Letter to the Editor

Bill Finley's report (Week In Review) in the Feb. 9 edition of TDN on NYRA's action to restrict wagering on its Pick 5 and Pick 6 wagers by computer-assisted wagering (CAW) players caught my attention, as does any article written on this form of wagering, which I call computer robotic wagering or bots for short. My experience with the bots and their very smart and well- capitalized owner managers goes back 20 years or so. Then, as now, my opinion on wagering by the bots is that over the long...

Over the last few days an idea has been floated to replace the current American claiming system with that of a rating system. With a list of concerns and questions in my head, two things jump out immediately as being stifled by a rating system: Ease of access to horses and the possibility of growth for both potential new owners and smaller trainers. In my opinion these are two things American racing does better than anywhere in the world.  Why do we want to change this to be more like...

In "Art Collector Puts Sire Back in the Frame" (TDN 7/16/2020) Chris McGrath comments that "Whatever the reason, I am convinced that compounded, proven distaff influences represent a far better foundation for a pedigree than the supposed alchemies flimsily peddled between given sire-lines." I couldn't agree more, which is why I created the Reine de Course (Queens of the Turf) series of influential mares and have been updating it for the past 40 years. As Bull Hancock famously said, "the family is stronger than the individual." At the end of...

I have never made a comment on things done in the horse business by governors, racing commissions or now, The Jockey Club. My feelings were always kept to myself. I cannot keep quiet about the new ruling by The Jockey Club to limit the breeding of stallions to 140 mares. I have been in the horse business for a long time and I love horses. Otherwise, the business model makes no sense to a rational business person. The horse business is hard enough now to make money or even break...

by Anne Sabatino Hardy Executive Director, Horse Country That's the number left over when you subtract attendance numbers of the record-high 2015 Kentucky Derby (170,513) from the 202,000 views of Claiborne Farm's virtual stallion tour on Facebook (March 17). In fact the TDN's own post-production treatments of virtual tours and unique online content have spawned their own virality. Right now, there's no place more populated than the internet and social media. It's safe. It doesn't require planes, trains or automobiles. It's low-cost, low-barrier and high desire. And, interestingly, the same...

I am writing in response to the Open Letter to the Industry by the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TDN, April 18) : This has been a challenging time for horse racing and the country as a whole. As sports shut down last month, Equibase examined what it could do to help support efforts to promote horse racing. With expanded television coverage on FOX Sports and NBC Sports, potential new fans are being exposed to horse racing in unprecedented ways. We have been working with NYRA to provide free past performance products...

Fasig Tipton, Keeneland, Breeders' Cup offer emergency support to Visit Horse Country as Virtual Tours Spike Worldwide Attention on Kentucky's Horse Industry Two weeks ago, operations at Horse Country HQ switched tracks, along with many others, as we and our members began to absorb the realities around COVID-19. Faced with growing warnings about transmission, travel interruptions, and event cancellations or postponements, experiences at member locations became deprioritized in favor of caution and best practices. That Wednesday, Mar. 11, was the last day of normal operations before we began a record...

The virus is not a joke. The virus does not just infect old people. The virus is not like the flu. Most of the youth around the world is missing the point. The virus will make you want to die if it doesn't kill you first. On Monday (3/18) my wife said to me in the middle of the night, "What's wrong with you? You're gasping for air." My response was, "I think I have a chest cold developing." It felt like there was phlegm stuck in my chest. On...

Dennis Drazin is a good man who has done much to keep racing alive in New Jersey, but his press statement released last Monday staggers the senses. The last paragraph of his statement reads, "I should also add that this indictment is particularly sad in that Jason Servis was my trainer. During my 45 years as an attorney, chairman of the NJRC, and racetrack operator, I have always advocated that cheating cannot be tolerated and I would never tolerate illegal conduct. My horses are being moved to Pat McBurney." This...

Mike Campbell is president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association representatives tried last week during eight hours of negotiations with Arlington Park and parent company Churchill Downs to reach a reasonable agreement on a contract that would provide adequate funding for overnight purses at Arlington in 2020. But Arlington and Churchill offered only what could charitably be described as proposals made in bad faith. The ITHA is deeply disappointed. And if Arlington's past actions serve as any guide to its steps in the coming weeks, we...

What has happened to this business? Growing up, I admired the participants, the trainers and the horses. There was Kelso, Forego, Typecast and a legion of others who raced and won without the need for modern day pharmacology. There were trainers who trained their horses without medications and honorable owners who only wanted to win at the highest level on a level playing field. You hear stories and rumors of "so and so uses this on their horses" and think that testing procedures will ferret out the cheaters. Then you...

Thank you, Mark Casse. It's great when a person of stature and respect in this business takes a stand against a problem infecting our sport. Clenbuterol has long been flying under the radar in its use in Thoroughbreds of all ages. To my understanding, it is not a critical medication and should be abolished. Mark's comments say it all for the racing side. As for its use in sales prep for weanlings and yearlings, there is absolutely no place for it. I have heard the stories of people using and...