JC / Railbird

An American Tradition

The Sheer Magnitude

From Part 2 of the Thoroughbred Times’ interview with Breeders’ Cup consultant William Field:

“I knew that American horse racing had to work in a complex, often out-dated, multi-jurisdictional legal environment. I knew there were a number of different industry bodies, with seemingly overlapping remits. I knew there were many tracks, quite a few of which ran low-quality, sub-scale race days in front of very few fans. But what I didn’t appreciate when I started this was the sheer magnitude of these factors. So, put simply, the sport is even more fragmented than I expected.”

(Part 1 of the interview with Field.)

An observation by Secretary Crickmore, of the Monmouth Park Association, as related by the Thoroughbred Record of April 29, 1893:

There is too little system and method in the conduct of American race tracks.

Posted in Racing on March 18, 2010 / Tagged A Newcomer's Perspective, An American Tradition, Breeders' Cup, Fragmentation, Industry