Canterbury: That's a Wrap

With the conclusion of the 2011 Canterbury Park season, it’s time to take a look back, both from our perspective and a bit big picture.

Professionally speaking, the summer could NOT have been better as I’ve outlined in my previous post.  Tabby Lane ran four times here this summer and won three.  She won on the grass and she won over the dirt.  If not for the need to be checked up in her losing effort, she probably would have hit the board.  As it was she came in fourth behind Avenue Sister and Monslewn, a couple of very nice fillies. In fact, Avenue Sister came back to win the HBPA Mile later in the summer after a third place finish in the Lady Canterbury.

Tabby’s stat line for the summer was: 4 Starts 3-0-0 $21,720.  No matter how you slice it, that’s a successful summer, especially when you consider her lost summer of 2010 when she finished a distant second once.  She took the group from a deficit to about where we were when we claimed her.  All in all, that’s not bad.

I made a strategic error with her however.  After her last race we faced a decision to either ship her to Remington or try and get one more race in at Canterbury.  We opted for Remington for reasons outlined in a previous post.  I was wrong.  A $25,000 Optional Claiming race did fill on Labor Day here in Minnesota and we would have been in the think of it.  It would have been quite the step up, but Bernell says that Tabs is as sharp as she’s ever been for us right now.  I want to test her against better and rolled the dice that Remington would be the way to do that.  While it still may be, the timing would have been better to stay at home so I whiffed on that one.

Personally, while unemployment is a huge burden and pretty damn stressful, it enabled me to spend time with my children in a way I haven’t in a very long time.  I was here during the day for them and, for Forrest especially who was here for nearly 2 months, we were able to log a lot of quality time.  Ben accompanied me to the track a few times and hung out in the press box.  The first time was a quiet Thursday night, the next was a busy Saturday with Dark Star entertaining from his spot on the couch.  Ben enjoyed that trip a lot more than the first.

At the racetrack, if you follow this blog at all you are familiar with the trials and tribulations that faced Minnesota racing this summer.  The largest hit was the government shutdown that forced the track to close for 21 days putting a bullet in the head of 12 race dates, though six of those were worked in later in the meet including a bonus weekend of racing tacked on to the end of the schedule.  It’s debatable how much the shutdown cost the track.  Some estimates have placed it at a million dollars a week, others at a million dollars for the shutdown period.  However you slice it, its real money.  The biggest attendance and handle weekend of the season, Independence Day, was wiped out and there is no way to get a weekend like that back.  The actual impact probably won’t be known until Canterbury files their next quarterly report.

The shutdown, however, will still loom as preparations begin for the 2012 racing season.  The loss of dates will affect horsemen’s purses next season.  “It is likely we will have to run fewer race days or offer lower purses,” said track president Randy Sampson.  “Neither option is good for the racing industry or the state of Minnesota.

Looking at the data, though, there is a lot to like about the Canterbury Park season.

Average daily attendance was up 5% to 6,143 people which once again set a track record.  People love their racing here and certainly enjoy a night at the Park (not The Downs, by the way, but that’s a rant for another time).  On track handle was up slightly per card, 0.8%, this year over 2010 as well, though not close to any records.  Import handle, the amount of money bet on Canterbury from off track sources was up a very healthy 6.3%.  Some of this may be due to the fact that the Thursday evening cards ran late and Canterbury was the only track running for several races each night.  This was certainly reflected in the tote board.  That can’t account for all of it, however, and maybe the folks that tuned in on Thursdays came back to bet later in the weekend as well.  Maybe there is a way to tweak next year’s schedule to try and take advantage of this phenomenon?  Make sure that the late Thursday cards are popular races that push up field size, for example.

“Overall the numbers are encouraging,” Sampson said.  “Fans continue to enjoy horse racing and that shows in the attendance increase.”

No day was that statement more true than Minnesota Festival of Champions Day.  A record Festival crowd of 11,214 showed up to see the best Minnesota breds in training compete for the state bred divisional titles.  It was a gorgeous day and the crowd was enthusiastic and even bet pretty well. As it should be it was the highlight of the meet and showcased some pretty bright stars.

Tubby Time, owned by Jeff Larson and trained by Mack Robertson, stamped himself as one of the best we’ve seen on the grass in a very long time.  Cam Casby’s Polar Plunge, victim of a horrendous trip in the Minnesota Oaks, is 3 for 4 in her career and was the best 3-year old filly at the meet.  Nomorewineforeddie, winner of the Minnesota Sprint Championship, earned a lifetime best 96 Beyer speed figure in that race, his only win of the season.  That said, if ‘Eddie could stay consistent, he shows flashes of being a brilliant speedster and the Sprint win was a great performance.  If Heliskier stays healthy, he may be one of the best Minn breds ever if he can build on this 2-year old season.

Getting to see Atta Boy Roy race in the Shot of Gold was a treat.  Rusty Shaw may have wrapped him up a bit early, but he still won with ease.  I don’t know if there is a better conformed horse in training right now; he is simply a thing of beauty.  My hat is off to Valerie Lund for racing him here so we could see him up close.

Speaking of Lund, I could not be more pleased with the impression she made here in Minnesota – at least on me.  She is engaging, friendly, open and during the shutdown, when she could have walked away and no one would have blamed her, she came front and center to be an example of how the shutdown affected the track and horsemen.  She advocated for the Racino and was there to answer questions that anyone might have had for her.  This isn’t her home base and she’s not a long timer here either, but she’s got a lot of class and I hope we see her back again.

While the shutdown lorded over the track like a shadow, there certainly were beams of light.  Talks continue of a racino bill but there has been talk for years now and it has almost become white noise. Maybe it gets rolled into a stadium bill.  Maybe it dies on the vine and the lobbyists continue to make their retainer while racing suffers.  Maybe there is a way that the Tribes, track and state can work together for the good of all.  I think that there is a way, but I’m not talking…yet.

As the frost starts to lift this morning here in Minnesota, my thoughts turn to 2012.  Where will I be and what will I be doing and what will the state of Minnesota racing be?  These are big questions that need to be answered in my life and the life of racing here.  The next few months will be telling for both of us.

2011 Canterbury Park Divisional Champions

·         Horse of the Year- Tubby Time (owner: Jeff Larson; trainer: Mac Robertson)

·         Older Horse -  Tubby Time (owner: Jeff Larson; trainer: Mac Robertson)

·         Grass Horse –  Tubby Time (owner: Jeff Larson; trainer: Mac Robertson)

·         Older Filly or Mare – Sheso Dazzling (owner: Eric Von Seggern and Kurt Kindschuh; trainer: Mac Robertson)

·         Three-Year-Old Colt or Gelding – Wild Jacob (owner: Stanley Mankin; trainer: Stanley Mankin)

·         Three-Year-Old Filly – Polar Plunge (owner: Camelia Casby; trainer: Gary Scherer)

·         Two-Year-Old – Heliskier (owner: Marlene Colvin; trainer Mac Robertson)

·         Sprinter – Just Jebicah (owner: Lonnie Arterburn and Ron Stolich; trainer: Lonnie Arterburn)

·         Claimer – Just Jebicah (owner: Lonnie Arterburn and Ron Stolich; trainer: Lonnie Arterburn)

·         Quarter Horse – Cruzin the Wagon (Terry and Mary Louise Pursel; trainer Brent Clay)

Racing Resumes but Issues Remain

When the gates spring open on Thursday night it will mark the first day of live racing at Canterbury Park for three weeks since the budget impasse between the legislature and the governor forced the shuttering of the state at midnight, June 30.   At that time the feeling was that while the track might miss racing on July 1st and maybe 2nd, folks in St. Paul would come to their senses and not let a private business lose their largest money making weekend of the year because of government.  That feeling gave way to depression as the days dragged on and judicial decisions went against the track’s arguments for reopening.

Trainers were just starting to line up alternative arrangements for the rest of the summer when word came on a Thursday evening that there was a resolution - the “framework” of a deal.  Perhaps part of weekend number three could be saved?  That was not to be.  It turned out that the framework of a deal was only that.  Members of the legislature on both sides of the aisle were unhappy with the final result, usually the essence of a good compromise.  Given the choices before them, it was probably the best deal that could be made to reopen government, but sadly, it is no solution to the systemic problem the state faced and will now face again in two years.

This is no place to get into my political views but one thing that needs to happen before disaster strikes again is that the statutory language that authorizes the Minnesota Racing Commission to be self-funded needs to be revisited and rewritten.  Lawmakers and track lobbyists should look to the Zoo’s language which enabled it to stay open despite a very similar financing structure.  What wasn’t similar was the language in the statute that clearly showed that the Zoo did not need legislative appropriation while the MRC did.  I would like to think either Senator Claire Robling or Representative Michael Beard, whose constituencies encompass Shakopee, would be first in line with such an amendment to the law, but whoever does, it should be a top priority of horsemen and the track.

Another component that I know the tracks would have liked to have seen in the budget compromise was racino legislation.

“It is very disappointing that our proposed Racino legislation was not part of resolving the budget impasse,” track president and CEO Randy Sampson said. “Studies have shown that two Racinos would generate an estimated $125 million annually in revenues for the State of Minnesota, while creating thousands of jobs in the racing, hospitality, and equine industries. Racinos would also enable Minnesota’s horse racing industry, which already employs several thousand individuals, to remain competitive and viable. We believe our efforts this year have increased support for Racinos in Minnesota, both among the public and among lawmakers in St. Paul, and we remain committed to the adoption of Racino legislation in Minnesota at the earliest possible time.”

I don’t know why the Racino language wasn’t discussed or if there is a plan for it to be brought up again as part of any potential Viking’s stadium special session, but I think it’s hard for lawmakers to ignore something the amount of non-tax revenue that is on the table.  Maybe the newly minted Republican majority may feel an allegiance to Tony Sutton and his wife that keep them from considering what they call an expansion of gaming?  I know my two state legislators used language right out of a C.A.G.E. newsletter to explain their position on the issue.

Many will blame the Native American lobby, accused of being in the pockets of DFL lawmakers for years, and maybe they were effective.  But if they were, how can you blame them?  The reality is that they are defending their business interests – just the same as anyone else would.  Ultimately they are doing what’s best for their constituency just the same as the horsemen are trying to do the best for theirs.  I can feel MUCH more empathy for their position.  Don’t moralize to me, but I can certainly understand defending your turf.

Is there some room here for a compromise?  Surprisingly, I think that there is and the benefits would be shared by the state, Native American Bands and horsemen.  No one would be 100% happy – well, except maybe the state – but again, that’s compromise for you.  But that’s a post for another time.

The important thing for right now is that there is racing again and starting tomorrow I will be posting about races, where Tabby Lane will run next and my thoughts for some unorthodox partnerships.

See you at the races!

Judge Rules "No" But Gov & Legislature on Verge of Deal

Judge Gearin came down against the racetracks yesterday, though the negative ruling may prove to be a moot point as Governor Dayton and Republican leaders have apparently come to an agreement to end the budget stalemate and the resulting shutdown.  The larger issue is going to be getting the dogmatic hardliners on either wing of each party to fall into line and get the compromise passed.  That is not guaranteed.  While it’s possible to be up and racing by Sunday, it most likely will be Thursday – though even this could be in trouble if party leaders can’t get their caucuses to agree to the deal, sending everyone back to the drawing board.  Early news reports are that the earliest a special session will be called is Monday which would effectively cancel the weekend’s race cards.

Dayton reiterated his opposition to any “lights on” bill – a temporary funding bill to keep government running while the budget is sorted out - saying at the press conference announcing the deal that the “lights will come on” when the bills get passed.  It’s all or nothing and the all is not a slam dunk.

Canterbury and Running Aces have been lobbying hard for slots as a way to kill two birds with a single stone: a new, substantial revenue stream for the state and a boost for the state’s billion dollar horse industry.  Minnesota Public Radio’s Tom Schenk announced on Twitter that gambling is NOT part of the solution.  While the signs are not good, that doesn’t mean that it is still not possible to get into the final budget solution.  The next 24 – 48 hours are going to be critical to the tracks’ hope of getting a racino bill passed, though the odds appear to be pretty high.

I know right out of the gate that next part of this post is NOT going to make a lot of my racing friends happy.  Quite frankly, I am not particularly happy writing it, but fair is fair and Judge Gearin’s decision yesterday seems to this non-lawyer to be fair based on the way the law is written. I’m not happy with it and I do think there may have been a way for her to tap dance around it in order to keep the tracks running.  But here we go.

Gearin states in her memorandum accompanying the decision that, “After its review, the Court has not changed its opinion that the funds contained in the funds from licenses and other fees imposed by the Commission and deposited into the State Treasury…require a biennial appropriation from the Legislature before they can be distributed.”  She cites Minnesota statute 240.15 subdivision 6 that reads, in part, “Receipts in this account are available for the operations of the Commission up to the amount authorized in biennial appropriations from the legislature.”

She goes on to state that “Unlike some of the funds referred to in the Zoo statutes, there is no language that makes this a statutory appropriation.”  It’s a very strict interpretation, but appears to be the correct legal one.  Could she have been a bit more creative and interpreted this differently?  Probably, but as much as I don’t like the decision the only deep problem I have with it is that it took so long.  A more cynical person might think that it was timed to coincide with the budget deal.

Ultimately what needs to happen is that the next session of the legislature has to amend the financing language for the racing commission so that private businesses are never hamstrung like this again should the government not be able to get its act together.  There is no reason for this to have happened. All would agree that the commission was designed to be self-funded but it is equally apparent that the statute, as written, inserts action by the legislature – no matter how minor – into the process.  That needs to be fixed – and quickly.  Given the nature of the compromise it is very likely we could be in this same position in the next budget cycle.

So it is a mixed bag as we head into the weekend.  The track should be up and running, if not over the weekend, then by Thursday’s card, but its future still remains murky.

Canterbury Rallies to Try and Save the Season - and It's Future

(UPDATE, JULY 14, 1:36 PM CT - Judge Kathleen Gearin has ruled against Canterbury Park and Running Aces, saying that the funding mechanism for the MRC does require a legislative appropriation.  Racing has been cancelled for Friday and the weekend is in jeopardy as well.)

Two hundred and forty three people responded to the Facebook invitation for the press conference at Canterbury Park.  Nearly 2,000 showed up to hear political leaders speak out for the reopening of the racetrack and even a pitch for budget negotiators to include a racino in any budget agreement.

The homemade signs were great and some very creative.  One espoused the economic virtues of ramen noodles; another that mommy and daddy needed to get back to work; the entire crowd erupted when a horse was walked past the gathering near the winner’s circle with a “Let me run!” blanket draped over its back.

State Senator Claire Robling set the tone early when, addressing horsemen and Canterbury employees she stated that it was “hard for me to look at you because of what the shutdown has done to you.  I’m embarrassed.”

While she alone wasn’t responsible for the impasse, she is part of one half of the problem; guilt by association, if you will.  She did utter a phrase that I’ve been waiting to hear for weeks, “I’d like to see a compromise.”  Compromise, that former cornerstone of American governance, has given way to accusatory negotiations and rigid, dogmatic politicking.  Neither side is immune from responsibility in this disaster.

Robling, and her Minnesota House colleague Michael Beard co-authored a letter to the chief budget negotiators for both parties, that centered around getting Canterbury Park reopened as quickly as possible and working together to approve a racino bill during the coming special session.

The attention was coming at a critical juncture at the track for this season: trainers are coming to the economic realization that it’s time to race or move.  Earlier in the day, trainer Valerie Lund, who brought her stable up from Arizona for the summer, had this to say:

“I cannot afford to train these horses, employ grooms, pay feed, farrier and veterinarians without racing, to generate income for the stable. I do not wish to take my business elsewhere but I am finalizing plans to ship to Ellis Park in Kentucky on Thursday if Canterbury Park does not reopen for racing this week. Many other trainers are finalizing similar plans. If the track loses these large stables it will not have enough horses to run a meet once the government does eventually settle its budget.”

She’s not the only one.  This weekend is the tipping point.  I’ve already noticed more and more horses with their last races at Canterbury Park showing up in the entries and result charts of Prairie Meadows, Arlington Park and even Lincoln Park. 

Trainer Mac Robertson expressed his support for the track and its employees. “I feel worse for the track – the Sampsons and the employees; than I do for myself.  I can hold out for a while,” he said, “but owners want to race.”

Local horsemen like owner/breeder Jeff Hilger also took the stage.  “I am very proud of the horsemen I work with the way they are handling a very, very troublesome situation,” he said.  Hilger has stated during hearings at the capitol that without a racino he would be forced out of the horse business after building a business – and a lifestyle – for decades.  “Horse racing is not the Sport of Kings in Minnesota,” he added.

Perhaps most articulate and heartwarming was jockey Paul Nolan, a transplanted British jockey who chose to make Minnesota his home.  “I’m a jockey,” he said.  “But I am also a Minnesota resident.  I don’t want to ride in Iowa.  I don’t to ride in Illinois.  I want to ride here.”  But in a jockey’s world it’s no ride, no pay, so Nolan is going to have a choice to make sooner rather than later.

From my perspective, Tabby fits a race written for about a week or here at Canterbury: a $7500 starter allowance.  It’s a race we’ve been waiting to be written for weeks, but I dare not wait to point to it should she also be suited for a race at Prairie Meadows in the interim.  I KNOW the Prairie Meadows race is going to run, I don’t know if the politicians and judges in St. Paul will get their act together in enough time to run.  Additionally, all the horses that have had races cancelled out from under them automatically move to the front of the preference line.  I don’t deny the fairness of this; in fact, I agree with and understand it.  But it makes me wonder if we would even get into the race even if we did wait.  Until the new condition book is published at Prairie Meadows, I don’t know what they have to offer but if it ends up being a choice between the two, how do I take a chance on racing here?  If the races end up on the same day, or close to it, I could dual enter, but if they’re not?  I have to take the sure thing over the maybe.

The future of the meet, and perhaps of racing in Minnesota, is in the hands of one judge and a handful of legislators.  The University of Minnesota has pegged the industry as worth nearly a billion dollars to the state and at a time when money is at a premium, you’d think that would mean something. 

Whether or not the meet can survive the shutdown is up to the horse population, said track President and CEO Randy Sampson.  Sadly, if there is no decision from the judge or a resolution by the government shortly, Lund’s statement will prove prophetic.

Mayor John Schmitt of Shakopee summed up the feelings of many when he said, “I was here for day one; I do NOT want to be here for day zero!”

Stay, Go, Ship, Race - It's Time for a Decision

A friend on the backside watched them leave.  Shortly after the announcement was made that racing was cancelled for the 7^th straight race day yesterday she saw the horse trailers pull out.  By no means is this an exodus – yet – but it’s a scary start.  The fact that racing was cancelled for tomorrow this morning – marking the second straight weekend of lost racing, income and employment, depending upon your perspective – just compounds the problem.

I fail to see the difficulty of the decision facing Judge Kathleen Gearin.  She has two choices: believe that the Minnesota Racing Commission is funded like the Minnesota Zoo, which she allowed to stay open, or it’s not, like she decided once already.  Lawyers for the HBPA and the racetracks, Canterbury Park and Running Aces Harness Park, filed a petition with Gearin the afternoon of July 6 to reconsider her original decision that MRC’s mechanism is different and therefore requires legislative appropriation and gubernatorial signature.  The supporting brief from the tracks went into greater detail on the similarities between the MRCs capability to run on existing funds as well as the statutory appropriation already in place.  She either agrees with that or she doesn’t.  The fact that there is no decision in nearly 4 days is, quite frankly, ridiculous.  But at least we know that former constitutional officers should continue to receive their pensions.  Thousands of people’s livelihoods are in the balance but at least we know that a handful of former governors will continue to get their retirement money.

My plea, and the plea of many horsemen I spoke with the last couple of days, is to decide already - one way or another. This hanging by a thread waiting every day to see if the smoke from the tower is white or black is cruel.  Horses are being pointed to races.  They have routines leading them up to race day: certain types of workouts on certain days before a race to make sure that they are primed are ready on race day.  Not knowing whether or not they are going to race is not good for their preparation which, in turn, is bad for the horses.

This indecision is also messing with people’s livelihoods.  Trainers make money when they are winning races for their owners.  Yes, trainers receive a day rate, but they make their profit off of commissions earned when a horse hits the board.  Just how long are owners going to put up with paying a training bill for a fit, sound horse ready to race…but can’t?  Not long. 

If your horse can run once every four weeks and you last ran on June 3 you were probably pointing to a race leading up to the shutdown.  It’s now a week and a half later and you have no sign that you’re going to race but you’ve probably prepped your horse by now.  Your plan was to race in Minnesota for the summer, but now you have to plan to race elsewhere.  Before you can race you need to get licensed in that new jurisdiction.  It could be cheap.  Or you could have to pay $50 for an owner’s license, $25 for fingerprints and then another $35 processing fee for the prints and you can’t enter until you’ve been granted your license.  Over $100 out and you still haven’t shipped your horse the 200 – 500 miles to where it’s going to run next.  That’ll cost you anywhere from $250 - $700 round trip.  Now you’re in nearly a grand and you haven’t raced yet!  By the time you actually get your license processed, ship and enter to race, you’re down the road another week, maybe two.  Does a round trip at that point make sense or do you just move on?

Now it’s July 23^rd and you haven’t raced in nearly two months, your horse is out of sorts from already prepping once to race, maybe even twice, but not been able to, plus the added stress of shipping to another location.  What are the odds that you’re going to get a peak performance?  Not great and you’ve lost your summer.

Please tell me why you would stay here and try to wait it out?  You wouldn’t and financially you couldn’t.  At some point very soon owners are going to tell their trainers you get this horse into a race somewhere or he’ll move him to a barn in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana – pick your state, it doesn’t matter – to a trainer who CAN run him.  If you have 10 – 12 horses with a trainer, that’s going to carry some clout.  Even if you don’t, enough disgruntled owners and you have to move – you don’t have a choice.

And what about the jockey colony?  You don’t ride you don’t get paid.  You’re an independent contractor paid to ride a racehorse.  No racing, no paycheck.  You build a reputation as a jockey over time and that reputation parlays into rides. Trainers like to use familiar jockeys and besides, it’s good for the horse to have some continuity in the saddle.  If the jocks are stuck here in limbo how do they earn a living?  They can’t just try and catch rides at another track.  They may catch a few, but like I said, trainers like continuity and how can they count on you to keep riding their stock if at a moment’s notice you’re going to hightail it back to Minnesota.  These men and women have decisions that need to be made as well – like yesterday.

Canterbury Park is a great place to race.  No, we don’t have the highest purses, but the facilities on the backside are first rate and the crowds are large and enthusiastic.  It’s racing like it ought to be.  Not like it used to be in racing heyday, but close enough for the new millennium.  Without added money from alternative gaming like they have in Iowa and Indiana – and perhaps Chicago soon – that’s all we have to compete with.  Well, that and a management team that cares about horsemen and the business of racing.  They are owners and breeders too and win and lose along with the rest of us.  How do we get the Canterbury Park first timers like trainers Mike Chambers and Roy Bland back again after this debacle?  I don’t know if we can.

The first step is to get a decision – one way or another.  Either the case made by the tracks is compelling or it is not.  The issue is the same with a bit more supporting evidence.  Again, it is compelling or it is not.  Either way, let these hundreds of people operating small businesses on the backside of two racetracks plan their lives, not to mention the over 1500 employees between Canterbury and Running Aces that have already been laid off pending a resolution.  This indecision is nearly more unfair than any decision could possibly be.

Frustration Starts Giving Way to Reality

It may be getting too late already to save the Minnesota racing season – both for Thoroughbreds and their Standardbred cousins.  After meetings yesterday between the DFL Governor Mark Dayton and Republican leaders of the state legislature, Dayton emerged stating that the gulf between them was same as it ever was.  Considering that the tracks have already lost one court battle to keep the MRC open, any positive resolution to getting Canterbury Park and Running Aces open again comes down to winning an appeal or a political resolution to the budget impasse.  From what was available in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune this morning, it looks unlikely on the political front with both sides retreating back to positions that they held a week ago.

A lifetime ago I worked in the U.S. House of Representatives.  This was during the Reagan administration while the House was run by the Democrats.  Recipe for inaction and divisiveness, right? But at the end of the day, Congressman Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neil, Democratic Speaker of the House, and President Reagan could sit down and have a cocktail and talk things through.  Compromise wasn’t a dirty word back then, it was how business got done – and done for 200+ years.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was civil. Now compromise is a dead art and disagreements are followed by shouts of “you’re “un-American” or that you hate this country, or worse.  Governing has not retained its place as a right or a serious responsibility but a pulpit to push narrow agendas.  There isn’t any sense of compromise or civil discourse and it sure as hell isn’t governing.  And don’t tell me that your side has tried – neither side’s version of “compromise” is much of one.  In the interim who gets hurt?  Minnesotans.

Right now horsemen are hanging tough, but you can only do that for so long.  As a trainer, your day rate will cover your expenses and maybe just a bit more – you make your real money on the percentage you get for winning races.  And what about jockeys?  There is no day rate to sustain them – you ride or you don’t get paid, period.  There is no way for them to stay in limbo too long without putting themselves at severe financial risk.

The question of the day is: How long will it be before horsemen leave and don’t come back?  My best guess would be any day now.  One weekend has already been lost but there is still the hope that a court appeal may salvage part of the coming weekend.  If there is no resolution, especially if the court appeal is lost, to save this coming weekend, horsemen won’t have a choice but to move on.  You can’t blame them, they have to make a living right along with everyone else.  Trainers will receive pressure from their owners to get their horses out of the barn and on to the track.  Jockeys will be feeling the heat from their own domestic situation to ride.  The track can try hard and put all kinds of incentives in place but unfortunately its fate would no longer be in its hands. 

I’m not thrilled with the possibility of racing somewhere else for the summer, but pretty soon what other choice will there be?