An excellent article by the Baltimore Sun regarding the conditional license given to Penn National. As much as standardbred interests are so desperate to race at Rosecroft this year, the fact is Penn National has been unwilling so far to guarantee the success of a harness meet there. First of all, an average purse of $1,900 a race does not make for good racing; especially near the nation's capital and the creation of a shell company to operate Rosecroft does all Penn National to jettison Rosecroft if the state does not approve slots at Rosecroft at minimal expense. The racing commission is demanding Penn National Gaming put some skin in the game to make sure there is racing for two years. As the article indicates, without that commitment, Maryland horsemen may find themselves in the same boat they were three years ago.
Pull The Pocket found a great article in The Blood Horse regarding the need to rebuild the Ohio racing industry (with respect to thoroughbreds) in light of racinos coming in. This article cites issues both PTP and myself have been arguing about with regards to too much racing and the need for lower takeouts and circuits. You can find the article here. Thanks to Pull the Pocket for finding the article.
Welcome Standardbred Gal to the blogosphere. Despite the name of this blog, it covers both thoroughbred and standardbred racing. Nothing wrong with that. When you get a chance, check her blog out.
See You at Peelers goes for win number 19 at Vernon Downs tonight. As the press releases indicates win number 19 will tie her with Zenyatta. While harness racing is desperate for attention, we should not compare Peelers with Zenyatta. The two breeds are different and there is no comparison between the two sports. Harness racing should be proud of its sport and stand on its own. Comparing See You at Peelers to Zenyatta cheapens the efforts of both horses. They are both great horses on their own merits.
1 comment:
Yes, but people have heard of Zenyatta. Mentioning Zenyatta makes people actually look. I live in a state where people call it "buggy-racing," so if mentioning Zenyatta makes them at least understand what harness racing is, so much the better.
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