*Note - If you turn on your sound and speakers, you should hear pleasant Stick News Music in this article !*

10/27/07 - THE SAD DEMISE OF HORSE RACING COVERAGE AND PROMOTION CULMINATING WITH THE BREEDERS CUP DEBACLE OF 2007

*THE RACES WERE EXCITING AND THE COMPEITION WAS REAL AND VIBRANT*

We will have the full recap of each race in our Superstory.

The Horses, their connections, and their riders all showed themselves to be consumate professionals. It is such a shame they did not have the vehicle to showcase them correctly.

*DAY TWO FOR THE BREEDERS CUP 2007*

Not a single replay race was shown to recap the build up to this years so called Championships. We did not see a single prep race or replay of any top grade 1 stakes races this year to help get us excited about rivalries or horses who have raced against each other.

Bad Weather gave way to bad on air talent destroying what should have been the finest day of the year in Horse Racing.

We know everyone who is friends of the people on air will support them, but Im not their friend, nor will I ever choose to be after this humiliating sham.

*JERRY BAILEY, GREAT JOCKEY, TERRIBLE ANNOUNCER*

While I gave almost continuous and non stop praise for Jerry Bailey as a rider. I told people to take their grandchildren to see him ride before he retired. I have always felt that Jerry Bailey is one of the 5 best Riders in history. That being said, all I can add is....PLEASE, PLEASE JD, go back to your private life and enjoy retirement. Your comments were beyond belief this Saturday.

"Look at his butt....Look at his butt bobble.", Jerry Bailey commenting after the race about jockey Ricky Frazier on Smarty Deb in the BCup Juvenile Fillies.

I kept thinking to myself, what the hell is Bailey trying to say. I was thinking in my mind as Bailey first laughed, then stumbled and kept saying it. "Look at his butt, look at it bobble" Then on the telestrater, Bailey circles his butt and emphasizes it even more. It completely escapes me as to why Jerry Bailey would tell a nationwide audience of possibly new horse racing fans, probably a lot of young women and children watching as well, to watch a jockeys butt, bobble to describe a race. It really ruined the replay of that race and probably turned off any new fans or viewers who had to be asking themselves what kind of crap that announcer was talking about.

Now, Im not trying to put down Jerry Bailey, but I was personally offended by his gaffs during the Breeders Cup broadcast.

*LACK OF ANY RIVALRY AND/OR STORYLINE MADE THIS BROADCAST BORING AND LACKLUSTER*

In previous years, the Breeders Cup broadcast tried to show the elegance of the equine athlete, and the thrill of competiton. This years show was nothing...it was simply a live broadcast of the races with horrible post race analysis. In fact, even pre race interviews left a lot to be desired.

There was no compeling match up between rivals to captivate us. There was no stand out Superstar, either real or imagined for us to cheer.

This years coverage was simply a going through the motions, of pretending to care about Horse Racing and The Breeders Cup. It was so boring, that even if a new fan wanted to become involved and learn about the industry or its history, he or she would have had to put up with a confusing and short, brief description about everything that makes Horse Racing so plain. Its not hard to see why people across America prefer to play mindless slot machines or poker or watch Golfing, and Nascar then to ever pay attention to Horse Racing. After watching this years broadcast, they know for certain that Horse Racing is an insiders game that new fans should shy away from because they wont find any new friends here. They wont even find an explanation of the sport or its wagering options, or anything. They will just see a groupd of people going through the motions to try and look respectable, while in reality only wanting to slump down in their chairs and watch in silence at races that they want to keep as mum as possible on. Why should we let the new fans or public have any edge or chance in winning. Just come new fans, and give us your money. After you've had a terrible, and lonely day while we mock you and shun you at our racetrack, we will completely ignore you and could care less if you ever come back again. Oh wait, if your going to bring your wagering dollars, then you can come back, but please dont have too good a time, because us insiders want to control the game and we own it, not you.

*RACING INDUSTRY HAS NO ONE TO BLAME EXCEPT THEMSELVES FOR LETTING THIS DEVELOP*

By being hands off, and not doing anything to improve the racing enviroment at the tracks(with some rare exceptions), race tracks are empty shells filled with the lower elements of our society. Many times, people will come to gamble $20 or less and will prefer to sit in the grandstand area due to the $1 price difference. This is not the fan base that will support a sport.

Affluent, happy fans, will spend money at the sports they go to. Baseball, Football, Nascar, etc., all have promotional materials that they sell millions of dollars of. Tee shirts, hats, coffee mugs, everything selss out at these sporting events. At Horse Racing tracks, next to nothing promotional is ever sold to anyone. In fact the only time promotional items even make it out into the public is when they are given away for free.

I know from my extensive Poker Playing in Florida, that Poker has a much larger and more affluent base of fans. Poker Players are friendly and supportive of each other. This contrasts sharply with Horse Racing players who routinely mock each other when they attempt to cheer for their selections. Poker Player touch knuckles and say "Good Hand" when they lose to another player who made a respectable move. In Horse Racing, fans tell each other off and will often root against a horse even if they have not played a race just to be rotten to other fans.

The rot in the fans and the rot in the industry has contributed to a substantial loss of interest in the sport. Combine this with terrible coverage of the sport in the mainstream and the loss of a whole generation of new fans make the future of Horse Racing appear to be a serious problem for the people who will have to attempt to revive it.

*TVG AND HRTV AND INDEPENDANTS LIKE US HELP HOLD THE LAST LINE OF FIGHT FOR THE INDUSTRY*

If not for TVG and HRTV, Horse Racing would probably have lost a lot more ground then it already has. The Stick Horse Racing is an independant web site, and we have seen more then 50 other independants disappear over the last 9 years. We all have one thing in common. We love Horse Racing and we want other people to appreciate it like we do.

Horse Racing cannot continue the way it is going. Many racetracks will close and many more will be rendered stand alone bush tracks. With the Mighty NYRA about to be broken up and in all likelihood the closure of historic Saratoga Racecourse, the major east coast venue's in NY will be a thing of the past. Indian Casino's are lining up to bid on Aqueduct racetrack and use that property not as a horse racing track, but as a casino/hotel. If Horse Racing continues it will be run by some third party as a vestigal form of entertainment. What will happen to Belmont Park ? A lot of new housing and shopping malls no doubt. How could Saratoga be maintained ? If someone else wants to buy it and keep it going, otherwise, it would make a nice museum, which is probably exactly what it will be turned into. This is Horse Racings future unless radical new ideas and people are brought in to help revive it.

*REPEAT FINAL WORDS OF SUPPORT FOR HORSE RACING WORKERS AND INDUSTRY FROM PART 1*

I have and always shall be an eternal supporter and fan of Horse Racing. The hard working, honest people in the industry from the grooms, to the trainers, to the jockeys, to the owners to the horses themselves deserve a lot better.

The days of this sport being the only game in town for legal gambling are long gone. The industry cannot afford to play the multiple gambling option in hopes that it will save Horse Racing, because it will NOT save Horse Racing. It will save the companies that now maintain Horse Racing, but instead of Racing being their main business, Slot Machines and Poker will be their main business.

Multiple betting options will encourage people to explore the other options. We can see first hand that when Horse Racing, Poker, and Slot Machines co mingle, it is Horse Racing which is the least played and enjoyed.

The proliferation of casino style gaming across the United States will also have unintnetional and far reaching disater for many people. Indian Casinos are popping up in almost every state, and legal vegas slot machines are showing up in every parimutual.

For Horse Racing to survive, it must return to its roots, and prove the promise of its sport. The joy and exhiliration of the equine athlete in unison with is human counterpart in an athletic competition that requires speed, strength, stamina, and strategy to be the best.

No matter whatever happens to me, MC, it is my greatest hope and wish that Horse Racing returns to the prominence and fame it enjoyed when the mighty Secretariat graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, and people were excited to watch a Horse Race. Every Day should be filled with the joy of a Kentucky Derby. Fans should be resposilble with their wagers and kind to each other. Race Tracks should be palaces like Gulfstream Park or Belmont in its prime. Jockeys and Trainers should have the same respect as managers and players in other major league sports. Until that day, I say to you...MC_EXCELSIOR !

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Best Regards and Racing,
MC_Excelsior

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Best Regards and Racing, MC_Excelsior