Frustration?

[GPK]

Nice piece Andy...very well said.

It is a shame the affect the media has on the general public, that happen to be non-racing fans. We keep ESPN on at work throughout the day, and the couple times on Sportscenter, when they showed J. Edwards reporting piece on Eight Belles, the senseless drivel that people were spewing during and after her piece was mindboggling to me. To overhear some of these people, who are basically just accepting as fact, everything that the likes of PETA and other non-horse related media spoon feed them, was infuriating. Fortunately for them, and for me as well, that I was in my work environment, so biting my tounge was clearly the proper decision. It took a great deal of restraint to just look at them, shake my head and walk away.

Our sport has its shares of tragedies, every day, but it's still the greatest thing going.

[Danzig]

yeah, but fans of the game understand it, and still get upset by it-i did for sure. so how else would someone who really knows nothing about the sport react?

[GPK]

Originally Posted by Danzig

yeah, but fans of the game understand it, and still get upset by it-i did for sure. so how else would someone who really knows nothing about the sport react?

Deb, Im referring more to the moronic statements made by these people declaring the sport useless, moronic and brutal. Like Mig said, and all of us understand that here, there is unfortunately a brutal side to this beautiful game that we all love. It's the people that have no idea what horse racing entails and just accept at face value what is spewed forth from TV, radio and other mass media outlets. I realize the difficulty involved in trying to convince these same people to see the same things we see, and for the most part, that will never be accomplished. Too many negative "stigmas" associated with the sport of horse racing for Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public to fully appreciate the same things you, I, and everyone else around here do.

[Kasept]

Points taken about the public... However... They might understand it more if we were led by industry officials presenting a unified voice in response to the inane critiques, and were on the proactive offensive here. As usual, they aren't.

A few numbers from the 1996/2005 economic impact studies of the American Horse Council:

$112 Billion -- Racing's overall contribution to the GDP

$25 Billion -- Racing's Direct Value of Goods & Services

$1.9 Billion -- Taxes/Fees generated for Federal, State & Local Govt's.

1.4 Million -- Employed full time by Racing and Racing-related industries


And we have to listen on TV and radio as ignorant buffoons are allowed to relate Thoroughbred Racing to dog and cock fighting?

[ArlJim78]

Steve, you're absolutely right about the lack of an industry voice.
The industry is marginalized because it is broken up into numerous fiefdoms making it impossible to represent itself to the public in a cohesive manner.

[Antitrust32]

Steve, those numbers represent the whole equine industry.

"The study reveals:



· An industry that is both large and economically diverse, as well as a key contributor to the overall fabric of the U.S. economy;

· Horse owners and industry suppliers, racetracks, and off-track betting operations, horse shows and other industry segments all generate discrete economic activity contributing to the vibrancy of the overall industry;

· Of the total economic impacts reported, approximately $32.0 billion is generated from the recreational segment; $28.8 billion from the showing segment and $26.1 billion is generated from the racing segment."


http://www.horsecouncil.org/2005%20J...%20Release.htm

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by Antitrust32

Steve, those numbers represent the whole equine industry. Of the total economic impacts reported, approximately $32.0 billion is generated from the recreational segment; $28.8 billion from the showing segment and $26.1 billion is generated from the racing segment."

That's the direct value figure I used ($25B in 1996). The figs quoted were culled from a Forbes article that used the figures from racing only.

[HaloWishingwell]

Just curious, how does NTRA get paid? They seem useless in taking care of the problems in horse racing or its defense of it.

[deltagulf]

Originally Posted by HaloWishingwell

Just curious, how does NTRA get paid? They seem useless in taking care of the problems in horse racing or its defense of it.

well if ntra wont do are say anything. how come t.o.b.a. isn't saying anything also.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Points taken about the public... However... They might understand it more if we were led by industry officials presenting a unified voice in response to the inane critiques, and were on the proactive offensive here. As usual, they aren't.

A few numbers from the 1996/2005 economic impact studies of the American Horse Council:

$112 Billion -- Racing's overall contribution to the GDP

$25 Billion -- Racing's Direct Value of Goods & Services

$1.9 Billion -- Taxes/Fees generated for Federal, State & Local Govt's.

1.4 Million -- Employed full time by Racing and Racing-related industries


And we have to listen on TV and radio as ignorant buffoons are allowed to relate Thoroughbred Racing to dog and cock fighting?

I think the American Horse Council is basically a paid organization hired by "the industry" hence take whatever they have to say with a BIG grain of salt and reduce all the fig's 20%..

[blackthroatedwind]

Thanks. I appreciate the kind words but I think my greatest contribution was lost......


....I have paved the way for proof that at least one jockey can both read and write ( and type too! ).

[Fearless Leader]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Thanks. I appreciate the kind words but I think my greatest contribution was lost......


....I have paved the way for proof that at least one jockey can both read and write ( and type too! ).

Now THAT'S funny!!!

[LARHAGE]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Thanks. I appreciate the kind words but I think my greatest contribution was lost......


....I have paved the way for proof that at least one jockey can both read and write ( and type too! ).

LOL!!!! That was a great piece Andy, very concise and heartfelt, Equidaily should post it on their site for all to read. I also saw Jill Byrne on Bill O'Reilly's show addressing charges of Horse Racing cruelty and she was very good as well, this thing will blow over again.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by freddymo

I think the American Horse Council is basically a paid organization hired by "the industry" hence take whatever they have to say with a BIG grain of salt and reduce all the fig's 20%..

Actually, they are a very important group that cuts across all equine areas and have quietly been very helpful to the thoroughbred game.

[Better Than Honour]

Horse racing will survive this like everything. Groups like PETA use these tragedies to raise money.

Horse racing does have a huge drug problem though. There is no denying it and the industry refuses to deal with it. Baseball had a similar problem and made some efforts. Until horse racing has universal rules about drug testing and until horse racing has random drug tests that test for EVERYTHING and are administered by a group like the federal government, it will be plagued with a reputation as a dirty sport.

In baseball the two biggest stars Clemens and Bonds are tainted. In horse racing the sport's two biggest stars are with two trainers that have been caught cheating multiple times. The horses are probably 100% clean but the way guys like Asmussen and Dutrow got the top owners to give them horses is due to their success rate. That success rate must be questioned. That is the way it is. Horse racing rewards cheating and until it doesn't the sport will be tossed right in there with boxing, cycling,and track and field.

[FGFan]

Thank you to both Andy and Richard Migliore for your well put insights.

Richard...I had also immediately wondered about a possible heart attack and appreciate you taking the time to tell us what you saw from a position most of us here could never see. May the racing gods be with you and keep you safe, and may our sport recover from this tragic event and the nonsense that has ensued.

btw, BTW when are getting some more movies?

[Riot]

Points taken about the public... However... They might understand it more if we were led by industry officials presenting a unified voice in response to the inane critiques, and were on the proactive offensive here. As usual, they aren't.

"Couldn't be reached" and "Had no comment"

[cowgirlintexas]

Originally Posted by GPK

Nice piece Andy...very well said.

It is a shame the affect the media has on the general public, that happen to be non-racing fans. We keep ESPN on at work throughout the day, and the couple times on Sportscenter, when they showed J. Edwards reporting piece on Eight Belles, the senseless drivel that people were spewing during and after her piece was mindboggling to me. To overhear some of these people, who are basically just accepting as fact, everything that the likes of PETA and other non-horse related media spoon feed them, was infuriating. Fortunately for them, and for me as well, that I was in my work environment, so biting my tounge was clearly the proper decision. It took a great deal of restraint to just look at them, shake my head and walk away.

Our sport has its shares of tragedies, every day, but it's still the greatest thing going.

Bet ya wanted to pick up a 9 Iron and beat the Sh!t outta them

[GPK]

Originally Posted by cowgirlintexas

Bet ya wanted to pick up a 9 Iron and beat the Sh!t outta them

I wanted to put my foot in their ass sideways...

[ArlJim78]

the general TV media really picked up on the peta charges. that was the juicy story that the news outlets all chose to run with "Peta wants jockey suspended!". one thing about Peta, they know how to whip up a frenzy and garner attention. how many thousands of people do you suppose heard that and just assumed that the jockey did something wrong?