Final Turn : ntra

Crisis, Danger, and Opportunity - By Stacy V. Bearse

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:20:00 GMT

The climate is as bad as I’ve seen in my 19 years with this publication. Racing and breeding, already facing serious challenges going into the recession, now face an even larger and more daunting list of crises. The time to act is now, before Thoroughbred racing retreats to county fair status or goes away altogether.

The majority of our readers have an economic stake in the business, so I don’t need to detail the predicaments we face. Suffice it to say that Thoroughbred racing is on life support. Investment and operating capital have evaporated and the four major sources of replenishment—handle, new-owner investment, racetrack entrepreneurship, and credit—are bone dry.

What can be done? Simple. Make racing fashionable once again, rebuild the fan base, and return racehorse ownership to a proud and profitable venture.

Well, perhaps it’s not so simple. The various associations that shape this industry have chipped away at these objectives for two decades with little success. However, Americans are notoriously fickle and impressionable. There’s no reason why a professionally managed, well-funded, long-term national marketing and public-relations effort couldn’t rekindle America’s love affair with Thoroughbred racing. When I was a kid, we avoided eating pork due to the fear of trichinosis. Today, thanks to a terrific, long-term marketing campaign, pork is the “other white meat,” a healthy alternative to beef.

Of course, properly prepared, pork is a tasty experience. A newcomer’s visit to the typical racetrack is not. But cleaning up the racetrack experience shouldn’t be too difficult. Just look at the vibrant environment already pulsing on the casino side of today’s racino facility.

Can we set a goal of doubling the popularity of the sport? Why not? Alex Waldrop, president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, recently told me there are some 7.4-million core racing fans in the United States. Doubling this number is within the realm of reason and would lead to a surge in handle and a much-needed bump in purses.

And speaking of handle and purses, it’s time for owners to stand up and demand their fair share of the take-out. In the days before simulcasting, tracks and horsemen shared take-out equally. But racing was late to the Internet revolution and allowed crafty offshore hubs to highjack a substantial portion of the wagering pie. Today, third-party bet-takers siphon off unconscionable fees, leaving a pittance for horsemen. The time has come to change the pricing model and more fairly compensate Thoroughbred owners for their financial risks.

Increasing the popularity of the sport and improving financial opportunity would help lure new owners to the game. But we must go further. Although progress has been made since the star-crossed 2008 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), many issues of integrity are yet to be resolved. Some problems are chronic; the specter of illicit drugs continues to haunt the backside. Other challenges are looming; past posting is growing more common thanks to our 30-year-old tote-system infrastructure.

The capital provided by Thoroughbred owners is a crucial factor in the survival and growth of our sport. Improving the economic opportunity and taking racing to a new level of popularity and integrity—making it “cool” to own a racehorse—would attract a wave of new owners and interesting personalities to the sport.

Of course, none of this will happen without strong leadership. Decisive, empowered leadership is the key to making any sport prosper and grow. The new sport of “Ultimate Fighting” comes to mind. It has experienced incredible growth because it has a single point of management control. In contrast, racing is out of control. Like a driverless car racing down a mountain road, it careens uncontrollably toward some ugly fate. In the past, we’ve made two half-hearted stabs at supporting a national racing commissioner. Unfortunately, in both cases their organizations spent more time putting out intra-industry fires than exercising the bold leadership so desperately needed.

Shall we give this approach one more try? I confess that I don’t have the answer. But I do know that unless we come together as an industry, our future is bleak. In a 1959 speech, Sen. John F. Kennedy opined that, “When written in Chinese the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.” The crisis is upon us. We are in danger. Let us seize the opportunity.

Stacy Bearse is president and CEO of Blood-Horse Publications.

Derby Weekend Celebration - by Dr. Scott Palmer

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:42:00 GMT

(Originally published in the May 16, 2009 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)

Calvin Borel, Bennie “Chip” Woolley Jr., and Mine That Bird stole the show in the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). The upset victory was a Cinderella story if there ever was one. A hard-working, ex-rodeo-cowboy-turned-Thoroughbred trainer drives to Louisville from New Mexico hauling his Derby-bound horse. Borel rode Mine That Bird with a Street Sense-like determination that proved unbeatable in one of the most dramatic finishes in Derby history. Does it get any better than that?

Borel and Mind That Bird weren’t the only winners on the first Saturday in May. In the past year the Thoroughbred racing industry has been focused on reform initiatives designed to make racing safer for both horses and riders. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance has put in place an accreditation program that has stimulated racetracks to institute policies and capital improvements that have created a climate of increased awareness and dedication to the safety of our athletes.

Some have embraced and supported these initiatives. Others are skeptical of the progress made in the past year. They point to the lack of a national racing commissioner and persistent variability in rules and regulations among the 38 racing jurisdictions in the U.S. as shortfalls of this effort. Still others say all this work is a lot of talk and that nothing substantial has really changed. They say you can’t legislate morality or responsibility.

The events leading up to the running of the 2009 Kentucky Derby speak differently.

Decisions by the connections of several Derby contenders demonstrate an increased awareness of safety issues and a commitment to “put the horse first.” Three horses were withdrawn as Derby starters in the week leading up to the race. Quality Road’s connections were unable to resolve a quarter crack. The connections of this horse could have managed him into the race. Instead they put the horse first. Win Willy was not entered due to an ankle problem, and Square Eddie was removed because of a shin injury. Most notably, the morning-line favorite in the race, I Want Revenge, was scratched in the early daylight hours of race day, not due to a fever or obvious lameness but because inflammation was found in the right front fetlock, an indication of an injury that could have placed him at risk had he raced.

Breeder and co-owner David Lanzman, trainer Jeff Mullins, and veterinarian Dr. Foster Northrop weren’t just talking a good game. They walked the walk. This is the first time in Derby history that the morning-line favorite was scratched the day of the race. They put the excitement, the hopes, and the dreams of the moment aside. They put the horse first.

A number of heroes surround this year’s Derby. On the backside of the racetrack, people are focused on safety. They are taking greater individual responsibility for their actions. It’s true we haven’t accomplished all of our goals yet, but correcting the course of the racing industry is a massive endeavor and can’t be turned quite as quickly as we might like.

However, there is progress, and the horse is the beneficiary. Safety issues are at the forefront of racing. First you change the attitude, and the behavior follows. As long as responsible horsemen stay focused on the safety and welfare of the horse, we will continue to make progress toward our goals of reform.

The Jockey Club, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, the Association of Racing Commissioners International, and others have all been working to pass model rules that promote uniformity and increased safety and integrity. The AAEP’s recommendations on racehorse safety provided a veterinary viewpoint to insure that in the process of racing reform, the horse was the priority.
Horses are the better for all of these efforts.

We can all celebrate the first weekend in May. It was a remarkable weekend on a number of levels. Congratulations to Calvin Borel and the connections of Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird for two performances for the ages.

Behind the scenes, horsemen are working to improve the sport and put the horse first. We should celebrate that as well.

Dr. Scott Palmer is the owner of New Jersey Equine Clinic in Clarksburg, N.J., and is chair of the AAEP’s racing committee.

A Higher Standard - by Alex Waldrop

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:07:00 GMT

The health and safety of our human and equine athletes, and the integrity of our sport are our highest priorities. These fundamental principles will guide the newly formed National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance.

The formation of the Alliance is the culmination of several months of feedback received from virtually every segment of the industry, including fans. The reforms fall into five key areas: medication and testing; a safer racing environment; injury reporting and prevention; safety research; and aftercare of our retired racehorses.

Fifty-five tracks and every major horsemen’s association in North America have joined the Alliance. Many owners, breeders, horsemen, and jockeys have expressed their support, and a plan for enlisting added support is in development. Alliance members are aware of the significant financial costs the industry will incur by implementing these reforms. But to their credit, Alliance members have come to the realization that doing nothing would, in the long run, be far more costly.

Despite broad industry support of the Alliance and assurances that reform costs would not be pushed off on our customers in the form of higher takeout, I would speculate that overall fan reaction will range from cautious optimism to a healthy dose of skepticism. Should we be surprised? After all, many of our fans feel like they have seen this movie before.

Nearly six years ago to the day, a group of former students at Drexel University almost pulled off the biggest heist in the history of our sport when they manipulated the wagering data of the Breeders’ Cup Pick Six. The NTRA hired a high-profile individual, along with a talented team of security experts, to assess our industry’s tote system. The result was an outstanding set of recommendations to improve the industry’s tote infrastructure, many of which have yet to be enacted. In fact, six years later, we continue to operate under a fundamentally flawed assumption: that our customers will tolerate the changing of odds well after the horses have broken from the starting gate. In hindsight, we should also have had Mayor Rudolph Giuliani hold our industry’s feet to the fire until we enacted the important reforms his team recommended.

A series of catastrophic injuries in high-profile events, admissions of steroid use by some top trainers, skepticism of bettors after repeat violations of medication policies, and the economy have resulted in double-digit declines in our business in recent months. I am an optimist and one who believes our industry has many good stories to tell relating to integrity. In many respects, our drug testing is better than that of the Olympics. And I believe the overwhelming majority of our horsemen care deeply about the welfare of the horses from which they derive their livelihoods. However, to overcome current negative public perceptions of our game, we must act, and our actions must be meaningful, swift, decisive, and transparent. Those aren’t my words. They are yours—pulled from thousands of interviews we have conducted with our customers.

To this point, the industry response has been encouragingly on the mark. In a short period of time, important reforms have been identified and implemented. The goal of banning steroids from racing competition by 2009 is within reach and demonstrates the industry does have the structure to act uniformly and nationally. The Alliance will lead to further structure and uniformity, and an accreditation process similar to that utilized by other state-regulated industries (think insurance and health care).

What was missing, at least until recently, was sufficient transparency. Enter Tommy Thompson, a former four-term governor in Wisconsin and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Washington, D.C., law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Gov. Thompson, a former Thoroughbred owner, and Akin Gump have been given the task of providing periodic public updates and an annual report card on the industry’s efforts to implement safety and integrity reforms.

The governor’s lone request was that he would have the independence to call it as he sees it. We agreed wholeheartedly and asked that he hold the industry accountable. It is my hope that in the not-too-distant future we will look back to Oct. 15, 2008, as the day the industry began to hold itself to a higher standard. Our customers, our human and equine athletes, and the hundreds of thousands of honest, hard-working individuals who make their living in this sport and industry deserve nothing less.

Alex Waldrop is CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association

All Aboard - by Dan Liebman

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:01:00 GMT

After viewing a study conducted for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the organization’s senior vice president of communications and industry relations, Keith Chamblin, had this to say: “Our core fans are pissed.”

It is good that Chamblin did not mince words. This is not a time for sugar-coating the state of the Thoroughbred industry.

Oftentimes, organizations, including the NTRA, are accused of spinning the news. Oftentimes, those accusations are well-founded.

But there is no spin in the words, “Our core fans are pissed.”

Performed by SocialSphere Strategies, the study was commissioned by the NTRA. On its Web site, SocialSphere Strategies claims to be “helping Thoroughbred racing go from zero-to-sixty in Web 2.0.”

Since most racetracks and racing organizations had no Web 1.0 vision, SocialSphere Strategies and its founder, John Della Volpe, are talking about a quantum leap for the majority of horse players and racing officials.

From July 2-10, SocialSphere Strategies conducted interviews with about 600 core fans, 180 industry participants, and 1,200 sports fans. The company’s “confidential and proprietary report” led Chamblin to his comments.

“They are very upset with us, and the intensity of their responses is very alarming to say the least,” Chamblin told Tom LaMarra of The Blood-Horse.

SocialSphere Strategies has only recently become involved with Thoroughbred racing, but it has a firm grasp of the situation. Also on its Web site:

• Situation: The “Sport of Kings” has an aging fan base, currently limited appeal to emerging generations, and perceived integrity problems.

• Problem: Limited marketing budget, television availability, and fractured industry segment make wide-scale change difficult.

• Solution: SocialSphere created and executed Web 2.0 strategy for the industry, local racetracks, and other stakeholder groups. Our efforts included a social media audit, a blog strategy, and e-mail marketing optimization, with more to come.

Core fans, those whose handle we depend on, are concerned about drug use in horses and wagering security. Casual fans, thanks to the mainstream press blowing the breakdown of Eight Belles out of proportion, are more concerned with safety issues.

Progress is being seen in the area of medication, with many states now banning the use of most anabolic steroids. The next step should be to address cortisone, which is more harmful in masking pain. Wagering issues continue to plague the industry, with stories of past-posting and the “quick-picks” debacle in California among the latest examples of lapses.

Safety and integrity issues are also being addressed, but it is proving hard to gain a consensus on such controversial and debatable topics as synthetic surfaces, breeding practices, and the care of retired racehorses.

The NTRA has been holding meetings with officials from various organizations and racetracks to address and discuss the issues facing the sport of Thoroughbred racing. On Oct. 15, it will unveil its Safety and Integrity Initiative. NTRA CEO Alex Waldrop said he expects widespread industry support, but support is only the beginning. There is implementation, and most importantly of all, the question of how much things cost and who will foot the bill.

Horse racing has a long and storied history. But it stands at a crossroads. Waldrop says the industry “is going to change.” In fact, it must change.

Waldrop said, “the train leaves the station” Oct. 15. The entire industry better be on board, or we will be left sitting on the platform, wondering where our fans have gone.