[Kasept]

Christmas fast approaching and the new year with it.. Here's an abbreviated edition of 'News & Notes'..

SERVER: The switchover from shared server service to VPS (virtual personal server) was not without its' pit and pratfalls, but was completed last week and seems to have done the trick.. I know some of you lost PM's in your Inboxes, and the infamous 'Johannesburg Star' thread was lost to the ether, but otherwise we appear to have come out the other side free and clear... I haven't seen any crashing or kick-outs, so I think we've made a big leap forward. Please let me know if you experience
any problems..

DEE TEE STABLES: Chuck Simon and I expect to finish the prospectus/agreement today, and should have a mailing in your hands early next week! It looks like there are more than 50 interested parties, and we should be able to raise a nice amount to get started. We hope to have things up and running by January 15, 2007..

2006 GOES, 2007 ARRIVES: With the end of the year basically here, I'd like to take the opportunity to express warm wishes for a Merry Christmas and healthy, Happy New Year to everyone on Derby Trail. Our new home is now about 7 months old, and new borders move in daily. As with any new arrival in a group setting, some tension can arise, and I want to remind everyone why we're here and what we are trying to accomplish.

Horse Racing is a fractured enterprise. Its' survival depends on the ability of its' participants to empathize universally; comprehend each others' needs; and pull together to improve the greater good. That is equally true here. None of us would be here if we didn't love racing. While there are about 500 Derby Trailers here from all over and with utterly different levels of interest and aptitude in the game, the commonality between all of us is that we love the atmosphere, the horses, the venues, the challenge of wagering or some aspect of the Sport of Kings.

I encourage, make that require, all of us to respect and appreciate each others' commitment to the survival of racing and our participation on Derby Trail as a small contribution to it. And by that I mean that everyone needs to be equally supportive of and respectful toward each other's opinions and views as expressed on the Forum. I'd prefer that Derby Trail set an example of how cooperative and amiable racing-interested parties can be as opposed to an example of what holds back the game.

As always, thanks to everyone for making Derby Trail fun..

Steve