I don’t know how many times I can get away with this, but I’m a pretty big deal. As of right now, and actually until the Final Four games begin, I am #1 on the Deadspin bracket challenge. I’m also #69 overall at ESPN (while you don’t get the irony my wife does). There’s a chance a few people are checking out this blog for the first time, so I thought I’d say hi and introduce myself.
I am a horse racing fan, and that's no easy accomplishment with the way my sport goes about things. While many may think the NHL is run poorly the people behind the scenes of horse racing make the NHL management look like 6 sigma black belt ninjas from Wharton. The “good times” for horse racing were back in the 20’s-50’s and since then horse racing has let its fan base die: Literally die, people are getting old and then one thing leads to another and they die. So, buck up you puckheads it’s not that bad.
Unfortunately, horse racing is a political sport. Every state has their rules and their ways. We have no Gary Bettman to disappear when guys are getting assaulted, no Bud Selig to say one thing and do another. What horse racing has are talking head public figures who are addicted to gambling dollars, but can’t always keep the old conservative people vote if they allow everything. (Although people in West Virginia will pretty much make anything legal.)
Horse racing is left with outdated modes of operation: pari-mutuel wagering hasn’t changed (ever), each state has their own beliefs about medication, suspensions aren’t really suspensions they are more like advertisements for that trainer, and people only care for our sport the first Saturday in May.
However, I’m here to tell you horse racing isn’t all that bad. It’s a great day out for the family (there are a ton of family friendly tracks out there). The stories behind these people’s lives are all interesting. I mean look at the response (backlash) Deadspin gets when it posts about Barbaro. For every crazy horse nut out there, there is also a crazy horse fan.
I’m part of the TBA, and we have a great RSS feed to keep you up to date on just about anything in the world linked to horse racing. We have our own standings (which aren’t perfect, but that’s a whole other kettle of fish) and we try and present horse racing as a sport, because that’s what it is. It’s not a game of chance, a pawn of politics, or animal cruelty. It’s a beautiful test of man’s strength intellect and how man conveys that through an animal. Just give it a chance, you’ll like it, and you might like this blog. |
