No Money No Change - Commissioner Platform II

I'm all for the changes were hearing about coming from both the NTRA and Jockey Club, but I believe it to be just lip service with maybe a slim chance some of the easier recommendations come into play, easier means cheap. I feel this way because people are making money in this sport and why fix what's not broke? How can this sport not be broke? Our greatest stars are dying on the biggest stage. For example, and noted this is a harsh example, Rick Porter lost a great filly, but he still has Rockport Harbor standing for $20k passing on genes that only got him through 8 starts, and he still might have a share in Hard Spun who somehow lasted 13 starts though his sire and grand sire are both known for not getting the most stout horse. He's sad, but would he back any sort of rules for stallions that say they need to start X amount of times or if they show any sort of genetic weakness after a given number of foals they are put out to pasture? Doubt it. So, how can there be a fix if it's not broke? Show people more money and wait for them to start losing it the old way. Eventually the industry of high priced 2yo and pinhooking will die. You can't spend 2 billion on horseflesh and only have 1 billion paid out by the tracks and think this is a growing industry. Also the mounting pressure from PETA (while given they are crazy) and the FOB (while given they are crazy too) have put enough media pressure on these people to make changes. However, while synthetic tracks look like a major change it was the first step in what could have been many and the industry stopped. All these lip service changes we are getting is because, again, the business model while crappy is not broke. However, what would a fix look like: The Fix I've been reading a lot lately, but I'm pretty sure I've read two people that realized the business model is broken and can't be fixed. There are easier ways to gamble out there. Period. End of Story. Get over it. Pitching this as a gambling enterprise is wrong and won't catch on no matter how many ADW's spring up. Those people also note that the best way to pitch this sport is... wait for it... as a sport! Commissioner Platform II (expounding on Platform I)(expounding on plan from 2.5 years ago) Buy the exclusive television rights of all if not most Graded Stakes that run May through October that promise to move their race into a more TV friendly time spot. Create a weekend show that features races across the country w/ a race for each Eclipse category. Incentivize HD cameras and saddle cloth GPS at each track, ban the whip from televised races. Sell show, or even buy airtime on VS. or ESPN news. Use standings to make it feel more as a season, more as a sport, less like Roulette. Get advertisers on board at whatever price they are willing to pay, hire NASCAR execs. Grow the sport of racing and get this business model, which will start in the red, to the black ASAP. Bring track secretaries together to write better coordinated stake schedule Get them talking about floors and ceilings for stakes purses Redistribute money to stakes other than 2yo and 3yo to balance the field Make money, make real change