could someone remind me that Jan Rushton is an incompetant

[richiebee]

NYRA is coming off 8 months of awful racing at all 3 of its facilities and
people are focusing on Jan the Mad Hatter Rushton. Rather unsettling.

I\'d like to hear from Charles Hayward and PJ Campo. I\'d like to hear them
explain to me how 30%- 40% of the races run at NYRA year round are for maidens.
I\'ll even let Hayward and Campo explain to me how their data shows that
horseplayers dont mind watching and betting maiden races.

I love it that people are giving NYRA a free pass because they are bankrupt and
working without a contract. Poor NYRA! Reminds me of the people who were
sympathetic to the Menendez Brothers because they were orphans.

I\'d like for DRF to run past performances (or even entries) from Saratoga in
1978, 1988 and 1998 for the purpose of comparing Racing at the Spa then and now.
Actually DRF is the last place to see editorializing and analysis concerning
the poor quality of racing in NY and elsewhere, because while it might be
responsible and informative journalism, it wouldn\'t make much business sense.

The quality of Racing will only get worse over the next 12- 24 months as 1/2 of
America\'s trainers and a good deal of their horses suffer through steroid
withdrawal.

[miff]

\"I\'d like for DRF to run past performances (or even entries) from Saratoga in
1978, 1988 and 1998 for the purpose of comparing Racing at the Spa then and now.
Actually DRF is the last place to see editorializing and analysis concerning
the poor quality of racing in NY and elsewhere, because while it might be
responsible and informative journalism, it wouldn\'t make much business sense\"




...DRF and NYRA are now joined at the hip at the higest level of both organizations!


Mike

[Ill-bred]

TVG\'s inane focus on their talking heads\' pick six tickets aside, their paddock interviews with trainers are pretty good at times. Better than anything I\'ve seen from the track simulcast hosts.

[richiebee]

Miff:

Steve Crist is a racing historian, a racing fan, a horse lover and a horseplayer.

He will make the occasional pointed yet brief comment about the laughable state
of NY racing, but will obviously not fire at NYRA/Hayward with both barrels.

I have stated in the past that Steve Crist could do a lot for racing in the
next five years if he could step away from DRF and get involved with the
improvement and preservation of quality racing in the United States. He has
the background, the knowledge, the connections and maybe most importantly a
passion for both sides (racing) (wagering)of the sport.

The other man who could whip NY or US racing into shape is Sheik-a- Mo.

[HP]

They need to do something - and the one move they could make to juice things up right away would be to put the slots in at the Big A already.  If they did that and...took a month off in the wintertime...I think they would be in much better shape practically overnight.  

Personally I don\'t play slots (I prefer betting on something where I can delude myself into thinking I can figure things out), but I see plenty of examples where this has worked...

Either that or they need to close Aqueduct as a live track, build condos there in the infield, and maintain it as a 24/7 simulcast facility/slot and casino joint.  I bet there are some folks who would want to have a apt./timeshare next to such a place.  Could be a new retirement mecca!  I\'ll be the old guy in plaid shorts and sandals with socks...  

HP

[sighthound]

>> If some minor washiness, paddock antics, \'beautifulness\' or any of the other >>common observations that are made, had anything to do with winning,

You really don\'t think washiness, paddock antics, conformation or being dappled out have anything to do with winning?

>>I\'ve been around a long time , and much of what passes for significant >>observation is just so much noise and worth nothing at the windows.

Guess one has to know how to use it.   Anybody who saw Shakis - even just on television - before his last race, and knew what they were looking at, immediately moved him to the top of their play.

[Boscar Obarra]

sighthound Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Guess one has to know how to use it.   Anybody who
> saw Shakis - even just on television - before his
> last race, and knew what they were looking at,
> immediately moved him to the top of their play.


  Dunno, after watching probably 250k post parades in my time, I may have a vague idea of what counts.

  And cherry picking a winner who looked sharp is not proof of anything.

  Make a list of how many times she talks up the looks of horses, and divide the winners by that #.
 
 Can we say small fraction.

[sighthound]

I\'ve found Jan very accurate over the years, in covering in her paddock show which horses should be watched.   She certainly knows what she\'s looking at.

Your actual mileage varies.

[Flighted Iron]

Different wording,but same concept TG applies to each individual figure.Consistent
observation of a horse and it\'s behavior and visual appearance is certainly
worth merit.Without seeing the 2 prior characteristics on a consistent basis
a person could be easily fooled.Case in point: Blackie Daw was a local stakes
horse running in Maryland in the 80\'s and he literally would fall asleep in the
paddock stall prior to saddling.Upon exiting the paddock I overheard a few
people discounting his chances due to \"looking\" lifeless. So much for \"what they
don\'t know won\'t hurt them\".

[P-Dub]

NoCarolinaTony Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> PS Lets leave Jan alone. She is clearly a NYRA
> icon now. She is actually not all that bad and
> certainly better than lets say Mike Battaglia at
> KEE. At least more pleasing to ones eyesight.


Don\'t forget better on the ears too.  Is their a worse person to listen to than that guy?? Thats a guy that can bring back the days of announcerless races.

A Boscar, you can always stop listening.

[TonyP.]

Most of these talking heads/public handicappers are usually horrible, why would Jan be any different? Besides we go through the trouble of compiling information not readily available to the tourists/novices,we wouldn\'t want that info freely dispersed. I do believe that the public handicappers are better than thier published results. If they bet a horse based on its sheet # He/She won\'t disclose that fact publicly.

[Silver Charm]

What kind of rack does she have? To store all of those hats she wears.

Ease up on Jan. She is attractive, knows the sport and the people, speaks well and has earned her stripes.

[Boscar Obarra]

Exactly my point.   I think a commentator should have respect for what they may not know , and try not to inject unreliable conclusions into the patter.

  The job is to impart information, not create biases one way or the other about the runners.

  I was watching a few Del Mar casts and the guy they have doing the show there seems ok, though its a small sample of observations.

[xichibanx]

Clemson

[jma11473]

Richie, I like Steve Crist too. He\'s a good guy and he has good ideas---but the problem with all this stuff is how are you going to get the management of every racetrack/state in the country to give up their power to some \"racing czar\"? It ain\'t happening, so there\'s no one person who can take over and solve anything.

Also, as far as whey they run all those maiden races...those are the ones that fill. The high-level dirt races get 5-horse fields, the maidens get 10 or 12 horses. Simple as that.

I just wanted to add that I\'m sure I\'m not telling you anything you don\'t know, but we do have to look at the basic reality of the situation here, however bleak it is.