I told my “bride” (of many years) that that she doesn’t have to keep badgering me to take out the trash every 15 or 20 minutes!
“Well,” she said, “it’s STILL at the door ready to go…and it’s been an hour-and-a-half!”
As usual, she was right…and I, finally, took out the trash.
Well, I hate to keep badgering everyone who will listen about a problem we are facing here in our grand sport.
Just like global warming with our earth withering away as the waters in the Atlantic Ocean get warmer providing fuel for bigger and stronger hurricanes and beach erosion bringing those waters closer to residential areas, only a very few are paying attention.
Yes, things are fine in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky…and things are going well at The Meadowlands with strong handle. And owners, trainers and drivers lucky enough to compete at Yonkers or in Pennsylvania have no complaints.
But make no mistake, “global warming” is very real in harness racing and, as our breed changes from one of durability to a breed of speed, we’d better start paying attention before artificial intelligence replaces live horses with robotic horses and drivers!
Of course, it’s doubtful it will get to that extent, but there are ominous signs, so subtle, without someone noticing, we are going to lose this war for our sport’s survival.
Looking at the results from the five racing days leading up to our July 4 celebration (Wednesday, June 28, through Sunday, July 2), there were 21 pari-mutuel racing harness racing establishments in action.
A total of 576 races were contested with 4,451 horses going back of the starting gates. There were also a couple of cancellations and shortened racing programs during the period depriving a couple of hundred more horses of earning power for their owners, trainers and drivers…although the expenses kept on…
Of those 21 tracks, only two could muster enough entries to average nine starters a race—Scioto Downs and The Meadowlands.
Scioto Downs had 156 entries for their 16-race card last Wednesday, June 28, an average of 9.75 and they followed that closely with a 9.25 average on Thursday and 9.0 on Friday. Saturday was strong, too, with an average field of 8.5+.
The Meadowlands had 121 horses go to the gate on Friday for an average of 9.3 per race.
Most of the other tracks were in the 7’s with eight programs unable to get out of the 6’s in average field size per race.
Pocono had 22 races on Saturday and Sunday and averages 6.7 starters a race…with a whole bunch of six horse fields…great for the horsemen…horrible for the bettors.
There’s not too much of a horse population left in Maine, so they are doing the best they can, and Tioga and Monticello have a shortage of horses, as well.
This is not conducive for the future growth of our sport as it is a spectator sport and now, many tracks are unable to stand alone without the help of casinos and/or legislative help—something that is far from guaranteed in the future—leaving the patrons uncared and unappreciated.
Any time a track has less than eight starters in a race, the pari-mutuel prices get smaller, and the betting pools shrink right along with the number of starters…and the number of bettors.
As an example of this, if there is an 18-20 percent takeout on win betting (the exotics can suffer even a bigger bite), if the same amount of money would be bet on each horse in a 10-horse field, the $2 win payout would be $16.40. In a seven-horse field, the $2 payout would be $11.20. In a six-horse field, the $2 pay would be 9.60.
In tote-board terms, in a 10-horse field, any horse would be 7 to 1 while, in a six-horse field, the board would read 7 to 2.
So, why should that worry our industry?
Well, as we’ve seen over the years—especially the last 20—speed has been the keynote which benefits breeders, but not, necessarily, the horses or the members of the BDHC (Broken Down Horseplayers Club).
As Frank F., an associate in the BDHC and life member of the “Send It In” society said, “In the old days, if there were eight or nine “cock-a-roaches” on the track, I’d take a whirl but, today, the fields have shrunk so much that it ain’t worth it. Yeah, I’ll bet in Indiana and Ohio and The Big M because a hundred or two won’t dent the pools but, otherwise, fugedabouddit!”
And it can only get worse.
In the past five racing days covered above, 187 horses were scratched, another 185 were charted as “distanced” (25 or more lengths back), other 55 were close to being distanced and 12 were “DNF” (did not finish).
Of course, scratches can be for many reasons from lameness and sickness to weather related problems or an occasional race office error so many will return to the racing wars.
But some won’t…at least for a while.
The ones charted “dis” (distanced) may be out for a while, as well, shortening race cards even more.
Noted was a three-year-old that paced in 2:15.1 with a last quarter in :41.2. He’ll be surely out for a while. Yes, that’s only one but, today, even one is too many.
Racing is very tough these days with an example of that being an event noted where a starter paced in 1:52.1 with a last quarter in :25.4 and couldn’t pass one single horse during his entire mile finishing last and earning z-e-r-o.
Just how many horses can withstand miles in 1:50…or, if a “4” claimer, 1:53…to keep racing programs filled with quality entries.
As for the historical 2:10 two-year-old list with which many of us grew up through the years, if you have a horse that can go 75 lengths faster than that, that youngster will be way, way down on both the speed list and the earnings list—if it can stand the extreme pressure on its youthful, still developing anatomy.
We’re only a couple of starts in the two-year-old season and a pacer has already won in 1:52.1 and 20 more (as of this writing) have been in (1):53 and change…10 of ‘em haven’t earned a dime yet, either.
A two-year-old trotting filly has already won in 1:53.2…A TROTTING FILLY!!!!!!!
This sport has become all about the short term and the number of aged horses that stay sound enough to keep racing will continue to shrink as continuous miles of extreme speed take their toll.
We have enough problems keeping our standardbreds out of harm’s way after they are no longer to race after 10 or 12 or 14.
What’s going to happen when we have five- and six-year-olds and all the others unable to continue?
Global warming affects the earth…and part of that earth is a track on which our beloved breed races that has made our sport so valuable in terms of agriculture, beauty, agility and magnificence over two centuries.
We must do a better job of taking care of its participants.
The question is…Anybody listening?
by John Berry, for Harnesslink