The Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Sales saw appreciable increases from
last year and at the mid-way point both handle and attendance were up
at the race meet.
The New York-Bred Preferred Yearling Sale showed most people preferring not to meet the reserves and brought an otherwise optimistic crowd back down to a sense of reality. The weak market is blamed on New York State's ongoing delay in installing Video Lottery Terminals at Aqueduct.
Perhaps the time has come to become solution-oriented. Supplementing the Thoroughbred business through gaming could end up with our state legislature looking askance at horse racing. We're already seeing signs of this at the harness tracks, and there is no reason not to believe the same thing will eventually happen if the flats do begin deriving subsidies from racinos/casinos. The ravenous appetite of state government can be expected to look for the fastest and easiest way to gain money and no one can argue that gaming is outrunning racing in that department. Government seems oblivious to the fact that the disproportionate take-out from pari-mutuel wagering creates a huge advantage for gaming. Government seems equally immune to seeing the differences in overall economic, cultural, social, and environmental impact of the two industries.
The job ratio from racing/breeding/agriculture to gaming is huge, and in addition there are a vast number of ancillary jobs and industries directly related to producing racing. Right here at the Saratoga meet there are approximately 1500 people employed on the backside to care for the horses. I have no idea how large the NYRA workforce is, but it doesn't require an official survey to view its impact. How about the employment for the sales and in shipping of horses?
Just imagine what the impact to all of the above-stated segments was in Saratoga and the surrounding area last week alone!
This does not touch upon the farms, training centers or places like Washington State where most of the timothy hay which is favorite roughage for Thoroughbred horses is grown or North Dakota where some of the finest quality race horse oats in the world are produced. The best alfalfa comes from arid areas of California, Oklahoma and Kansas. The ripple effect goes on and on.
Look at what major racing, equine heroes and the sales generate within the media industry. It's international news. Rachel Alexandra has an entourage of media every time she works out and if she races here you can expect record crowds. The truth is horses have always been "Vogue," and it is our responsibility to keep them so.
And don't dismiss the importance of emotional and spiritual bonds between horses and people. Value resides there which is not measurable.
The easiest ways of raising tax revenues and fortifying the racing industry may not be the best long-term solution for Saratoga. Perhaps we may be better served to take some of the tax weight off racing so that the game has a fair chance to compete with gaming.
Perhaps the time has come to become solution-oriented. Supplementing the Thoroughbred business through gaming could end up with our state legislature looking askance at horse racing. We're already seeing signs of this at the harness tracks, and there is no reason not to believe the same thing will eventually happen if the flats do begin deriving subsidies from racinos/casinos. The ravenous appetite of state government can be expected to look for the fastest and easiest way to gain money and no one can argue that gaming is outrunning racing in that department. Government seems oblivious to the fact that the disproportionate take-out from pari-mutuel wagering creates a huge advantage for gaming. Government seems equally immune to seeing the differences in overall economic, cultural, social, and environmental impact of the two industries.
The job ratio from racing/breeding/agriculture to gaming is huge, and in addition there are a vast number of ancillary jobs and industries directly related to producing racing. Right here at the Saratoga meet there are approximately 1500 people employed on the backside to care for the horses. I have no idea how large the NYRA workforce is, but it doesn't require an official survey to view its impact. How about the employment for the sales and in shipping of horses?
Just imagine what the impact to all of the above-stated segments was in Saratoga and the surrounding area last week alone!
This does not touch upon the farms, training centers or places like Washington State where most of the timothy hay which is favorite roughage for Thoroughbred horses is grown or North Dakota where some of the finest quality race horse oats in the world are produced. The best alfalfa comes from arid areas of California, Oklahoma and Kansas. The ripple effect goes on and on.
Look at what major racing, equine heroes and the sales generate within the media industry. It's international news. Rachel Alexandra has an entourage of media every time she works out and if she races here you can expect record crowds. The truth is horses have always been "Vogue," and it is our responsibility to keep them so.
And don't dismiss the importance of emotional and spiritual bonds between horses and people. Value resides there which is not measurable.
The easiest ways of raising tax revenues and fortifying the racing industry may not be the best long-term solution for Saratoga. Perhaps we may be better served to take some of the tax weight off racing so that the game has a fair chance to compete with gaming.
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