have a laugh

Go ahead and read this latest piece on NJ racing published over at Bloodhorse. It's good for a chuckle or two if nothing else. The 140 days all at Monmouth Park that trainer John Forbes throws out as sufficient to support a state breeding program is high comedy. Set aside the fact that the Monmouth surfaces can hardly stand 90 days of racing a year, let alone 140, and ask whether you'd breed horses in the state with such a limited window to earn out. I know what you're thinking: "NY, PA, WV, DE and, heck, even MD offer more days, most of them racing year round. Ummm, why would I breed in NJ?" You wouldn't of, course. Not that any of the proponents of the 140 days really care. They're happy to have the small band of the usual suspects (Sleeters, Broome, Generazios, etc.) clean up the state-bred purses while the balance of the troops chase after the subsidy/slot enhanced purses with horses that should likely run for about half of what they're chasing each afternoon at MP. It's a nice little racket for those that can get the stalls. Claim something useful for $20,000 down at Gulfstream in between rounds of golf, give him a few months leading up to MP and then run him for $40,000+ and knock off a condition or two before dropping him back in. Life is good, baby. Sure, you've got to live with a few seconds and thirds while Pletcher and Dutrow break some maidens and reel off a few conditions with their "C" string horses, but with the size of those pots, ain't no harm in a handful of second place checks, right? Come August at MP, unless you catch a tough $10,000 claimer shipping in from PHA, those x1s are there for the taking all month long.

Does the set-up help grow the NJ industry? Does it even help foster a more compelling betting product? Unless 3-5 shots running off the screen in six horse fields is your cup of tea, the answers are no and no.

Additionally, all this talk of bailing on thoroughbred racing at the Meadowlands is ridiculous. You've got nighttime racing in the biggest market, plus this deal with TVG (which needs PM content), plus a brand new mall, football stadium at rail line at the place, plus slots (you know it's only a matter of time before that place is a casino), plus one of the best turf courses on the east coast. And you want to leave it behind? You should be running sixty days there every year. The business only benefits from the variety of the product. Throw down an artificial surface that works for both breeds if that's what it takes, but don't give that market segment up, that's just silly.

And since when does a four-year plan constitute long-term planning? How about never? It's not like these most recent three and four year plans have worked. I mean, we've been threed and foured right into the friggin' abyss. These plans and subsidies are nothing more than the equivalent of a fresh coat of paint on a house that's structurally shot. Sure, maybe it looks nice for awhile, but underneath the paint it's just a mess. Rest assured, if the current trends and modus operandi in the state continue, they can wax poetic about Breeders' Cup 2007 (and 2014, too, while they're all it) until the cows come home, but for all the smoke and mirrors, the rotting will persist and the house is coming down.