Open Letter to HRC News at USTA
Dear Ms Harvey:
With all the new equipment that has changed this sport over the years, the one piece that fails to get any attention in the past performance lines or the track's announcement on equipment changes for the upcoming races is the make of the sulky. In past years, when they went from the Conventional to the Modified, there was a denotation in the program thus informing the patron of the bike used. The Super Bike came into being and the USTA had a S denotation for those horses using the super bike in their races.
Today, you hear about bit changes, bridle changes, length of hopples changes but the public is totally in the dark as to the type of bike one horse is using today. A horse that has been using a TeleStar is now racing with a UFO will race differently. The USTA by ignoring this equipment change is akin to insider information on Wall Street. Those in the "know" will benefit from knowing the changes while the general public is led to another horse.
If you choose to keep the public in the dark by not listing the bike used and the tracks refuse to mention bike changes, the minimum you can do for the sport is to adjust your USTA page that lists all the Approved Sulkys. Please place pictures of all the bikes that are approved for racing (I assume you have that available when you tested these bikes) and all various types of wheels that are available. At least then, we can play on a level playing field. It is these little things that hold harness racing back.
For you information, Pompano Park failed to notify their people of a change. They started Wednesday night, July 13th, with the Hummer starting gate which has a Staggered Starting gate (which gives the outside posts a little head start at the beginning of the race) but for race 5 and beyond, they used the Cadillac back up starting car with the straight gate. I stopped wagering at Pompano Park for that should have been announced so that the people betting can adjust to the equipment change. Instead of filing complaints with the Fla state racing commission, I just mentioned it here. I will contact the Isle in St Louis to see what they can do to the people responsible for such actions.
If it these little things that drive the serious players away from Harness Racing into Thoroughbred racing. I grew up at the Meadows where 500k handle was the norm on track in the 70's. You are hard pressed to get that kind of action today even with the signal going out to hundred of wagering hubs. People have a low opinion on harness racing. It is these errors of omission that hurt the sport as much as errors of commission where horses are drugged in an attempt to win races.
bobby z
With all the new equipment that has changed this sport over the years, the one piece that fails to get any attention in the past performance lines or the track's announcement on equipment changes for the upcoming races is the make of the sulky. In past years, when they went from the Conventional to the Modified, there was a denotation in the program thus informing the patron of the bike used. The Super Bike came into being and the USTA had a S denotation for those horses using the super bike in their races.
Today, you hear about bit changes, bridle changes, length of hopples changes but the public is totally in the dark as to the type of bike one horse is using today. A horse that has been using a TeleStar is now racing with a UFO will race differently. The USTA by ignoring this equipment change is akin to insider information on Wall Street. Those in the "know" will benefit from knowing the changes while the general public is led to another horse.
If you choose to keep the public in the dark by not listing the bike used and the tracks refuse to mention bike changes, the minimum you can do for the sport is to adjust your USTA page that lists all the Approved Sulkys. Please place pictures of all the bikes that are approved for racing (I assume you have that available when you tested these bikes) and all various types of wheels that are available. At least then, we can play on a level playing field. It is these little things that hold harness racing back.
For you information, Pompano Park failed to notify their people of a change. They started Wednesday night, July 13th, with the Hummer starting gate which has a Staggered Starting gate (which gives the outside posts a little head start at the beginning of the race) but for race 5 and beyond, they used the Cadillac back up starting car with the straight gate. I stopped wagering at Pompano Park for that should have been announced so that the people betting can adjust to the equipment change. Instead of filing complaints with the Fla state racing commission, I just mentioned it here. I will contact the Isle in St Louis to see what they can do to the people responsible for such actions.
If it these little things that drive the serious players away from Harness Racing into Thoroughbred racing. I grew up at the Meadows where 500k handle was the norm on track in the 70's. You are hard pressed to get that kind of action today even with the signal going out to hundred of wagering hubs. People have a low opinion on harness racing. It is these errors of omission that hurt the sport as much as errors of commission where horses are drugged in an attempt to win races.
bobby z
posted by Z's Picks Blog at 5:38 PM
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