Wait, what? Say that again. The weather was bad at Aqueduct…?
Hold on. Wait a second! Give me a break. The weather is ALWAYS bad at Aqueduct!
This is not news. This is a tired, predictable and seriously weak excuse. I’ve been hearing this weather crap since I first entered the racing world in the seventies. Is this the best you can do? Apparently it is. This is what the Thoroughbred racing industry does best. They make excuses and blame others for their own downward spiral.
- Excuses for bad decisions. Excuses for zero leadership.
- Excuses for no vision. Excuses for lack of a marketing plan.
- Excuses for short fields. Excuses for falling attendance.
- Excuses for decline in handle. Excuses for high wagering take-outs.
- Excuses because of regulations due to gaming. Excuses and blaming other gaming competition.
- Excuses for bad racing surfaces. Excuses for dilapidated barn areas.
- Excuses for muddled, non-uniform medication policy. Excuses for no standardized drug testing.
- Excuses for being slow to embrace change. Excuses for failing to take care of customers.
- Excuses for treating horsemen like merely a necessary evil. Excuses for purses not being better.
This of course is all a thinly veiled EXCUSE for needing slot machines and other forms of gambling. Which is now in place at virtually every racetrack. Guess what? Things have not gotten better. They’re worse. So now what’s the excuse?
The industry even makes excuses for bad press when most of the time they write their own press releases! As reported April 27, 2015, via Kentucky.com and The Lexington Herald-Leader. Keeneland Race Course submitted this excuse:
“The second-wettest April ever put a serious damper on Keeneland’s spring meet. Attendance for the 15-day meet that ended Friday was down 7.27 percent, to 250,451, and betting was down 14.32 percent, to less than $121 million from all sources. Betting at the track itself was down slightly more: 14.73 percent. Keeneland officials said rain on seven of the days affected the results. On opening day, four races were cancelled because of severe weather. That cancellation was a first in the track’s history.”
Keeneland Spring 1990
Keeneland Spring 1990
What’s wrong with you people? I was on the grounds at Keeneland during every single spring and fall meet for 20 years in one capacity or another. It’s APRIL. Hello… It rains during the spring meet. It’s cold and it’s wet. This is not unusual or news.
Keeneland Spring 1992
Keeneland Spring 1992
This is the same track that’s hosting the Breeders’ Cup this fall. Keeneland SHOULD be hosting The Breeders’ Cup. It’s a showcase venue. It’s long over due. In the late-90’s I had a serious conversation with a very high ranking Keeneland racing official and insider, where I strongly suggested Keeneland needed to host the Breeders’ Cup. He said to me, “It will never happen. We can’t. The facility is too small.” (excuse). When someone says they can’t, it means “they don’t want to”.
Thoroughbred horse racing, as a collective, is making excuses for FAILURE while every individual is trying to find success. It’s long past time for this industry to start taking responsibility for it’s own actions. Or in this case, it’s own IN-ACTIONS. Making excuses for failure has got to stop. Time is short. The sun is setting.
For decades, horse racing was the “worlds largest” spectator sport. Now, except for this week, Kentucky Derby week, horse racing has slipped into the category of “other” on most sports pages. Not only is this sad and depressing, it’s completely unnecessary. We have met the enemy, it is us. We are to blame. Look in the mirror, not in the horoscope. Face the facts. Time to analyze ourselves courageously.
As long as the sport keeps justifying these pathetic excuses, chaos with continue to reign or rein…or rain…or whatever.
Keeneland Photos by Suzie Picou-Oldham