I hope it happens, but it concerns me that NYRA’s franchise contract is not yet firmly in place, their bankruptcy proceedings are ongoing and though an Aqueduct VLT operator has not been identified, there are expectations of 2009 revenue from them.

The connections for Big Brown and Curlin are not planning to start those horses in Saratoga.

Perhaps it is time to analyze just how this meet fits in the present racing calendar.  The 25th Breeders’ Cup runs this year. No winner of the Travers Stakes has gone on to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. This is highly significant because Eclipse Awards are largely decided in this championship series.  The Travers is the oldest continually run stakes race in North America and the list of illustrious winners includes Man o’ War, Gallant Man, Buckpasser, Native Dancer, Arts and Letters, Jaipur and who could forget Alydar winning the Travers when Pincay got Affirmed in trouble resulting in his disqualification. My point is not of the historical importance of this race, I applaud its greatness. My concern is; can it maintain its deserved standing?

Last year the Travers drew the Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense and the “Midsummer Derby” was everything one hopes for in a Grade 1 event, but Street Sense would not likely have been in the Travers had he not lost his bid for the Triple Crown. When he finished second to Curlin in the Preakness, his connections decided to pass the grueling Belmont Stakes and point for the prestigious Travers Stakes. Bernadini, the 2006 Travers winner, also passed on the Belmont.

Even tepid racing fans have been made aware that American breeding is not regularly producing horses that excel in route races.  Trainers reliant upon drugs and the inherent unsoundness of today’s Thoroughbred present a growing concern. We are not safe from their ravaging impact just because our attendance numbers have not yet begun to drop. Racing needs a renewing fan base, including some who will eventually become owners. 

Gavin Landry is an inspired addition to the NYRA marketing wing.  There is no question he is trying to protect our crowd appeal, but I think the obvious is being ignored. A few years ago when NYRA clamped down on security, gates were closed to a large number of would-be fans. 

It’s a standing joke that any Tom, Dick or Harry can park his car at Oklahoma and from there either cross Union Avenue to attend the races or wander off into the stable area, but let someone like myself who has held racing licenses across the country for 40 years try to get into Oklahoma to enjoy the morning work-outs and I am run off like a stray cat.  Not just me, wives of jockeys, Hall of Famers, all of us who are not credentialed to get into the backside because we do not have a current year badge are denied access. This type of non-thinking security is blight to racing and serves nothing so well as crippling an opportunity for people who love racing to share its morning glories with potential fans.  A gaming organization could not purposely do better to retard interest in racing than our racing officials are doing under this regretful guise of security.

We can survive without the “Big Horse” but if we continue to discourage interest in horses, the sport can only go down in fan appeal.  A troubling afterthought is that the trainers of Curlin and Big Brown are both being investigated for “positive” drug tests. They join Larry Jones, trainer of the ill-fated Eight Belles who last week was cited for a drug infraction and Jeremy Rose, Afleet Alex’s jockey who was suspended this week for blatant misuse of his whip, resulting in severe eye damage to the mare he was riding. One has to ask, where is racing headed?  I am among many who feel inspired changes can benefit racing and Saratoga.