasik and Bute plus other things veterinarians prescribe is an expensive endeavor. NYRA tracks require for horses to go to a special security barn several hours before post time, a trainer has to schedule his grooms accordingly. For the guy that shipped from out of state, or others not on a NYRA shuttle, there is the van expense and in these times that is a sizable amount. Fans take the time to travel to the track, invest their time in handicapping and when the plant fails them, they go away with disappointment and bitterness. Some will not come back and certain horses will have missed their peak day.

Management again displayed their lack of connection to the product. A safe surface and a well-maintained plant are the racetracks responsibility. From there it is horses, plus horsemen, plus fans, equal horseracing. To add luxury boxes when the formula which produces the product is not in good running order seems quite out of order to me.

Marilyn Lane, a freelance writer, has a lifelong association with horses. Her experience includes more than 20 years as an owner, trainer and breeder of thoroughbreds. She was an assistant trainer to Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg during Alysheba’s racing career. You can reach her at marilynlane@msn.com.