Kudos

With all the negativity these days regarding horse racing it’s about time that someone write an article that looks at the recent positives for the sport. So here is one look at what has gone right in the past month for the Sport of Kings.

One of the highlights this week was the closing numbers that came out from Santa Anita (here). Usually a twelve percent decline in all sources handle would be a serious black eye for any track, but let's consider what kind of financial environment we are in. Reports published by other industries heavily dependant on disposable income show that things are really tough. For example, dental offices specialized in cosmetic dentistry are off anywhere between twenty-five and forty percent. Meanwhile, thanks to Santa Anita's slew of promotions, they enjoyed a one percent increase in total on track attendance. "All things considered we had a pretty good season," reports Santa Anita marketing manager Nate Newby. "Yes, the Free Fridays really helped."

Another promotion put together by Santa Anita was a "Stimulus Package" which paid $1,000 to $3,500 in cash to one lucky patron during the last three Sundays of the meet. While on paper the promotion appeared to have little impact, I know that from being in the stands a lot of people were staying around until the sixth race to find out whether they had won or not. Interestingly this promotion was derived from a suggestion made in September 2008 by the fan based NTRA Online Marketing Task Force. I for one am glad that someone is listening to the fans.

Regardless of how others gripe, the Kentucky Oaks is still being televised this year, flipping from NBC to the Bravo! channel. Honestly, I am surprised that the Oaks were not dropped sooner from NBC. While most people know about the Derby, the Oaks is a "hardcore fan" race. Let's be glad that it's still going to be on television. Furthermore maybe the Bravo! team will put together an improved product? New ideas never hurt anyone and there's a good chance an outsider might be able to spin the race better. I'm looking forward to their broadcast.

While some people believe the sport of Kings relies solely upon the bettor, for those that realize the owner is equally important there is good news. CNBC is airing a "Kentucky Derby and the Sport of Horse Racing" special on April 30th. As a business channel, CNBC will look at the economics of both the Derby and racing in general. Perhaps this show will help draw new interest in ownership.

Lest I forget the bettors, there is great news for them as well. Hawthorne is giving up to 4% rebates while all MEC affiliated tracks are offering 2% back via their Express Bet platform. In addition, Santa Anita offered ticket less wagering through their Thoroughbreds Club cards for the first time. This is an important step towards seeing rebates for on track wagers, which are far more profitable for tracks and help generate additional income through admissions and concessions. You know when a $.99 cent bottle of soda sells for $4, the track has to smile.

Perseverance!

Ziegler: Gone in 60 Minutes

You are Tom Cruise.

This is the moment you have been waiting for. It’s the rolling start of the NTRA 500. You have waited anxiously for this day, competing time and time again in the qualifiers to make the lineup. So many previous attempts have gone up in flames, brush offs, no shows, and fishtail spin outs. But this time you have succeeded.

You follow in two long lines of cars all blazoned with flashy logos and abbreviations in blocky letters. They are your competitors: TOC, CHRB, TOBA, and KTA-KTOB, just to name a few. Ahead the pace car maintains an even tempo as you keep a gentle pressure on the pedal. Under the hood throbs the hearts of 749 thoroughbreds plus Zenyatta, all held in check by your tight grip on the shift stick.

The last eighteen months of preparations and late night e-mails have honed you for this instant in time. Your hand clenches the wheel fiercely in expectation of the start while thousands of bloggers in the stands cheer wildly. Finally the pace car slides aside and the green flag swoons over the finish line.

You stamp down on the accelerator and the herd whinnies to life. The tachometer engorges within the dash until your hand steadily plays at the shift, reigning the herd into the next gear. The herd falls into a more controlled rumble of hooves as your car hurdles around the first turn.

You slip inside the CHRB car while engaging the clutch, changing leads and tucking easily into the next gear. The speed continues to increase as you give chase to the TOC car around the second turn and into the first stretch. Now is your time to pounce! You show the herd the whip as you push in on the clutch. They respond gamely, their hooves pitching higher as you weave laterally and overtake Drew Cuoto on the outside.

Jamming the heard into the fifth gear you duck back in, parlaying your momentum into a move along the inside of David Switzer in the KTA-KOTB car. Inches separate the two cars as they careen around the third turn, rubber and aluminum racing plates void of toe grabs squealing upon the synthetic racing surface.

Switzer’s herd shows no quarter as your own breathes down its bridle, the two cars exchanging bobs for the lead. The racetrack whips past at breakneck speeds as the two herds list out of the final turn. The frenzied cries of the bloggers pitch higher.

“Down the stretch they come!”

Your foot takes the pedal to the floor. The herd’s whinnies crescendo. Switzer’s car however matches the effort as you both shoot into the top of the lane. Axle to axle the two herds charge towards the finish line. Sweat beads at your brow as you try to contain the intensity of the herd under the shuddering reigns. To your dismay the KTA-KOTB car begins to inch ahead. Never!

Fortunately your herd’s custom Waldrop V8 was engineered with a unique but untested feature. Regardless, you engage the fire breathing, nitrous infused Zenyatta with a single pump of red push button. Instantly you are pressed uncomfortably into the slots toned leather of your seat as the herd lets loose a demonic shriek under the unleashed deluge of equine energy.

Your car suddenly leaps into the lead. This is it!

BOOM!

The world drops into slow motion as your front right Lasixstone tire suddenly comes apart. The herd abruptly loses control and pitches towards the outer rail while spinning repeatedly like a top on the synthetic surface. You scream out in horror: “NOOOO!”

-----

Well, today was the day.

After eighteen months of late night e-mails I finally had my first one on one meeting with a leader in racing, Mike Ziegler from the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance. I have to admit that until Wednesday part of me feared the meeting would fall apart. The reason why was because all my previous attempts at meeting leaders had gone wrong either from no shows or from brush offs. This time however would be different.


Amazingly I slept well the night before the meeting. Usually when big things are going to happen I have to take a sleep aid. Instead the anxiety didn’t hit until arriving at the Front Runner restaurant at Santa Anita. I checked in with the hostess and when I mentioned Mr. Ziegler’s name lights seemed to go off. Red alert! Red alert! The hostess made a couple of calls and then whispered the table number to her coworker. My initial thought was, “Whoa, I’m going to be meeting with a big dog of racing.”

Mr. Ziegler arrived shortly thereafter. I didn’t really know who to expect and was pleasantly surprised to see he was in his mid thirties with a big disarming smile. Kudos goes to the NTRA for finding such a young, passionate man.

(For all the racing fans out there, I have to say the NTRA has really put together an A-Team. Everyone I have met so far from the NTRA is top of the line polite and intelligent. If you think racing is headed down the tubes and that no one in charge gives a toot, talk to an NTRA executive. They really care about where the game is headed and want to make changes for the better. Again, as far as I know Alex Waldrop’s door is open to anyone. No other CEO I know will personally read and respond to their customer’s e-mails. [alexwaldrop@ntra.com])

Mr. Ziegler also reminded me of Patrick Patten, well known among the racing blog world as “Handride”, for his similar style of humor. Time seemed to really move quickly. We both spoke about our racing histories, though mine was exceptionally shorter and definitely less impressive. As it turned out Mr. Ziegler has worked at Bay Meadows, Hollywood Park, and Santa Anita, hence the reason why everyone knew him including our waitress, Wendy.

Introductions and general ice breaking continued on for some time. Our food had arrived by the time things got down to business. The first thing Mr. Ziegler mentioned was how he wished the jockey’s guild could have joined us in the conversation. As he pointed out, having the guild’s input is important and vital in creating a new and improved game. He spoke about how most jockeys are really having a time of it and that they need to be included in the program. I couldn’t agree more. Again this all inclusive nature of the NTRA goes to show their level of concern and genuine desire to make the sport better. Conversation then moved into the alliance in general and what is going on in the immediate future. As it turns out Keeneland is getting certified this weekend after which a massive effort will be made to protect racing in Maryland.

Eventually talk migrated into ownership and the current state of public partnerships. It was a pretty lengthy conversation but some things said really stuck out and deserve mentioning. First, Mr. Ziegler spoke about how racing in Ireland really hit the breaks at one point until the industry began promoting public ownership. The results of those efforts were that the patrons became more engaged and more interested in going to the track and wagering. My response was that in the Ambassador Program I find that most people are not very willing to wager, but are interested in horse ownership. It seems that the next generation of racing fan views ownership as more appealing than wagering. I suggested that the sport should try to capture their desire to want to own by offering an improved ownership product. By just concentrating on squeezing that $2 win wager out of them we are missing out on a better opportunity. What industry would pass up selling a $500 or $1000 dollar product to their customers? It seems that racing is willing to do just that.

Second, Mr. Ziegler pointed out many owners do not seem to mind what happens to their racing investment. It would seem that many throw their business sense out the window when they buy into a horse. Why else do so many bad partnerships exist for year after year? If owners did not like being taken advantage of you would think they would take their business elsewhere. Instead the bad partnerships just go on and on. My response was that many owners do care about their investment. Those who do are stuck on the sidelines of our sport because there are so few positive public ownership opportunities. Loopholes of the current regulatory system were discussed as well as how partnerships are structured to get around the SEC. We discussed the alliance’s code of standards after I was given a NTRA Track Certification Application and was challenged to use that as a template for certified stables. Now I have the homework of reading and digesting how something similar could be created for public partnerships.

The two of us seemed to agree on most everything. Mr. Ziegler did play devil’s advocate several times against certified stables but I came back with strong arguments. In the end the only major point of division was how we viewed the NTRA’s role in stable certification. I see it as a program for building new stables and that the NTRA should be selling the ownership product nationally through these stables. Mr. Ziegler sees the certification process as a way to get existing stables to meet a mutual code of standards. Rather than selling ownership, the NTRA would instead act as a reporting agency.

Anyhow, the hour ran out way too fast. It seemed we were right about to get to some really meaty stuff when his next appointment arrived. To me it was like we were coming down the stretch and then suddenly the whole race fell apart. I was getting really excited and passionate about things and then boom, Mr. Ziegler had to run. Another way of saying it is imagine you are looking at the most sinfully delicious chocolate cake in the world. The smell is intoxicating. It’s a cake right out of the oven and still warm with the frosting melting off the sides. You have been staring at the cake in the oven for the last hour. Then, just as you are going to take that first bite the cake suddenly goes flying off the table and over a cliff.

“NOOOO!”

Well the reason for the hasty departure was Mr. Ziegler had a meeting with Ron Charles, president of Manga Corporation. After paying for lunch (thank you!) Mike apologized four times and then a fifth time in a later e-mail. I told Mr. Ziegler that I understood the situation, and I do. He has a lot on his plate. But if you think an hour should have been enough for us, let me remind you its been eighteen months of patient waiting for me to have a chance at racing's ear. Sixty minutes is just an appatizer.

Instead we are going to continue the conversation via telephone sometime the end of next week. When that occurs I’ll be certain to post an entry giving a summary like I did tonight. To the individuals who contacted me with specific questions for Mr. Ziegler, my apologies, we never got that far. I’ll try to ask them during our next conversation.

Until then,

Perseverance!

Mixed Moods

Sunday's Ambassador Program didn't begin on the highest of notes. As the group headed back to Frank's barn things seemed to be a little more subdued than normal. When I headed down the row I paused at a familiar stall but found a very unfamiliar face. Where was Yournamehere, the baby of the barn? Frank did not say a whole lot other than that she was looking for a home. Her career as a racehorse was over due to injury. But this was just the beginning. Asking how the grade one winner from South America was doing, I was given the same response; retirement due to injury. Two stalls further down a horse was laying down, one leg swollen grotesquely due to an abscess. Nothing could be done but wait for it to pop and drain on its own. Surgery would just complicate things even more.

Its amazing how things in horse racing can go from good to bad so fast. Sometimes you have to wonder why the sport has to be so hard upon its participants. Jockeys stake their lives, owners their hard earned money, and trainers their livelihoods in the sport of seeing which horse can go around a circle the fastest. If people are willing to risk so much, then it just goes to show how much horse racing means to some. When asked, the best way I can describe being a horse owner is, "Remember when you were seven and on Christmas morning you saw all the presents under the tree? Well when your horse is coming down the stretch and it's winning... it's just as thrilling." 1 percent or 100 percent a win is a win and for an owner it’s an amazing sensation that makes you scream, jump up and down, and smile. In my last win at Fairplex in 2008, I made so much noise that when my horse Gold Datnoid won, the rider looks over at me. (It’s best seen during the head on replay.)

So, my sympathies go out to Frank and the unfortunate owners who lost out on having the experience of their horses winning. Retirement for many race horses comes just too soon.

Fortunately the mood changed for the better when the group was seated in our private boxes. We had both first timers as well as several who had taken a multi-year break from the sport in attendance. Everyone was really talkative. Student jockey Rodriguez M (113 lbs), on right, autographed programs and snapped photos with those in attendance before taking off. Mr. Falb, a long time friend and racing partner, whom I had not seen in some time took up residence in my box and we chatted about NTRA Certified Stables and he made some recommendations on trainers. What the group lacked in quantity it definitely made up in quality. James, in middle, always had a big smile upon his face. He and Greg (not pictured) were always coming up with jokes. After the paddock tour part of the group caught a race start and finish right from the rail. That seemed to really leave a positive impression upon them. At the day's conclusion I welcomed them all to come down to Del Mar for the next Ambassador Program season. Well the 19th is it. Then I am on break until July. What will I do with my Sundays?

A thanks to James for the photo.

Perseverance!

Taking Risk

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I... I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." -Robert Frost

In 1492, a man defied public consensus, took three wooden ships and sailed into the unknown, likely to never return. His discovery spawned a transformation which forever changed the way the world would see itself.

In 1776, fifty-six men risked their lives signing a document of treason. Had they failed, they would have been hung. The option was simple: liberty or death. From this game of political roulette came a new country.

In 1990, a woman, destitute, anonymous, and unpublished sat down and wrote. She wrote for five years, a story from her mind. There were no guarantees anyone would ever want to read it. Eighteen years later, she published her final seventh of the series. It was an instant bestseller.

Nothing worthwhile in life comes without taking risk. Whether its the girl risking her heart by leaving everything she knows to be with the man she loves, the investor purchasing shares in a penny stock hoping that the company will beat bankruptcy, or the handicapper putting his two dollars down on a fifty to one Derby longshot, only the greatest rewards come with the greatest risk. Like the examples above, I risk my own time, money, and humility trying to make horse racing a better sport. Like a select few, I can see clearly that unless something radically new occurs our game will wither and die. It’s already happening here in California. Horses are shipping out in bulk, headed for states where slot money props the game up like adrenaline on a dying patient. But unless a more permanent solution is found eventually the patient's heart will collapse. Already the supplies of epinephrine are running out. In Iowa, questions are being raised that Prairie Meadows is taking too much money from slots to prop up racing. In West Virginia, Mountaineer laid off 10% of their workforce due to declining slot revenue.

Slots will not save racing.

Only racing can save racing. People are going to have to get up out of their chairs, put their chips on the table, and take a spin if they want the sport to return to anything of its former glories. The days of the same old same old product have to stop. The game needs to act swiftly and decisively. It has to risk itself. Take a track, any track, and call it no meds track. No lasix, no bute, just oats and water. See what happens. Do handicappers sensing a more honest game increase handle? Does public outcry die down? Do horses become sounder? Or do all the horses run for the hills and the starting gates empty? What about risking a horse longer in racing so fans have an equine to stand behind? Or is the breeding shed our only priority? What about risking the time and money providing an ownership level product that insures managers don't empty the coffers or sell broken down horses marked up one hundred percent. Will it work or will it flop? What about the time and money in creating a program that cultivates the next generation of racing fans? Will it just be a waste or will a surge in interest book up the program within the first two days of the meet's start?

Racing is where it is because in the 70s it stopped making itself a better product. It stopped investing in itself. It stopped trying to be number one. People cry out that things are getting worse each year but those who cry the most do the least. They create an alphabet soup of organizations, CHRB, TOC, KTA-KTOB, and pledge for reform, but at the heart of it nothing happens. They ignore complaints. They do not answer e-mails. They do not support their owners or bettors. They collect their $333,333 a year salaries, sit back, and let things fall as they will. They discuss a new product idea for over thirty years, in a dozen different arrangements, but fail to implement even one. There's no "fall off the edge of the earth", no "liberty or death", no "rejection of submission" risk taking, instead our sport settles that complacency is the best policy.

I will not accept that.

I will stand and fight and give my time and throw my money away driving to and fro, using my keyboard until I have to replace the backspace key to e-mail every grand pumba of ABCD and EFG, every regional and local newspaper, to annoy as many people as necessary; all in the effort to make something happen to empower the greater good of the game. A long time ago I stopped measuring my racing success in pick-3s cashed, but in the number of friends and strangers I could coax out to the track on any given weekend. 28. 21. 32! I dare you to beat that madam chairwoman of XYZ. So if you love your sport, fight for it.

By the way, Mike Ziegler, we're going to meet... eventually.

PERSEVERANCE!