Op/Ed

There were a lot of big races run around the country last Saturday, but the most important event in Thoroughbred racing occurred when a field of seven Quarter Horses burst out of the gate a few minutes after 1 p.m. on a memorable day at Hialeah Park. Hialeah is not yet back: running Quarter Horse races with small purses in front of crowds sure to dwindle to meager numbers after the initial excitement wears off is just a first step. But it could be a major one toward what could...

Based on recent trends, it's a pretty safe bet that the pool for this year's Breeders' Cup Pick Six will decline, maybe to as little as $2.5 million, or less than half of what it was 10 years ago. That's an alarming trend, especially when you consider that the Breeders' Cup is constantly looking for ways to grow handle. The Breeders' Cup Pick Six, which should be a wildly popular wager, is broken, but no one seems inclined to fix it, even when the obvious solution is staring them right...

Riddle: What do Sea the Stars and my sister, Sherry, have in common? On the surface, not much, although both have demonstrated precocity and great talent, and both are achievers at the highest level. Sea the Stars is the top-rated horse in the world with four Group 1 wins this year. He is the first horse since Nashwan in 1989 to accomplish the 2000 Guineas--Epsom Derby--Eclipse S. triple. And his recent win in the Juddmonte International adds to his candidacy as one of the great racehorses of the modern era.

Patrick Neely (Thoroughbred Daily News, July 9) took to task Arthur Hancock for a previous Op-Ed (Alternative to Slots, July 2) on behalf of KEEP, an organization for which he works. The focus should not be on Mr. Hancock, but on KEEP, its founders and leaders, and on the Democrats in Kentucky led by the governor. What is KEEP?

Many voices are saying that Kentucky racing is being compromised by slot machines in adjacent states, and that our legislature must legalize them to help our industry relieve this crisis. If this can be done, they say, it will benefit the state as well as our industry. But what is our industry and who are we?

I wish to respond to Senator Thayer's explanation on why he did not support House Bill 2, VLT's at Kentucky racetracks (Thayer Defends Position on KY Gaming Bill, Bloodhorse.com.) His defense first reaches back in time to explain his past support of our industry to create a warm feeling without tackling the issue. I, for one, have appreciated his past support, but do not accept past works as a shield for his stand on the most important piece of racing and breeding legislation in the history of Kentucky. His first...

I wish I could tell you the answer to that question. There is only one thing I can definitively tell you: it was not from a lack of effort from some very talented and hard-working people who put their heart and soul into this. Anyone who wants to criticize or finger-point is making a mistake. I can tell you this didn't die in committee because of anything anyone did wrong. People like Governor Steve Beshear; House Speak Greg Stumbo; Representative Susan Westrom; lobbyists like Gene McLean, John Cooper, Smitty Taylor,...

The Kentucky Equine Education Project will host a rally at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and Speaker of the House Greg Stumbo will be on hand to address members of the state's signature industry. Earlier in the week, the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee voted 10-5 to not send House Bill 2, which authorized VLT's at Kentucky racetracks, to the floor of the Senate for a full vote of the members. So why have a rally after a disappointing defeat?

It was a while back that Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella came up with an idea to help protect the horse and reduce the number of catastrophic on-track injuries. Mandella suggested that North American racing should do away with claiming races as we know them and adopt the European system in which some horses are sold or claimed after, and not before, they race. That, he contended, would remove any temptation a trainer might have to run an unsound horse in a claiming race in hopes that someone might...

This is the most important week to the Kentucky Thoroughbred industry since 1902, when Colonel Matt Winn and a group of investors purchased Churchill Downs, which was in financial ruin and ready to shut down. As we all know, the rest is history for Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Derby and the sport of horse racing. Like 107 years ago, the Kentucky Thoroughbred industry is at a crossroads.

Riddle: Who among us performs the most difficult job in the industry while bringing widespread added value to our sport … day after day, week after week, year after year? Answer: A small fraternity of especially talented professionals known as track announcers. Think the job is not difficult? Go ahead, practice as long as you want, pick up a microphone and try to enthusiastically call a race with four or more horses. See how you do. (I rest my case.)

I'm a simple guy. I swear. My Mom said I never understood why my sister took forever to decide what to wear out on a Saturday night. I worked on the basis that if what you said when you opened your mouth didn't make sense, then the best clothes in the world wouldn't help you at all. It helped when I opened my mouth--I could sell just about anything, but the idea was I kept it simple and did alright.