Why NY Won't Uncouple Entries - A Case Study

Foiled Again finished third in last nights George Morton Levy Memorial, but that is not the big news.  The news was made by George Brennan, driving stablemate Bettor's Edge/  To quote HRU, "...stablemate
Bettor's Edge and driver George Brennan were doing their part to get the sport's richest pacer to the winner's circle.Brennan pulled with Bettor's Edge and then put on the brakes".  Despite the blocking move, PH Supercam was the victor in 1:52.3 over the sloppy oval.

And we wonder why New York State still requires entries to be coupled?  Do we think if after seeing this race, they will allow horses to race uncoupled?  Probably not.  But forget about the fact the horses were coupled.  If you move to the outside, you should be required to attempt to make a move.  If you are not going to make a move to advance, you should be required to stay in, not play 'Traffic Cop', as described by Frank Drucker in the race coverage.



But the Levy Final shows the race needs to be raced.  Most experts were ready to give Foiled Again the trophy before the race was contested.  Whether it was too many races in a short period of time or the off-track, Foiled Again's victory was not to be.


While lost somewhat in all the hype of the Levy Final, Somewhereovrarainbow was the victor in the Blue Chip Matchmaker Final, winning in 1:52.3.  I think people tend to ignore the distaff FFA class.  It seems to be one of the strongest divisions they have had in a while.  It's a shame there aren't as many high-value stakes races during the racing season for these girls.





While the Little Brown Jug is assured of being televised this year, Jack Darling has $36,000 in pledges by individuals who want the Jug to be televised.  It will be interesting to see if these funds are used for getting another race televised.


The results for the first round of the 2014 HANA Harness Handicapping Challenge have come in and Brnadon Volo stakes his claim to the lead with a net profit of $365 for the night followed right behind by Rusty Nash. with a profit of $343.00.  It promises to be an exciting contest the whole way through.

Dean Towers writes an excellent edition of Brush & Crush in HRU (page 8) this week, comparing harness raicng to the fox and the hedgehog.  Racing is like the fox, living for today while the hedgehog looks long term.  A perfect example regarding purses:  Name five major industry-wide policy decisions that were achieved by harness racing the last twenty years to increase purses through betting? How about three? What about one?  There lies the problem, racing lives for now, not the future.