Rachel, handle, exposure... it's all there
 

How many times did you hear or read how going to the Preakness was not in her best interests, or made no sense, or there was no point.

Imagine if she was never bought by Jess Jackson. Mine That Bird would not of had the pace to close in on, Musket Man would have likely been the Preakness winner and the buzz surrounding this year's Preakness would be non-existent.

Handle on the card yesterday was exceptionally strong - this stuff works. Having big match-ups, big names, stars - it works.

Now I read in various locations how going to the Belmont makes no sense with Rachel Alexandra. Huh?

Kudos to Jess Jackson for putting her in a spot where she belonged. And provided she is healthy and no worse for the wear, I hope it's the Belmont next.

It's weekends like this which prove horse racing still has a place.

too many times. i'm glad she got put in that race, and also glad she proved best-anyone having hysterics about a poor girl running vs boys hasn't a leg to stand on now. going back to the distaff ranks at this point would be a waste-unless it was to take on zenyatta.

The only thing this weekend proved is that horse racing has a place 4 weekends out of 52. Big deal.

Kind of hard to say that for sure, don't you think?

The first 2 legs of the triple crown have been fantastic on and off the course .

What, they playing golf now?

high probability that you are correct.
Good writeup

We had a great crowd and had lots of people at the track who didnt come on the derby, they wanted to watch rachael and they liked the Mine That Bird Story, it was great seeing lots of people talking about racing.....and oddly enough, our simulcast crowd this morning is pretty large

Here too! Live racing and simulcast. Interesting.

well your place is crowded because of Horak, our place gives free coffee til 11am........i think that explains it

Thanks for reminding everybody that every silver lining has a cloud. Don't you ever get tired of the negativity? I sure do.

A few things...

The pace assumption is incorrect because no one seems to be taking into account that HULL would have run had Rachel not run... So there very well may have been a similar set up for Mine That Bird because Hull was certainly goinmg to be on the engine, and Bird very well could have won under those conditions.

Not sure where you seemed to read or hear exclusively that there was no sentiment or excitement or eagnerness for Rachel Alexandra's running. I found the opposite to be totally the case... I had nearly 100 calls to 'At the Races' this week and could have taken many more. EVERYONE was excited and NO ONE that I talked to took the anti-running stance. The only place I saw a vapid argument about it was Rick Bozich's pathetic piece in the C-J.

I'm getting tired of this alleged relevence discussion. The "Racing still matters" crap... Enough. Why are people so insecure about their interest or involvement in racing? If a certain segment of the population, even a vast majority, doesn't get it.. WHO CARES? PHUCK THEM ALREADY... It's an enormous multi-billion dollar a year business... Stop worrying about who in the ESPN-driven world likes racing. There's more than enough people interested in the game. Instead of worrying about some network morons catching on and doing the work for us, take it upon yourself to grow interest in the game one fan at a time.

We have the entire Internet at our disposal and people are worried about what the tired, hackneyed media outlets are doing.

Who needs someone like ESPN anyways..........






















oops, see the NHL in 2009

Wow, Steve... did I strike a nerve? I'm not sure why... I was just saying how this weekend shows that horse racing still has a pulse in general society, which regardless of how big any industry is, general interest is a positive.

But your point seems to be that who cares if general society doesn't like horse racing because we have a core following which will for sure carry this sport. Well, these figures tell me otherwise...



And you know how much I care about this game and what I've done to grow interest... that's not really a fair or accurate statement.

I had not attended a Preakness since Summer Squall's win in 1990. The ONLY reason I went yesterday was for the chance to see RA in person and the possibility to witness some history.

Don't really get the reference, but the NHL is a perfect example of a sport that failed at a critical juncture to understand itself or how to protect its' long term interests at all.

Any nerve struck wasn't by your post specifically. I'm tired of the 'woe is us' mentality that pervades a certain percentage of the industry and fan base.

General interest is fine, and it creates long term interest.

The wagering numbers are deceptive. Note that they encompass a period where certain amounts of handle went off shore. They also reflect the very recent peiod where ADW/HBPA/Signal providers were in a feeling out tug of war. And you have handle loss reflected there from the synthetic travails.

There's plenty of business out there and new customers will keep coming to the game. The chicken little mentality of aging fan base has been around 50 years. Racing is like Hyman Roth... dying from the same heart attack for 30 years.

I guess my point was while despite all these issues and "woe is us" mentality so many people in racing have, there is plenty out there to grab a hold of. Yesterday's Preakness is a prime example.

The same heart attack argument has a lot of merit because the negative-minded individuals have been singing the same song ever since I read my horse racing book. But at the same time, society is changing, interest and entertainment values to general society are changing as well. So I am concerned of an industry sitting back on its heels, hoping for a slot machine to save it, while not proactively attacking the fronts which could provide the longevity the sport needs.

Like giving the FATman his trackus
and letting me bet on the net.

completely disagree, hockey poorly negotiated with ESPN and they finally walked away from the table and left them on a no name network. It has killed the game.

Racing should be doing everything it can to get on any platform that will shown them, TVG and HRTV should be on all mediums and the tracks would be wise to try and make that happen with the funds to do so.

Direct TV has additional channels to support HRTV, the only reason is poorly negotiated contracts with TVG.