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Originally Posted by Byebyemermaid
I'm assuming you live here in the metropolitan area.I spend quite a bit of time at JFK for business where the crosswinds can almost lift you off you're feet and Aqueduct is a stones throw away.There are no skyscrapers too block that wind.As far as attendance is concerned they can't even get 3500 at Belmont on a summer day,and i'm sure the extra hour of sleep didn't put into peoples mind to go to Aqueduct.I still like the days when there was no winter racing here in NY.I don't touch winter racing because you can't handicap for 15 degree weather with a wind chill of zero,but then again i really don't touch NY racing period because of the nonsense and i'm as NY as anyone you'll ever meet.
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Because the attendance is slight is not a reason to treat the few that do come poorly. In fact, if anything, they deserve special treatment.
No doubt the wind conditions out there are bad, I have probably spent close to 800 afternoons at the Big A, and winter racing is tough. However, the jockeys have signed on to race here during the winter, so it seems that if they feel it is really necessary to cancel they should do it prudently. Otherwise it can become a " boy who cried wolf " scenerio.
My problem is not caring about riders safety, as I do, but really that more and more the riders are showing that, as a group, they have little interest in any concerns other than their own. Racing is in trouble and the jockeys are refusing to try and be part of the solution. In fact, considering the recent actions of the guild, it seems they are more determined to be part of the problem.
I have close friends who ride, and I have the utmost respect for them, and certainly not everybody is acting completely in their own selfish best interests. However, I wish the riders would find a voice that paints them in a better light and finds a way to unite as opposed to their current position.