Something Missing

re: Something Missing

Glenn Craven — Sat, 09 May 2009 04:40:44 GMT

This is an old post, but as a newspaper editor (small town) I have two points about the Post sports section you lament: 1. You're right, there's no way in the world that European-league all-star hockey played in Russia is a better use of space than racing at Laurel; 2. You were likely one of very few people who were complaining.

It surprises me a bit that many major newspapers, which do have the newshole to put at least the summary results from yesterday's racing and the entries/morning line for today's in each issue, don't bother anymore. But I'd also have to admit that most hardcore race fans and handicappers don't bother with the local paper if trying to follow the races. They're online downloading PPs or reading stories at DRF and elsewhere.

If I were the sports editor at the Post, we'd make room for racing. But the percentage of Post readers who follow the sport is probably very low.

re: Something Missing

Bellwether — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:48:21 GMT

thanks for the window to operate as there are some real fans(PASSION) on this BLOG...thanks again...going to the HILL in Richmond VA. TO BE HEARD TODAY!!!

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Robert M — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:10:54 GMT

Great comments from above. It is a sad day now that more and more papers do not cover the races. I am from Maryland and The Washington Post didn't have great coverage of the sport even when I started to follow the sport in the early 1980's. I started to follow the sport after the baseball strike of 1981. Now the Baltimore Sunpapers had a great staff of horse racing writers. Bill Boniface, Sr., Ross Peddicord, Dale Austin, Bob Pickering. I am glad I was around at that glorious time. The Sunpapers still runs a horse racing article each month. The way to draw people back to horse racing should be ESB. Horse Racing should be entertainment. Some place clean you would take your wife, Girlfriend, Mother or daughter/son to. Sport. Horseracing is a great sport filled with much work and preperation by trainer, jockey and the backstretch. Betting. Horse Racing still offers some of the best betting odds around. If I was the owner of a track, I would personally thank every fan at the track everyday. Promotions work out well to get new fans to the track. Even slots help bring out new fans to the track, I see it at Charlestown and Penn National.

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Wishing — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:56:02 GMT

It's sad that coverage has declined, but sensibilities have changed over time. Once Americans were personally connected to the horse - they lived on a farm or knew someone who was connected to livestock even if it was just a parent/grandparent for whom the automobile was new. Now few are personally connected to the horse. Every publicized breakdown is a horror/death that they rarely if ever confront in other sports. Unconnected to the horse and viewing the dark side of racing as distasteful, Americans tune out and the papers respond. NASCAR has replaced horseracing as the way we enjoy testing who has the fastest transportation. If anyone is hurt there, it was there own decision to race and the pity for an unthinking animal doesn't turn off fans.

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Real Racing Fans Speak Up — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:05:53 GMT

Jim P. great idea! Our bloggers humbly shun the title of "journalists" but if they love racing they'll do us proud by submitting their works for publication. Look! It worked here at Bloodhorse! Heck! I even thought of sending something in on my own to that paper, and I shudder at my own writing. If they won't write about racing we could start sending them the info to inspire/irritate/force. Try a slogan like "Yes We Can Have A Horse Racing Column! The Fans Of Racing Hope That We Report Sport News Instead Of Shaping Public Opinion By Banishing The Time Honored Sport Of Kings, We Dream Of The Days When Racehorses Used To Grace Front Pages.

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Whooping Cough — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 23:47:50 GMT

I blame those in racing for the sad state that we witness today. When racing was at its peak, there was a freshness to it. In California, for example, Santa Anita ran for about 50 days. Racing did not return to So Calif for about 2 months and then Hollywood Park would open. Then another gap and Del Mar would open. Popular horses would fly in for big races and racing secretaries were not afraid to properly weight the horses. Today, it is non stop racing, same horses, same jockeys, same trainers, same drab running distances, poor food, and in some areas, outlandish prices. The only variation to the above, forgetting outlandish prices, is the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders Cup. (they are going to screw up the Breeders Cup by adding useless races and extending it to a week) I used to go to the races for two reasons. 1. To bet. 2.. I had a genuine interest in the sport. Today, I only go to bet.

re: Something Missing

John — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:47:03 GMT

Frank:

The decision of the Post to cancel racing coverage comes on the heels of their aggressive editorial campaign against the passage of Maryland's slots initiative. The paper published at least two editorial pieces that not only warned of tragic consequences to passage of the initiative, but also criticized the plan to share slots revenue with Maryland's Thoroughbred industry.

The aggressiveness of the Post's position on Maryland slots was rather curious. It seemed to be an issue of personal concern to someone on the editorial board.

Perhaps the Post is now punishing the Thoroughbred industry for its support of the slots initiative, by terminating racing coverage.

It's hard for anyone to argue that racing is unimportant in the area. The industry is important and the Preakness is a huge, extremely popular event. If the Post has allowed its disdain for slots to enter into the decision to terminate racing coverage, it is a shameful thing indeed. But sadly, it would not be the first time a major media outlet cut off coverage to advance an agenda.

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joe — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:11:41 GMT

I treasure two books of Richard Stone Reeves paintings I won from NYC OTB via the Frank Wright Saturday show on WOR over 25 years ago. My "payout" included a VIP day at Aqueduct, with lunch in the dining room. The New York fall championship races were televised first on CBS, then on the infant ESPN. Slew O Gold's sweep of that series led ESPN news that night, in the midst of the college football season. You wonder, what has the Breeders' Cup accomplished? Yes, other factors are at work in racing's vanishing act from print and network/broadcast media; racing is not on its own island. But has this "industry" emphasis on the Breeders' Cup made the situation worse, delayed racing's day of reckoning, or are they keeping what spark remains glowing?

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Jim P — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:00:06 GMT

Give it up for the blogs, folks, that as good as it gets and with its interactive nature it's better than the papers anyhow. As they said in Seabiscuit "It's the future!"

Why not try writing something for the local paper? All they can do is refuse to publish it. Anybody reading this blog has enough knowledge to pick a spot and try. What's the big story for the 09 Derby? Larry Jones is coming in with some good horses!!!!!

re: Something Missing

Sara Mills — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:12:55 GMT

Although a great sport, horse racing needs a new brand, I think newspaper editor's refusal to cover the sport speaks to the greater problem within the industry! Lack of a mainstream national fan-base.

I remember the NBA in the 70's and early 80's, no television network or newspaper would cover that sport, now that sport and its stars has a far reaching

global appeal and fan-base, as do most of the big (3) sports franchises (NBA),(NFL), (MLB).

Horseracing in the U.S. needs to figure out how to market its brand like they do in Japan and Dubai!

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fast eddie — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:55:09 GMT

didnt eisenberg used to write for the washington post? i guess after he left they said screw it. but hey, i live in texas. if it wasnt for the internet you wouldnt even know that racing existed.

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Adele Maxon — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:12:10 GMT

Yes, da3hoss, shame on Duncan Taylor for quoting his feelings of "cheap stuff" and "better stuff". I guess they're just hip numbers to these large operations anyway. There is too much "cheap stuff" because there are too many "cheap mares" being bred! It's time to start cutting these ridiculously large stallion books back because you know the second "50" mares are probably mediocre at best!

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Adele Maxon — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:19:09 GMT

Tony is absolutely right. The "sports" concept has been taken out of racing to be attractive. I'm dating myself, but as a kid what got me interested in horseracing in the first place was all the great newspaper coverage of racing (in the NY area) and pics to go with the articles, as well as the Frank Wright show Racing at Aqueduct. How times have changed!

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txhorsefan — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:25:29 GMT

As papers everywhere are slashing their coverage of horseracing, I consider myself quite fortunate that our local paper still carries articles about it. I will have to admit, though, that I do mainly read them on-line because I gave up subscribing, since most of the paper ended up in the recycling bin unread. Kudos to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and writer Gary West for keeping the racing news going in my area! However, I wish the racing news for the area was a better.

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da3hoss — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:47:53 GMT

Regarding the horses as "cheap stuff" "better stuff" (Re: Duncan Taylor comments at Keenland sale) will not endear the horse crazy community and/or animal loving population to horse racing.

You've got to at least pretend that each horse has value in its own right. (like at the betting window, where a beat-up $2500 claimer's odds pay out at the same rate a Gr1 winners does, 7-1 is 7-1 no matter who the horse)

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Real Racing Fans Speak Up — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:46:14 GMT

I learned this from the anti-horse racing activists who control the MSNBC horse racing forum- IT IS VERY EASY,QUICK AND PAINLESS TO PICK UP A PHONE AND MAKE YOUR VOICE BE HEARD. Tomorrow I am calling the Washington Post. I'll write down their phone number once, jot down whom I spoke with and then add that page to my $1 notebook for positive activism for horse racing. I'll use Frank's examples of worthless sports being covered and ask for even a small addition of more horse racing news. I'll mention that the media should REPORT the news, not make the news itself by conditioning the public with their own biases. Horse racing should get a spot too. This will only take about three minutes of my time max, mostly from getting their phone number. If I want to call again in a month I'll have it all down and it will take only a minute. Very easily some 100 people who read this blog could do the same thing. Frank already did us the favor by pointing this out, I'm not going to let his good deed rot into nothingness. If the horse racing community had 1% of the passion of those who hate racing and are working 24/7 to abolish our industry, we would be a force to be reckoned with. In the meantime, we have bloggers coming to the rescue and picking up the mainstream media's slack. We can help the bloggers out, who are helping us out, by checking out their blogs and posting responses- bringing the blogs to life and giving thanks to keep their authors going. It takes so little on our parts to help out! Once you get in the habit of contacting media and government reps it's goes real smooth from then on. These are the groups shaping our world and they need to hear our voices.

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DaTruth — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 07:36:49 GMT

The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune still devotes a fair amount of ink to racing coverage. They have much more on their website, though. Reporter Bob Fortus blogs every live day during the FG meet www.nola.com/horseracing and they have a good racing forum on the website. www.nola.com/.../startinggate

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Ben@Colonial — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 07:17:33 GMT

Just another sad example of how mainstream media has decided to ignore the sport. The purpose of mass media isn't to tell people what to think, but what to think about. Newspaper and television's refusal to cover racing on a consisent basis is THE reason for the decline of the sport. The only way to expand the fan base is to expose people to the names, faces, and stories of horse racing, not simply the winners and losers. Give people something they can relate to; something they can follow and be a part of. That's not going to happen with ESPN's spotty coverage of major stakes for a few months in the summer and fall. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the coverage they give to racing and I feel that for the most part they do a fine job. But unless its done on a much more consistent basis, racing will continue to struggle in gaining he interest of new fans.

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Jamie — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:52:35 GMT

I've never lived in a city that mentions races outside of the Triple Crown. You don't even get a peep about the Breeders' Cup in Central Illinois. There's no nearby track, so very hard to find those who are interested.

So I write my online column in vain, trying to rouse even the most lukewarm sportsfan into being interested in horse racing. It's a tough battle, but I think there's hope arounnd the bend. Stories about Nicanor will soon be emerging, and that will gain public interest. I think now that our bubble is becoming aware of the dire state of the game, more effort will go into outreach to the public who don't normally think about horse racing. At least, that's what I'm banking on and am trying to kick off myself.

www.smilepolitely.com

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Gman59063 — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:24:55 GMT

I used to be interested in horseracing back in the day when a horse actually had a career! Now they run 2 or 3 times and its off to the breeding barn.

Also horseracing almost seems like it is getting very greedy and snobbish, I love the sport but I just watch the 10 day meet at the local level where the horses are tough and still run enough that you can actually follow them!

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BlueHen — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:36:54 GMT

I must be lucky. Our local paper (The Schenectady Gazette) does a bang-up job covering the Saratoga meet and a good job the rest of the year as well. The biggest reaces always get front and center on the sports page, and the smaller races are further back but often include a photo.

I think perhaps it's because they have Bill Heller on staff (I believe he wrote at least one of the Thorougbred Legends books -- Forego, I think?), and Phil Janack as well. Both are guys who appreciate racing. The Gazette also prints racing stories from other papers.

Maybe that's the key at some newspapers -- they don't have any staff members who are personally interested in horseracing, so there are no horseracing articles??

My question is, who determines what interests somebody else, and/or decides that it doesn't?

Maybe racing fans need to be more outspoken. After all, somebody at some point must've spoken up for high school sports, because there's definitely MUCH more of a focus on that than there was even a few yrs. ago.

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Bill — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:17:08 GMT

Right on, brother. The Post used to do a good job with racing. Vinnie Perrone with his local beat and Andy Beyer with his columns. I guess Beyer still posts a column once in a blue moon, but Perrone is long gone. Access Fee: Very Impressive filly. The Murray barn is starting to awaken from a long nap. Classic Wildcat just won from the rail in her first start and Access Fee demonstrating her love for Laurel. Like you said, not a word of it in the Post. The previous posts all are on the money and this situation sadly doesn't look like it will change.

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Dan — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:57:00 GMT

A lot of the public distaste for horse racing has come from the breakdowns especially that of 8 Belles on a national stage. The general public could have left Barbaro as a rare tragedy if it weren't for 8 Belles tragedy. The weird Belmont furthered the problem. A lot of people I know who would have watched the derby in years past now say they won't. Some say it kills too many horses and some thought the Belmont rigged and felt like a joke was played on them and they will all stay gone until there is a big national feel good story about one horse and a name they can root for. Even tho many in the 'industry' or reg fans sneered at Big Brown the general public seems to have wanted him to win and maybe then they could have erased the prior tragedies. So if they won't even watch it on TV and the ratings aren't there the rest of the media will follow suit. And to be honest I think racing itself missed many good chances to publicize good stories last year.

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MRO — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:23:35 GMT

Even the local TV sportscaster (Ohio) when asked what his least favorite sport was responded horse racing. At least I still have The Blood-Horse website!

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CRob87 — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:22:39 GMT

I know it SUCKS, But how can you blame the Newspapers when they themselves are dying out at about the same clip that Horse Racing seems to be ???

For their own immediate survival they're only going to print what sells. And in today's world, Horse Racing isn't selling. At least not to the younger, general public anymore.

Horse Racing seems to have become more of a Special Interest type of Sport nowadays. Only fashionable to the Old Timers or the Wealthy.

But, don't worry, our fearless leaders have all the answers...ha.