30 Years Down the Road

American Horse Racing's three week stint as a top-level sport came to an end at Pimlico on Saturday with Curlin's dramatic nose victory over Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense. The sport will have gone 30 years without a Triple Crown champion when the series resumes next spring - not that this really matches that match in the wider scheme of where the sport is in the public eye.

The litany of the sports problems are well documented in the Letters to the Editor in the Sunday Daily Racing Form. The first letter describes the uncertainty with the movement from traditional dirt to synthetic surfaces, the abuse of drugs, high takeout, and the inability of account wagering operators to cooperate. The second letter complains about the high price tag in going to one of racing's best days - Breeders Cup - at Monmouth Park. The third letter details how the addition of slot machines has not significantly benefited the sport.

All true. I'd add a few more. The inability of major tracks to coordinate post times and standardize the reporting of wagering payouts. The lack of any creativity in the industry in the areas of new wagering ideas, gift shop promotion, and creating a sense of continuity and seasonality in the sport. The racing situation in the state of New York. The unwillingness to document and care about the great history of the sport in America.

Off the best time to be a racing fan in America, we now enter the summer doldrums until the start of Del Mar and Saratoga. The Belmont Stakes will be the 9th race on an excellent card on the 2nd Saturday of June in New York City.

During the next few weeks I'll explore my ideas for improving this situation - no spectacular silver bullet ideas - just common sense steps that the sport needs to take to maintain or regain its current dismal status in the consciousness of America.