I lived in one of the backstretch dorms at Saratoga last summer, sharing a 9 x 11 room with two other women. We kept our cramped room tidy — there wasn’t enough space for anyone to get messy — but the common areas of the dorm quickly fell into filth. Muddy puddles stagnated in the moldy shower room. Trash overflowed the too small buckets placed in the bathrooms, and the toilets clogged so often that people threw their used tissue into stall corners rather than risk flushing (until the cleaning crew started leaving a plastic bag in the corner, which made the situation slightly more tolerable). The cleaning staff came intermittently — there were times they would come two or three days in a row and then then they wouldn’t come for another three or four days. The women’s dorm was also unsecured, and it wasn’t unusual to step out of the bathroom and find a man lurking in the hall.
Unfortunately, those unclean and unsafe conditions aren’t limited to the Saratoga backstretch. So, that Barbaro’s owner Gretchen Jackson is even bringing the issue up is a good thing — backstretch workers deserve safe, well-maintained housing — but Jackson is very, very wrong about who should be reaching into their wallets to pay for this housing:
“This needs to be brought out, not with the wagging of fingers at people, but more like, ‘Look what’s happening,’ ” Jackson said. “If everybody who went to the track reached in their wallet and spared five dollars instead of placing a bet and put it in for new living quarters for grooms.”
Why should bettors, who already provide for little things like purses by wagering, donate to the cause of better backstretch housing? While I’m sure many would if appealed to, housing really isn’t their concern. Those who most directly benefit from the cheap labor provided by backstretch workers — owners, trainers, and tracks — are the ones who should be reaching into their wallets and sparing some money for decent accommodations. And there should be finger wagging, lots of finger wagging: Racetrack executives should be ashamed of the barely habitable living conditions offered on many backstretches, and trainers and owners should be ashamed that the hotwalkers and grooms who labor seven days a week year round caring for their animals often live worse than those animals.
Jackson, much to her credit, has been using her recent media prominence to speak up about some of the darker issues that haunt racing — not just backstretch conditions, but horse slaughter.
Posted by JC in Track Notes on 06/11/2006 @ 8:30 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
It looks like a beautiful afternoon in New York, but 300 miles to the north, heavy rain is falling for the fourth day in a row and Suffolk Downs is closed due to a power outage, so I’m watching the races at home and playing along on TVG. So far, the racing on the Belmont undercard hasn’t disappointed. (The Just a Game was especially exciting, the way Gorella pounced on pacesetter Pommes Frites in the final yards to win by a neck.) I’m playing a Pick 4 today — a rare wager for me — and won the first leg with Songster in the Woody Stephens. In the Acorn, I’m playing Bushfire, Teammate, and Ermine; in the Manhattan, Relaxed Gesture, Grey Swallow, and English Channel; and in the Belmont, just Bob and John. That’s right — I’m leaving out both of trainer Todd Pletcher’s starters, passing on Steppenwolfer, and singling Bob and John. I’m willing to forgive him for finishing 17th in the Kentucky Derby …
Posted by JC in Triple Crown on 06/10/2006 @ 4:00 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
– Lost in the Fog is back. Last year’s champion sprinter ably won the Aristides at Churchill on Saturday by 1 1/4 lengths over Kelly’s Landing in a time of 1:08.52. “I’m relieved a little and very pleased because there were some people who had given up on him,” said trainer Greg Gilchrist after. “You win 10 in a row and then get beat, and people say you’re no good, but that’s human nature.” Skeptics probably won’t become converts after this one race, but Lost in the Fog’s performance on Saturday was reminiscent of his better races last year, and he did beat at least one good horse: Kelly’s Landing set a track record winning the 2005 Aristides and earned a Beyer speed figure of 112 for that effort.
– Also on Saturday: Wait a While won the Sand Points Stakes at Belmont, and Proposed scored a narrow victory over Star Parade in the Milady at Hollywood.
– Jockey John Velazquez, out with an injury since April, “made a triumphant return to the races,” winning the fourth at Belmont on Friday. “Just to come back and do what you love best is great,” Velazquez said. “To get the win is even better.”
– Sunday was Hot Dog Safari day at Suffolk Downs and thousands turned out for the event, a benefit for the Joey Fund. The day’s feature race was the Rise Jim Stakes for Mass-breds, which was won by Reprized Strike. The four-year-old ran down favorite Sprinkle of Gold in the stretch, finishing 1 1/4 lengths ahead. Storm Quest was third. On Saturday, Ask Queenie repeated in the Isadorable Stakes, winning the race by 5 1/3 lengths over Caller Sara Kate, with African Princess finishing third.
Posted by JC in Races/Results on 06/04/2006 @ 11:00 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
