JC / Railbird

The Sport Archive

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

The Importance of Being Audacious

“It’s a crap shoot. Nothing more, nothing less. Ship your horse thousands of miles, take a deep breath and roll the dice. You never know: you might beat three, as did Nebraska Tornado on Saturday; just one, as did Mona Lisa; or none at all, the fate of Scandinavia. Or you could end up beating them all. Just like Wilko…. Wilko’s triumph was one for opportunism at the expense of cold logic. It was a triumph for the have-a-go attitude that increasingly deserts those who campaign horses.” (Times)

Posted in The Sport on November 1, 2004

Memories

Kevin Modesti laments the growing respectability of horseracing. “The National Thoroughbred Racing Association has announced that the sixth annual national handicapping tournament in Las Vegas in January will be televised on ESPN. The goal, obviously, is to bring horseplayers, with their speed figures and their hot tips and their hunches, out of the shadows. To take the game of picking winners and make it kind of acceptable. Well, where’s the fun in that? Oh for the bad old days.” (LA Daily News)

Posted in The Sport on October 27, 2004