JC / Railbird

The Industry Archive

Thursday Morning Links

– Racing journalism has its problems, but access to the sport’s (human) stars isn’t one. In this way, at least, being a niche sport benefits fans and writers, unlike baseball.
– The Quick-Pick inquiry spreads, wild finger pointing begins, and a California state legislator notices that there’s no independent wagering monitor. Uh oh.
– Pittsburg Phil, Noted Plunger, Passes Away. Consumption, such a shame. He was just at Ascot last year.
– Dutrow has yet to confirm post-Belmont plans for Big Brown with IEAH, but he’s considering the Travers and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Curlin vs. Brown — we can dream.
– How they take those pics: Wired at the Preakness Stakes.
– Mike Brunker is looking prescient. Flashback to his April 1 column, in which he not only predicted Big Brown’s Derby win, but went a couple steps further: “This is a colt with the talent to end the 29-year Triple Crown drought …”

Posted in The Industry, Triple Crown on May 22, 2008

I’ll Wait to Join …

So, I’ve been trying to muster interest in the NTRA Horseplayers’ Coalition, which sounded exciting when its formation was announced earlier this year but is decidedly less so now that it has formally launched with the sexy topic of tax reform at the top of its agenda. Horseplayers can join for $25, for which they’ll get legislative updates and discounts from such companies as John Deere and UPS. As Dana points out, the timing is good for what’s essentially a horseplayers’ political action committee, and to be fair, the coalition builds on two things the NTRA does well — Capitol Hill lobbying and managing its purchasing program. I’m certainly not opposed to reforming the unfair taxes heaped on handicappers, having had the good fortune in 2007 to run into the IRS’ outdated and onerous reporting and withholding rules — what was abstractly unpleasant became practically so — and yet, I haven’t rushed to sign up. I can’t shake the sense that this group is more about serving the industry than about serving horseplayers, who care about taxes, but also care about doping, transparency and integrity, takeout, and ongoing ADW disruptions. I’d like to join a coalition that truly represents players on all those matters, not just the one issue that’s in sync with establishment concerns.

Posted in The Industry on April 23, 2008

A Theme Emerges

“With no real-time monitoring of wagering pools, extensive investigation would be required to determine how much money was bet and how many winning bets occurred off-track after the race’s start.”
“When asked about past posting, we can still only say that it does happen from time to time, but we cannot tell you how often because we really don’t know.”
“Infuriated by what he has seen, Maloney has taken his case to any racetrack official or mutuel manager that would listen to him. These were serious allegations he was bringing forth, yet no one would take him seriously.”
“I’m sorry to say that our tote systems are such that we don’t have good control of knowing where those revenues are coming from.”

Posted in The Industry on January 15, 2008

And Then There Were Five

Not a surprise, but still startling in its starkness: “Only five full-time positions remain in the United States for people writing exclusively on thoroughbred racing for general circulation newspapers” (Paul Moran at the Races).

Posted in The Industry on September 30, 2007