“No vote” is what Gary West will write next to Horse of the Year on his Eclipse ballot:
The Horse of the Year, like Caesar’s wife, must be above suspicion. But Saint Liam, because he’s trained by Dutrow, simply isn’t…. For the sport’s highest honor, I simply will not vote for any horse whose trainer has been suspended or fined for a serious medication or ethical violation during the season. From here, Saint Liam’s victories in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the Woodward, the Stephen Foster and the Donn Handicap look just like so many Sosa home runs.
As for voting another horse HOTY: “A Horse of the Year for 2005 would be like a Most Valuable Player for the Houston Texans. The options are worse than few; they’re embarrassing.”
Related: Paul Daley reports that the owners of Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Silver Train, another Richard Dutrow trainee, have sent Eclipse voters a gift:
What emerged from the box was a beautifully embroidered
baseball cap of the finest quality. On the back of the black cap, stitched
in white lettering was Breeders’ Cup Sprint Champ. The green and red jockey
silks and cap on the side were immediately recognized as those belonging to
Buckram Oak Farm. The front was equally impressive, with Silver stitched in,
guess what color, with a silver express train atop. The red embroidery in
the word train connoted, to me, the imperative to STOP and vote for this
worthy candidate, Silver Train, for Sprint Champion of 2005.
Daley plans to vote for Lost in the Fog, but the hat’s arrival has caused some unease. “Why do I feel like a hooker?” he wonders.
Neither West nor Daley would have a problem if they followed the lead of San Diego Union-Tribune sports columnist Tim Sullivan, who’s opted out of all awards voting and polling, reasoning that:
Just as Church and State should be separate entities, so should Journalists and Jocks. Voting on awards or rankings is a privilege and, to some extent, a power base, but it also involves inherent conflicts of interest and, in the steroids era, an uncomfortable reliance on circumstantial evidence.
Maybe I’m taking myself too sanctimoniously here, but this is a headache I no longer need. I shouldn’t be casting ballots that can trigger contractual bonuses or endorsement opportunities for athletes I might have occasion to interview. Neither should I accept the responsibility of deciding whether Mark McGwire is still entitled to the presumption of innocence following his clumsy evasions before Congress….
Better to recuse oneself than to render a judgment based on unsubstantiated suspicion.
Posted by JC in HOF/Awards on 12/16/2005 @ 11:30 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
– Kieren Fallon will ride at Santa Anita this winter, said the new agent for the English six-time champion jockey. Or he won’t. “I was looking forward to going, but I’ve had second thoughts,” said Fallon.
– Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo worked an easy half-mile at Hollywood Park on Thursday, “but appeared eager to do much more.” He’s expected to make his first start since the Belmont sometime in January.
– New York officials denied trainer Todd Pletcher’s appeal of a 45-day suspension and $3,000 fine for a medication positive in one of his horses last year. Pletcher plans to appeal again, in court. “At this point, we’re planning on appealing,” Pletcher said. “We really don’t have any idea how the horse came up positive. Other than that, my attorneys have asked me not to comment.”
– The Jockeys’ Guild claims that “its proposed slate of directors for the Disabled Jockeys’ Endowment was rejected, and that associates of former president Dr. Wayne Gertmenian were named to oversee the fund.” The Thoroughbred Times reports that Gertmenian remains on the Endowment’s board of directors, along with former Guild vice president Albert Fiss and lawyer Lloyd Ownbey. In a press release sent on Thursday, the Guild suggested that anyone interested in donating to the Endowment give to alternate charities for disabled riders.
Posted by JC in News on 12/16/2005 @ 6:30 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
Massachusetts racetracks gambled big this fall, combining legislation legalizing slots with an uncontroversial simulcasting bill that had to pass for the state’s tracks to continue simulcasting past December 31. Despite a veto-proof approval by the Senate in October, the legislative session ended in mid-November without a House vote, which effectively killed slots for the year (if not for the foreseeable future) and provoked the specter of the tracks laying off workers and closing for at least a couple of weeks at the start of 2006 until a bill reauthorizing simulcasting could be passed. There remained one hope: That the bill would pass during the informal session going on now.
On Sunday afternoon, House speaker Sal DiMasi said that he might bring the simulcasting bill to the floor on Monday, although he hadn’t made up his mind about allowing a vote on a bill that expanded simulcasting (one idea floated recently in lieu of approving slots) or any other gaming. House dean David Flynn said he’d oppose such an action, which is enough to prevent a vote in informal session, in favor of pushing for unlimited simulcasting rights and a commitment for a House debate on slots in March. That the simulcasting bill wasn’t brought up on Monday or today could mean he followed through on the threat.
Flynn is a supporter of the tracks, yet I wonder if he’s not misguided in his opposition to DiMasi’s proposal. Expanding simulcasting would help the tracks, relying as much as they do on simulcasting handle to survive, but the loss of a couple weeks revenue is only going to hurt, especially if that expansion isn’t approved — which isn’t an entirely impossible outcome. (And there’s also the matter that without slots or a dramatic surge in the number of track patrons, the state’s tracks are pretty much doomed, anyway. All that’s being argued over really is how long they’ll be allowed to linger before dying.) Two and a half weeks remain before the tracks are forced to go completely dark. I’m hoping, for the sake of track employees and next year’s purse account, that state lawmakers can figure out how to pass a bill that allows simulcasting before that deadline arrives.
12/15 Addition: A meeting of the state’s racetrack operators on Wednesday ended with Raynham dog track owner George Carney storming out after the other executives made clear they were interested in a rollover of existing law. “Carney said he will stick to his guns — and is even prepared to watch simulcasting expire on Dec. 31.”
Posted by JC in State Issues on 12/13/2005 @ 9:45 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
