Just a Few Saratoga Summers Ago

[Fairmount1]

On a spectacular afternoon in Uncle Bill\'s backyard spot, FrankD and TGAB (Alan) started a conversation about how in 10 to 15 years it was possible there would be no more horse racing in the US.  I told them they were crazy and nuts.  Granted there was probably about 17 Bud Light cans scattered around my chair by that point.  But Still I told them that there would always be Saratoga, and Keeneland, and the Derby.  

This was before the SA problems with deaths and PETA.  This was before Covid and field size took another huge drop.  This was about 4 to 5 years ago.  Certainly racing at the time was stagnant in year to year handle and field size and foal crops were declining but it didn\'t seem possible there could be no racing.  

. . .

Fast forward to today\'s entries at Santa Anita and one has to wonder how long before racing in California is long gone.  I never would have thought the game could be in such trouble especially out there.  But this is where we are.  The woke folks, PETA, this younger generation, and the direction of our world, one has to wonder....   I hope I am right still and those two were wrong, but I\'m beginning to wonder if they had it figured out that our Saratoga backyard days, trips to the Keeneland and the Derby and the like would just be memories for all of us.

[Tavasco]

Ironically, just yesterday, I was wondering why do I play the races? I didn\'t have a meaningful answer.

I watched while some Tgenerates discussed the Belmont Feature which triggered another question what methodology are these guys using. Reflecting on the notion isn\'t there a step or two prior to pattern interpretation.

So Fairmount you\'ve done me a service, and indirectly identified a crucial problem in recent racing. i.e. To be fully enjoyed Horse Racing needs a social component.

Saturdays are best on the Saratoga Backyard (with other players) or at the OTB around a table in the VIP room or at the track itself with friends or family.

Maybe we need a social media site to go with Living room downs.

[billk5300s]

You know Fairmount, I was thinking the same thing but wondered if it had to do with racing in our beloved home state.  The short fields out west are very concerning as well.  I was in Vegas and even the sports books aren’t crowded and that was on a Saturday.  More folks were on the other side betting baseball and watching the games than were betting and watching the races.  I hope we’re both wrong but in the era of trainers with magical powers and betting bots, I don’t see this ending well.

[skitimber]

Yes the social component is important but when it feels tougher and tougher to get a fair shot, it just isn\'t as enjoyable.  Living in NY, I went to every Belmont Stakes from \'74 (missed Secretariat by a year) through 2002 and out to Belmont at least a dozen Saturday\'s a year.  The cost of a great seat at Belmont for all (or just about all) those years, including the Belmont stakes, was $1.50 and though I might not come out ahead, I had some nice winners and was competitive on many of my solid picks.  Even if I went out alone, it wasn\'t long before there were a few of us enjoying the day together, all sitting right above the finish line on the 3rd floor.  Many of those people are likely gone now, as I was one of the younger players, and the \"game\" doesn\'t seem to care that they only get younger people now on big days, or sitting in the clubhouse eating steak or lobster on a once a year outing, Along with less camaraderie (far smaller crowds will do that!), it feels as if the game is stacked against the little guy while in the past it was stacked against the unknowledgeable.
 

I still bet the Derby and Breeders Cup, but the number of days I get interested has gone down little by little year by year to now just 2-4.  Being young was a lot more fun than being old, but I thought racing was something I\'d be enjoying just as much if not more later in life.  Sad to say, I\'m not.

[statuette]

As I said in another post trotters was my first play (at the meadowlands) and as they died down I went to flats (never thinking they would suffer the same fate so soon)I thought maybe the shutdowns of last year would help the sport..

[trackjohn]

Fairmount:

I was there in the backyard listening to the conversation... If memory serves one of the big reasons was because of the \'bots and whales\' having a huge advantage over the rest of the pari mutual wagerers... And if memory serves, there were also comments around PEDS as well as the \"interesting trips\" going on between different jocks (whose names rhymed with Jose and Irad!)

I didn\'t say at the time because I didn\'t want to admit it to myself but I agreed then and now with Frank D\'s take on the subject... My first thought was thinking of the 50,000 fans that Roosevelt raceway had in the early 1970\'s...now it\'s condos and a shopping mall or the 30,000 they would have at night in the Meadowlands even 25 years ago...now it\'s minimally open... I find it interesting how a couple of comments on the string highlight this...

As I\'ve stated in a couple of responses on this board due to all the nonsense... all the PED suspicions, all the uncertainties etc..I\'ve reduced my wagering by at least 80% over the past 3 months... All I can say is how much has changed since the Fountain of Youth trip at Gulfstream in February 2020... Hopefully a few backyard trips to the Spa backyard in a couple of months will change my outlook...

John

[billk5300s]

I started with the trotters as well.  I remember of friend of mine saying that they wouldn’t be around much longer when the first casino in Illinois opened.  He added that they’re not the only game in town.  Now there are casinos and on line sports wagering.  It’s as if history is repeating itself.

[statuette]

Yeah I live in Joliet now been to balmoral when they were open

[moosepalm]

Add one more name to the list of those who started with horse and sulky. My dad owned a string of Standardbreds, and a few were pretty good, with one finishing third in the Little Brown Jug.  When he died unexpectedly in his sleep I unexpectedly inherited the responsibility of subsidizing his trainer/driver.  After a few years of flushing money down the crapper, I told my mother I was considering pulling the plug.  She said, \"Before you do that, why don\'t you try doing what your father did.\" \"What was that?\" I asked. Without missing a beat, she replied, \"Buy a good one.\" If she was still with us, I think she\'d also have advice on my continued participation in the thoroughbred game, and it would be something like \"Take that money and buy a fishing pole,\" which is essentially what my golf instructor also said about my golf game.

[TempletonPeck]

Fairmount1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The woke folks, PETA, this younger generation, and
> the direction of our world, one has to wonder....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMqZ2PPOLik (In which Principal Skinner ponders whether \"The woke folks, PETA, [and] this younger generation,\" are to blame...)

Yep, it sure is a mystery why the sport has a problem attracting new blood.