Boston Globe columnist Brian McGrory paid a recent visit to Lincoln Park in Rhode Island and came away unimpressed:
The stale, hazy air smells like a Greyhound bus station, or maybe that’s the nearby greyhound kennels.
The merry dinging and donging of the electronic games strikes a sharp contrast to the nervous and sometimes desperate-looking people watching their Social Security checks vanish before their eyes.
A bartender asks a customer if he’d like his chardonnay on ice.
All the while, one question keeps popping to mind: Have we gone completely insane?
You see, if some increasingly vocal Massachusetts officials have their way, this exact kind of sleazy slots parlor is about to infect a neighborhood near you.
McGrory’s argument against slots at Massachusetts racetracks, such as Suffolk Downs, can be reduced to this: Slots parlors are depressing and tempt the poor. If we must have slots, he writes, “License a resort-style casino designed to compete with what’s in Connecticut,” and “Put it far from any urban center.” Yes, let’s — because when slots are played in a casino that’s frequented by surburban vacationers, gambling is wholesome entertainment. When slots are played trackside in the city — possibly by people so tacky they want ice in their chardonnay — it’s exploitation.
—
Boston mayor Thomas Menino announced his support for racetrack slots in May and has since come under criticism for taking campaign donations from Suffolk Downs officials and owners, and now from other gambling industry executives. The Boston Herald reports that the mayor received $1,000 each from Wonderland dog track owner Charles Sarkis and Harrah’s Entertainment executive Gary Loveman.
—
A slots deal between NYRA and New York horsemen is nearing conclusion. “We’re pretty close to a deal,” said Alan Foreman, the counsel for the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. “We haven’t finalized anything, but I think we can get everything ironed out in the next 24 hours or so.” (Daily Racing Form)
Posted by JC in State Issues on 06/15/2005 @ 11:00 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
– Wagering was up 7% at Pimlico this spring. “The increase was due to a record-setting Preakness and an agreement that allowed wagering on thoroughbred racing at Rosecroft Raceway.” (Sun)
– Possibly the oddest Ascot headline ever: “Rakti spooked by a tooth.” Seems a spectator leaned over the paddock rail and clicked her teeth, spooking the Queen Anne Stakes favorite (Guar.) … Shamardal wins the Saint James Palace Stakes. (BH)
– Remember this story? NYRA offices were raided last December as part of an investigation into jockey weights. A Ballston Spa grand jury is now gathering information about “an alleged jockey weight scandal involving employees of the New York Racing Association.” NYRA officials and jockeys have been called in to speak to investigators. (TU)
– Send links, comments to railbird at jessicachapel dot com
Posted by JC in Miscellany on 06/15/2005 @ 10:55 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
Ghostzapper, the 2004 Horse of the Year, has been retired with a hairline fracture in his left front ankle. Ghostzapper last raced on May 30 in the Met Mile, which he won by more than six lengths. It was then that he sustained the injury:
“After the race, he had some filling in his ankle,” trainer Bobby Frankel said. “We X-rayed it and didn’t find anything, but I wasn’t comfortable with it and wanted to make sure everything was all right. I didn’t want to take any chances, so I sent him to New Bolton (Medical Center) on Wednesday (June 8). They did a nuclear scan and found a hot spot. Then they took an X-ray of the spot and discovered a small crack. They said it was very difficult to find. He looks great and he’s walking perfect. You couldn’t tell anything was wrong with him.” (Blood-Horse)
The Blood-Horse article notes in the paragraph before Frankel’s quote that it was revealed after the Met Mile that Jess Jackson, “the California winemaker who has been extremely active in bloodstock transactions over the last year,” had purchased an interest in the horse, a juxtaposition that invites a little cynicism.
There’s not much to say about Ghostzapper, other than that he was undeniably fast:
“He is the fastest horse since we began making figures in 1982,” said Jerry Brown, who operates Thoro-Graph, a Manhattan-based company that produces speed figures for gamblers, trainers and owners. “And he is the fastest by quite a bit. There have been a couple of other horses who ran figures close to his on occasion, but three of his races produced the fastest three figures we have ever given a horse.” (New York Times)
Ghostzapper was 4-for-4 last year and had a similarly light schedule planned for this year, with all of his races to be at Belmont or Saratoga. He ends his career 9-for-11.
Related: “Great-lite to Great-great.” Before Ghostzapper’s retirement was announced, Equidaily’s Seth Merrow was wondering why the 2004 HOTY lacked appeal and decided the horse needed a hook — “A streak. A rivalry. An accomplished career.”
6/15 Addition: Alan of Left at the Gate (who I had the pleasure of meeting Saturday at Belmont) writes that there’s new meaning in graded stakes for older horses with Ghostzapper gone.
Horsemen grouse at Ghostzapper’s passing from the scene. “I’m in the game and it breaks my heart,” said trainer H. James Bond. “It’s like watching the Final Four and seeing the star center go out. We have very few heroes in our game and it’s a shame.” (Times-Union)
Posted by JC in Horses on 06/14/2005 @ 8:05 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
