Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor: In your article, "Arlington Horsemen Beg for Help," published Aug. 17, it is was stated by President Michael Campbell of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (ITHA) at the public comment period before the Illinois Racing Board, that Churchill Downs may not sell Arlington Park to the highest bidder in order to avoid competition. Mr. Cambell said, it is "the worst-kept secret in Illinois--and we all know it--is that Churchill Downs and [that corporation's business entity at] Rivers Casino is attempting to eliminate horse racing at Arlington Park because...

As handicappers and racing enthusiasts across America prepare to dive into this week's sensational Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, keep this in mind: Where you bet matters. It took 25-plus years of horse ownership and a $2.4-million wager for me to fully appreciate the huge difference it makes where a bet is placed. It was a wake-up call for me, and it should be for you. Everyone in horse racing whenever possible should put their money through the windows or self-bet machines at the racetrack. If you're like I was, you've...

First off, let me say that I have been fighting against the use of performance enhancers in racing longer than anyone reading this. When The Jockey Club took up the fight in 2008 I was one of the people they talked to, for that very reason. So, I'm not very happy being told that if I oppose a misguided piece of legislation, I'm somehow pro-drug (link to Bill Finley's Mar. 17 Op Ed). I disagree with Victoria Keith's Op-Ed (link) on one point-- horseplayers, not owners, fund purses, which ultimately...

Benard Chatters, Louisiana Owner-Breeder-Trainer, President, Louisiana HBPA Bill Finley, in his Mar. 17th TDN opinion piece--"Horsemen's Groups Turn Their Backs on Honest Trainers, Owners"--criticizes the National HBPA for challenging the legality of a private non-governmental regulatory scheme for the horse industry, established by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act ("HISA"). He wrote, "It's hard to imagine that there is one horseman anywhere who cares one bit whether or not HISA is unconstitutional or not." Well, it doesn't require any imagination to understand why horsemen believe rules governing their livelihood and...

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...