the 18 new people ..

[MaTH716]

I personally do not think to many outsiders (people not betting/handicapping, even the casual fan) are buying or logging on to the DRF. Do you think the weekend warriors who visit the track once every couple of weeks even know who Assmussen and Jeremy Rose are? And as horse players who are looking for the news (no matter how negative it is), we know we can get it from sources like DRF. It would almost be like the Wall St. Journel not covering all the financial scandals. It is their duty to print it just like it is the duty of the form's to print all the negative news.

[dellinger63]

Nothng but the grave will stop the gambler. I've heard 'God dam crooks are going to steal this race' or 'it's all fixed' for the past 30 yrs. Instead of leaving the track or sitting out, the program or form is quickly turned and the entire process repeats itself.

There's cheating in every sport sans maybe billards. The Russian Mob is alleged to have fixed some Wimbleton Matches, NBA refs are fixing games with calls and everyone from MLB players to high school girls are using steroids.

Unless a zero tollerance policy is passed with years suspensions handed out instead of weeks it's always going to be a problem. Now I got to run. Where's my milkshake?

[DogsUp]

The problem with the publications is that they rely on trainers, jocks, and owners for their stories (for the most part). When they (people above) get pissed, they are under no obligation to talk to the press. It is sort of like baseball up until the 1980's. The press protected the players. Then MLB made the players talk to the press. At this point, the press was able to report the good and the bad.

[Rudeboyelvis]

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[texarkana]

Originally Posted by MaTH716

I personally do not think to many outsiders (people not betting/handicapping, even the casual fan) are buying or logging on to the DRF. Do you think the weekend warriors who visit the track once every couple of weeks even know who Assmussen and Jeremy Rose are? And as horse players who are looking for the news (no matter how negative it is), we know we can get it from sources like DRF. It would almost be like the Wall St. Journel not covering all the financial scandals. It is their duty to print it just like it is the duty of the form's to print all the negative news.

I would argue that the weekend warriors ONLY know names like Asmussen and Rose... you're talking about horsemen who receive national press attention. What the weekend warrior doesn't realize is that drug infractions and agressive use of the whip is nothing new for these guys.

[ELA]

"Public" perception has always been the problem -- whether the public is educated or uneducated (which is another, but related issue). It falls upon the sport and the industry to change that.

And yes, the blind eye has been the problem for far too long.

Eric