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Originally Posted by Cannon Shell
"Free markets" dont really exist except in textbooks. What other sport allows a few participants to corner the market on all the talent? It is like the Yankees and Red Sox having a 100 man roster and everybody else playing shorthanded. No one is denying any rights or freedoms, the tracks would simply be putting in rules that would attempt to balance the scales and create more competitive and bettable races. If Todd had 40 horses at every track in America then that is fine. But if you wanted to have your horse racing in NY and he did not have room in his NY stable then you would need to find a different trainer. Multiply this a few times and you have a better product. A better betting product will increase handle which is the lifeblood of the whole industry.
Your examples were right on by the way.
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As to the "supertrainer" issue, we are on the same page. Limiting stalls at a given track prevent a few from altering the way the game is played in a given area. I agree completely Cannon. When a few trainers can corner the market to the extent that it's hard to fill races, there is a problem.
As for the costs, and the busines vs. sport/hobby I must assume that there will always be a handful of wealthy people willing to pour money into the game but even the richest get tired of losing money after a while. I once read a quote from (the late) Ogden Phipps who was asked about the importance of earnings by racehorses. His answer was "That's how they keep score isn't it?" Well if you are a Phipps and racing is bred into your genes along with the income to participate. No matter how much you enjoy the game, pouring millions into something with negligible results will drive you to something more satisfying.
No the wealthy don't make money on yachts or other luxuries but many owners will tell you that they get more satisfaction from their Bentley or their sailing yacht. People who have succeeded in life to the extent that they may make a substantial investment in racing are "winners" in life. They don't like to watch horses go to the sidelines with mysterious ailmets and see the associated fees rise. (This is not to imply that rainers are ripping off owners, just that as costs rise, they get passed along.) Most yachts or Bentleys that cost between $250k to $1m are not subject to being worth (literally) NOTHING in a moment. Insurance for cars and boats is reasonably priced so a "total loss" of either asset could result in being made whole. The costs of insuring racehorses is so high that the loss of a horse is usually a true "total loss."
When I first became a racing fan, a freind of my Dad's gave me a book about the "first families" of racing. Names like Widener, Whitney, Phipps etc graced the pages. These families are mostly gone now. The game has tended toward become a business at the peril of the "sport." Most new owners don't have the back ground of growing up in the environment of the landed gentry with a family tradition in the horse and hound. Today's owners are high tech success stories or prominent franchise holders etc. They come to the game with a background of successful business models, not the gracious traditions of the sporting life.
These peole see breeders making alot of money, stud operations making money and sales agencies making money and have to wonder why the OWNERS are the only group seemily losing in this game.