Joe Drape in Today's NYT

[miff]

\"I don\'t see how racing survives in NY. The politicians want all the casino money. They couldn\'t care less about horse racing, and the bigwigs in the Jockey Club no longer have any political pull.

Between this and the absurd attempt to \"ban lasix\", we may be seeing the final few years of horse racing\"

Sight,

Thats about the most accurate description as to whats really going on behind the scenes that I\'ve read.Just this morning, a NY State Senator called on Gov Cuomo to permanently redirect the recently confiscated Genting slot monies from NYRA to after school programs.The after school programs for children face cuts come September.Surprised the good Senator did not recommend increasing the takeout to cover the shortfall.


Mike

[magicnight]

\"He hasn\'t picked a winner since Monarchos in 2001.\"

He picked Animal Kingdom last year.

http://therail.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/joe-drapes-kentucky-derby-picks-2/

[magicnight]

\"This article really didn\'t get my attention the way the ones on the FRONT PAGE did.\"

Actually, HP, this one made the front page too.

[HP]

Okay.  I think I saw it in the sports section but it may have been a continuation from the front page and I missed it there.  Doesn\'t really affect what I said otherwise though.  

HP

[magicnight]

\"My question remains: If the winner did not collapse and die after the race, would NYT have given so many column inches to this story?\"

No, I don\'t think they would have given it any space whatsoever.

\"Was it the tragedy that made the story compelling?\"

As the noted literary critic Joesph Stalin pointed out, one death is a tragedy, one thousand is a statistic. While I find most horse racing stories compelling, I would say \"yes\", for a general audience, the hero dying makes for a compelling story.

\"Did the NYT editors subliminally hope that readers would make a connection (equine death) to the Drape pieces?\"

Nothing subliminal about it. Given the turnaround time (a Saturday afternoon race making it onto Tuesday\'s front page), I\'d say that Clancy did not have to pitch this story more than once.

But here\'s my beef. Isn\'t this the type of thing that some people here have been screaming for? What does this story say? S**t happens. You can take all the care in the world and people/horses still die. It\'s nobody\'s fault. A great horse\'s heart gave out. If this was how most race horses die, would we really have a scandal here? But the thing is, we KNOW this is not how most race horses die. If I was a horse, I\'d take my chances running three miles and jumping fences for Sheppard, rather than spending a minute in Baffert\'s barn.

[magicnight]

HP;

I went to the NYT site and did a search using \"Belmont Park\" and the time frame of \"1 year\" (this took all of five minutes). Before continuing, I would point out that pumping up an  industry is the job of trade publications such as the Blood Horse and (now that Crist no longer considers himself a journalist) the Daily Racing Form. That said, here you go:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/at-belmont-a-place-to-keep-the-workers-children-safe/

A story in the City Room blog pointing out that Belmont Park is the only race track in the US that supplies low-cost child care to the kids of grooms and hot walkers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/your-money/investing-in-a-racehorse-without-losing-your-shirt.html?pagewanted=all

A story that ran in the paper describing the various ways that wealthy people can invest in a race horse, have some fun, make a fortune, or not.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/10/nyregion/belmont-stakes-and-horse-racing-in-new-york.html

Another story from the paper that - while containing some hard truths - includes lines such as ...

\"Dry statistics do not truly measure the loss. Dollars are disappearing, but so is part of the city's soul.\"

and ...

\"Belmont Park, with its sweeping turns and bucolic setting, is still a thing of beauty. The racing remains, comparatively, top class. The race caller, Tom Durkin, knows no equal. And the sight of a dozen horses thundering down the homestretch remains one of the most thrilling spectacles on the planet.\"

[dlf]

You hit it on the head, Bob. The idea that the NYT is out to get horse racing or that Joe Drape doesn\'t love horse racing, is absurd. I\'ve seen him at the windows, so at the very least he likes the action; and you would have to be willfully ignorant to read his more straightforward beat reporting (and his posts in The Rail) and assume that he doesn\'t care about the sport.
Just because he, and the paper itself, are shining some light into the darker corners of the sport does not mean they are trying to destroy it. Maybe they just want to see it get better, and cleaner. Hardly a day goes by on this message board without a poster (or six) decrying cluelessness, corruption or callousness in the sport. Why do some here get so upset when Joe Drape points it out?

[sighthound]

I\'m serious.  This has me extremely concerned about NY.  It would be at terrible thing, given the history of NY racing.

[sighthound]

I\'ve been reading Joe Drape for years.  Always loved his take on NY racing.

But lately he has been writing such sensational, biased stuff about racing that yes, I\'ve come to question his motives.