Shirreffs says Zenyatta deserves '10 Horse of the Year

[JDank34]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

I find it odd that people say this over and over and it couldnt be further from the truth. The sport is not starved for stars. In the last few years there have been quite a few "stars"; Smarty Jones, Big Brown, Curlin, RA, Zenyatta. Now they are only stars in the current climate because while very nice horses, their records dont stack up to the greats of yesteryear. However all got far more than the normal media coverage usually afforded to racehorses. Of course despite this and "all the good that Zenyatta" supposedly has done for rcing, the numbers continue to trend downwards.

And the idea that Zenyatta was campaigned on the cupcake tour for HER own good is laughable.

And I can't speak for anyone else there is zero chance that I would have not challenged her if I had the chance to choose her races.

Chuck I respect your opinion as someone who has made a successful career in this industry. My comments about a dying sport and need for more starpower were not articulated well. My basic idea is that I am a 31yo sales and marketing professional, who attends CD regularly and gambles over 250 days a year. If I ran my business the same way the leaders of your industry run theirs I would be living on the streets of Shivley! They DON'T get it. I know this is nothing new to you or most on DT, but instead of the greed giant that is Kee charging $10 to park, $5 to enter, etc, etc, etc I wish people would focus on how to promote an undefeated star to the audiences that don't spend every spare minute combing sites, blogs, forms, etc to get our facing fix, ie the casual Saturday afternoon fan. I love this sport and have a passion for it and I have exactly ONE friend my age who feels the same and we live in Central KY, the supposed mecca of the sport. What does that say? Nothing to us, because we already know, but Sausage Man Evans or Nicholson refuse to listen because all they care about is MORE MORE MORE. This is a rambling mess and there was supposed to be a comment about promoting Zenyatta somewhere, obviously I am not as eloquent as I need to be! Good day.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by JDank34

Chuck I respect your opinion as someone who has made a successful career in this industry. My comments about a dying sport and need for more starpower were not articulated well. My basic idea is that I am a 31yo sales and marketing professional, who attends CD regularly and gambles over 250 days a year. If I ran my business the same way the leaders of your industry run theirs I would be living on the streets of Shivley! They DON'T get it. I know this is nothing new to you or most on DT, but instead of the greed giant that is Kee charging $10 to park, $5 to enter, etc, etc, etc I wish people would focus on how to promote an undefeated star to the audiences that don't spend every spare minute combing sites, blogs, forms, etc to get our facing fix, ie the casual Saturday afternoon fan. I love this sport and have a passion for it and I have exactly ONE friend my age who feels the same and we live in Central KY, the supposed mecca of the sport. What does that say? Nothing to us, because we already know, but Sausage Man Evans or Nicholson refuse to listen because all they care about is MORE MORE MORE. This is a rambling mess and there was supposed to be a comment about promoting Zenyatta somewhere, obviously I am not as eloquent as I need to be! Good day.

I agree with most of what you are saying. But the industry's ills are never going to be solved because there is a really good horse that is promoted well. You are 100% correct in suggesting that greed has done a lot of damage to this sport (and not just on the part of the tracks). What I dont understand is why we aren't promting the fact that you can bring a little bit of money to the track and leave with alot. Horses have a short shelf life and in the majority of cases always did. Zenyatta will soon be forgotten by most. But a guy who wins 5k at the track ? He will be back. I guarantee that. The pretty horse people? Yeah they will follow a bit after the retirement of their current love but they will look to find some reason (whips, drugs, PG1985, etc) not to follow the game soon afterwards.

[SCUDSBROTHER]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

I agree with most of what you are saying. But the industry's ills are never going to be solved because there is a really good horse that is promoted well. You are 100% correct in suggesting that greed has done a lot of damage to this sport (and not just on the part of the tracks). What I dont understand is why we aren't promting the fact that you can bring a little bit of money to the track and leave with alot. Horses have a short shelf life and in the majority of cases always did. Zenyatta will soon be forgotten by most. But a guy who wins 5k at the track ? He will be back. I guarantee that. The pretty horse people? Yeah they will follow a bit after the retirement of their current love but they will look to find some reason (whips, drugs, PG1985, etc) not to follow the game soon afterwards.

Need to make it easier to do that. That's not being done. So, don't expect any improvement (until it changes.) Take-out must be slashed. Could start by not giving out 180k to the horse who beats only 5 other horses. Right now, Craps has the %. You've got the game, but they've got the better deal. That difference needs to be reduced. The reason the sport struggles is easy to state: Insufficient reward for the difficulty of the task.

[2Hot4TV]

Scuds is right "Insufficient reward for the difficulty of the task.". The industry is doomed to fail when it is impossible to own a horse and make a profit.

Hell you dont even have a fighting chance at breaking even when you have a horse in training and racing, so what are you going to load in the starting gate as the old racing families pass away as they are now? Who is going to replace them with large stables?

[Pedigree Ann]

Originally Posted by JDank34

I know this is nothing new to you or most on DT, but instead of the greed giant that is Kee charging $10 to park, $5 to enter, .....

First of all, the $10 is only for valet parking; the closest-in lots are now $5 instead of free, but the largest amount of parking area is still free, with shuttle buses to get you closer to the grandstand. See http://www.keeneland.com/racing/list...irections.aspx

Keeneland is more than a racetrack for Lexington folks; it is a social ritual. Young people come out to have a good time, not bet on the horses, but they do a bit of that, too. The grandstands are crowded, so it doesn't look like the higher price has cut into attendance (up from $3.50).

Oh, and you do know that the Keeneland Association is a non-profit, right? Anything left over after operating expenses and servicing debt goes to charity; Keeneland has given millions to charities in the Central Kentucky area over the years. It was formed by local breeders after the old Kentucky Association track downtown closed (and later became a housing project) so that the center of the breeding industry would still have a showcase for its products. And the sales part of the business has always subsidized the racing to a certain extent. Maybe since sales commissions have been down over the last couple of years, the association decided that the racing side needed to pay more of its way.