Monday Briefs

On part 2 of a Trot Radio interview, Jeff Gural talks about the problem racing has regarding slot money; the feeling it is an entitlement which will keep on coming.  In this interview, Gural asks the one question which will allow states to get out of continuing these subsidies.  Listen here for the question of death.


We are a month away from the finals of the George Morton Levy Memorial and Blue Chip Matchmaker series at Yonkers, which is also the start of HANA Harness' 2014 Grand Circuit 'Shoot-Out' Handicapping Challenge sponsored by The Hambletonian Society, DRF Harness, Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment, Northfield Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs.  The contest has a brand new format this year as some of the minor stakes which tend to draw historically short fields have been dropped and the handicappers will be able to pick their spots as to where to wager on any of the Grand Circuit races that night.  To see who the handicappers are as well as the rescues they are playing for, why not check out this link?


The USTA Annual Meeting begin Sunday and one again will be broadcast live over the web.  It is always interesting to hear what is going on at the USTA and how it may impact racing.  If you can't catch them live, the USTA tends to archive them for later viewing.


Negotiations between Monticello Raceway and the MHHA supposedly have hit an impasse with neither side willing to budge on the key issue of the slot subsidy cap.  Now the horsemen are beginning to realize the way around their issues regarding the law which caps revenue at 2013 levels is by going to the legislature and attempt to get the law changed instead of negotiating a work around with the tracks.  I don't know if they will be successful, but I could have told them that this was the way to attempt to address the issue, not by withholding your signal and seeing your purses get severely cut.  Of course, the question here is with the horsemen and track reaching this point, how do they save face and end this confrontation which shouldn't and never needed to happen?  This is what happens when you get to be the guinea pig for others when it comes to dealing with a contentious issue.