JC / Railbird

The Sport Archive

All In the Bloodlines

George Rowand marvels at his teenage son’s racing knowledge: “It’s a weird thing, really, to have a 15-year-old son who knows more about racing than I do. After all, I spent 17 years actively in the business, and another seven preparing to be in the business. That’s almost a quarter century, and along comes my son Michael, and he knows more of the nuances about today’s game that his old man does. He’s always saying things like, ‘Do you think Azeri will win the Eclipse Award if she runs well in the Breeders’ Cup Classic? What about if she runs fifth … what then?'” (Fauquier Times-Democrat)

Posted in The Sport on December 1, 2004

No One to Stop the Crash

The lack of a national office is a perennial complaint of racing fans and horsemen, burned by widely varying state laws and industry disputes. “Nearly every other major sport has an overlord to preside over its disparate factions and intervene when conflict threatens to stop the action…. When horse racing careens toward trouble, there’s no one to stop the crash.” The situation isn’t likely to change soon, reports Tom Keyser: “The idea of a strong, centralized office runs counter to the reality of regulation on a decentralized basis, [NTRA commissioner D.G. Van Clief Jr.] said. In other words, racing is regulated by state commissions and legislatures, not an autocratic national office.” (Baltimore Sun)

Posted in The Sport on November 27, 2004

Nothing New

Ron Artest’s brawl with fans at the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons game last week has the commentariat abuzz with talk of boorish sports fan behavior. But ask a jockey — bad fans are nothing new. (Trentonian)

Posted in The Sport on November 26, 2004