I don't have any personal animus against the Sheik for anything other than what I perceive to have been his detrimental effect on American racing....period. I suppose if I dug deeper, or was less superficial, I could probably find other things to dislike, but this is not my concern at the current level. He is simply, as I see it, the enemy of American racing...or certainly has been.
Now, as far as suggesting they has risked a great deal more than the other rich people you brought up, well yes and really NO. Yes, the dollars they have put into the game are far greater but as a percentage of their net worth, the Arabs haven't come close to investing what the others you brought up. And, considering the vast wealth of the Arabs involved in the game, they have WAY more money left over should they lose every cent they put in the game than the others you brought up. So, in essense, their financial risk is ZERO.
The bottom line is they have contributed one thing, and really one thing only to this business in America, and that is dollars. They have enriched breeders and owners alike. But, what they have also done, is exported our finest bloodlines, and given us very little back in the way of sportsmanship in return. As I said before, they can do as they like, but I don't have to like it. I'm a horseplayer, and a racing fan, and I gain nothing from the bloodstock business.
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