For those who wish to read the complete ruling of the Judge in denying Lou Pena a temporary injunction, Harnessracing.com has published the judges decision. Happy Reading. While I think this decision will stand, I don't see this ending here. Depending on Pena's attorney review of the decision, I wouldn't be shocked to see an appeal being filed and/or the trial moving forward. Being this decision is being ruled on in the 3rd Circuit, tracks in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania can use this ruling as an excuse to exlcude him (it doesn't cover New York). There is too much money involved in this area and a widespread exclusion could force him to move his operations to a less profitable area. Just don't get your hopes up that it is over.
Some good news for traditional racing fans; bad news for barrel racing fans. The Attorney General in Florida has ruled that slots are limited to the Miami-Dade and Broward County areas unless the state legislature expands the slot law. This could stop the proposed referendum to bring slots to Gretna where they started parimutuel racing. It may not stop Barrel Racing at Gretna due to the fact they have a poker room as well, but it may stop further expansion.
Some potentially bad news for Cal Expo harness. The assembly there is trying to pass a bill which would allow the Cal Expo Board enter into contracts to sell, lease and otherwise make changes to the fairground. While there is a contract to operate Cal Exp through the spring season, a new operator conceivably may not find the fair grounds available for a meet forcing harness racing to move to a new location.
Winter is finally moving into the East Coast necessitating Buffalo Raceway to cancel tonight's racing card.
Tonight's 9th Race at the Meadowlands to me is a crap shoot as there will be fourteen horses lining up behind the gate for a 1 1/2 mile dash. I'm going to take a stab with #14 Miss Galvinator A, a horse from Australia that raced longer distances. In fact her last start in Australia was a winning effort at Albion Park from a standing start with a 10 meter handicap. In a 2647 meter race, greater than the 1 1/2 they are going tonight, Miss Galvinator A won in a 2:02.7 mile race. Of course, that was June 5, 2004 so it's been a while since she had to race that far. But then, after doing this research, I'd kick myself in the butt if she comes in. At least it's an angle. It should be interesting at the least.
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