Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

Rick J — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 05:29:58 GMT

Mr. Hammonds, you really liked "Empire State of Mind"? That song and the rest of his Junk Music doesn't do it for me.

Hmmm, Jay-Z, (in his earlier swill)wasn't he also the guy who sung about it's OK to shoot and kill Cops.

I guess Mr. Z is all through with that gangster nonsense. Why not suck in the public with a New York song and pile up more millions. Apparently, you have been taken in.

I Haven't!!

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

tv-viewer — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:12:18 GMT

The audio production for this race SUCKED! Whether the song was appropriate is another issue. Did any other viewers notice that the crowd noise covered everything else? You couldn't hear the call. Someone in audio production should be fired!

Bring back the young people or racing is dead.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

needler in Virginia — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 02:05:18 GMT

Dawn, I'm glad you caught me...I was holding back the way I REALLY felt, but you got me!! You can, however, usually count on me to let you know exactly how I feel. The detention barn leaps to mind...wonder why that is?? You're right about it, and its' existence needs to be re-thought; security? YES! Good for the horses' mental states? NO! Never mind they're already wired for takeoff at the slightest thing, the barn has always been a problem. Why not find another way to have security be tighter than a.........well you get my drift. SEE?? I really can go for change. But that nasty song really got me going; I'd bet you never could have guessed that, could you??

Cheers, good racing and safe trips to all.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

cat lady — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 01:17:42 GMT

OMG!! I waited and waited for the traditional song to be played during the post parade and... what the...?? Some fetus tries to sing a whole different song that I didn't even reconize! Why are they trying to get newer and younger fans instead of trying to keep us die-hards? I have not missed a single Belmont since the 60's and I don't ever remember anyone complaining about the TRADITIONAL songs NYNY or Sidewalks of NY! Change is only good if it benefits, and this change was totally BAD!!!

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

Dawn — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:47:55 GMT

Needler, tell us how you really feel! ;) Don't hold back now!

And yes, someone please bring back Sidewalks of New York. (East Side, West Side...)

As far as the Detention Barn goes, wouldn't it make more sense to have tighter security around the horses' regular stalls? Get rid of the Detention Barn all together and just beef up security everywhere else? Would this make more sense than what NYRA has now?

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

RickS — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 01:47:46 GMT

Evan, Alex B. kept sending me nasty texts from New Orleans during that song...

Was it ABC/ESPN or NYRA that had the bright idea to not play "New York, New York"?

And just to let everyone know, about 15 minutes after the last race Saturday, "New York, New York" was played over the tracks sound system.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

westward way — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:24:12 GMT

Really ? all these coments about the song? I was there, The park was beautiful, the fans happy to be there. remember 45,000 fans showed up without a triplecrown bid.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

seb — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:40:40 GMT

I agree completely about NYCOTB. What sort of idiocy is required to drive a gambling parlor to bankruptcy? Unbelievable.

Meanwhile, the renewal of NYRA leases was only in February 2008! And we are seeing increasing complaints about quality. While the Northeast Corridor market (tracks between Saratoga and Colonial, speaking broadly) will always be locked in competition for quality horses, NYRA will have to respond to the challenge laid down by New Jersey's restructuring of its days and meets. The faster they move the better.

I agree with Mr. Hammonds, the spirit and forward thinking indicated by introducing the new song is important, and hopefully not just restricted to superficial matters like this.

NYRA must be looking to insist to the inefficiency experts in Albany that they have to change their arrangements or the state will be having to dole out more corporate welfare to organizations that they supposedly contract to generate revenue for them.

For the record, I thought bringing in New York, New York in 1997 was cheap. Bring back Sidewalks of New York or find a arrangement of Empire State of Mind better suited to the event.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

Carmel — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:01:25 GMT

Bring back NEW YORK, some traditions should be left alone,---what's next no Mint Juleps??? The song was horrible, the television broadcast cut the poor girl off, and they didn't even show the turf race- I for one don't really care if ESPN, NBC or ABC show another big day broadcast of racing-- they do a bad job talking about the trivial- thank god for the mute button.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

Amy — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:50:32 GMT

One of the BIGGEST disappointments in the Triple Crown, was that outrageous, horrible song, sung by a mediocre girl. It was BORING, LONG, and actually bothered a horse on the track. New York had it right for years, with New York, New York - it was PERFECT! Bring it back in 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!!

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

Allan Bullock — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:31:24 GMT

I totally loved the new song!! I have been coming to the races for years. I thought it was a pleasant surprise. The young girl that sang it was amazing!

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

jessica rodriguez — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:27:34 GMT

The girls performance was quite enjoyable and she was adorable. You are just not used to the change. This is 2010 change is great. These negative comments are ridiculous! I'm totally with you Evan! Great job NYRA. A much needed change!

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

tvnewsbadge — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 02:29:55 GMT

Yeah, quit bashing that kid, she did a great job, not her fault that ABC thought panning drunks was a good counterpoint to her singing.... and I know I'll get slammed for saying this, but I never like that Sinatra song either.

Music wise, Belmont sold out and lost it's soul when it ditched Sidewalks of New York.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

Jessie — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:45:02 GMT

I seriously hope this is the only year they use that dreadful song. I couldn't hear much of it over the Belmont crowd, and thank goodness for that.

I found it ironic that Belmont Park was playing random Frank Sinatra tunes over the loudspeaker the first hour the track was open. It put me in a great frame of mind and relaxed me after making the frantic dash to secure a good spot. Rap/R&B is not a good fit for horse racing, I'm sorry...I mean, would they use a Sinatra song to open a drag race? No. That's how I felt about this.

Bring back "New York, New York," NYRA. Please. I beg of you.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

needler in Virginia — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:10:48 GMT

Susan is ABSOLUTELY correct! Even the older jockeys who have ridden in the Derby several times say you'll "tear up" when everyone begins to sing MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME; and then there's MARYLAND, MY MARYLAND which ALSO speaks to the traditions of these three particular races. Now we come to the Belmont "weepy moment", which used to come at the singing of the SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK and then moved on to NEW, NEW YORK (a wonderfully appropriate song for this race!). That piece of garbage that masqueraded as a song was an insult to the traditions we've come to hold so dear. The only people who got weepy over THAT were those who heard it for what it was...........

BLAH, I'm all for change when change is needed and God knows racing needs some help, but if that "song" is what it takes to get the younger fans out to the track, then racing is not only in trouble.....it is DOOMED!

Bet you can't tell how I feel about this, can you???

Cheers and safe trips.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

Kevin A Burke — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:55:55 GMT

The ABC Broadcasters placed the blame of the horses antics in the post parade on the rendition of the new song.

That poor girl has to deal with enough pain over the results of her performance; (Keep in mind she was a midweek replacement for a star, singing an unfamiliar song not written for her style and tone, with a poor on track and broadcast sound system, etc) She should not be saddled with the additional unfair burden of responsibility of poor horse performance.

That responsibility is squarely on the hands of NYRA and their insistence on the Detention Barn System. More then one horse on Belmont Day, not just the Stakes Race, and on every race day at a NYRA Track, leaves it's race in the Detention Barn.

It is not politically smart, or wise to publicly criticize this system. The closet I have ever heard a trainer comment publicly in a negative manner about it was Nick Zito, when he said of Ice Box, "He was ready to race these past days. He just left his race somewhere".

I do not think you will see Ice Box at a NYRA Track anytime soon.

As for the winner and second place horse, much was made of the fact that they had a race ovfer the course. True it might have helped, but the "Big Sandy" was two different surfaces on both those days.

More of a help to both these horses was that they had experienced the horror of the detention barn. It bothered them less then the other horses because they were familiar with the insanity a horse has to endure for six plus hours prior to racing.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

dr fager01 — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:55:31 GMT

Nuff said, great tune, butchered by subpar talent. Maybe if they could afford the mighty Jay-z and the fabulous mrs Alicia keyes, it would have been a hell of a lot more attractive,it would also show horse racing in new york not only to be a great and oustanding tradition. But would also show that horse racing can also embrace and get with the new.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

smartysgal — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:19:15 GMT

I strongly agree with most people here in that EMPIRE STATE OF MIND really stunk. In the first place, I had never heard of the girl who sang it. Actually, I never even heard of the song. She sun it horribly, and thank God ABC bolted away from her in mid-song to air a commercial. For once, a commercial was welcome. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I don't blame Make Music For Me getting unsettled. Whatever happened to SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK or Frank Sinatra's legendary NEW YORK, NEW YORK! Both of them make me tear up, but this song made me want to throw up! Yuck!

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

HG — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:05:37 GMT

Agreed - that song was horrendous. We were also grateful it was cut short by commercial. I kept thinking how long is this going to last. It was torture.

Change can be good - but we wouldn't dare suggest switching out "My Old Kentucky Home" for "Run for the Roses" (as nice as the Fogelberg song is). Some traditions are worth keeping.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

Qatmom — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:37:44 GMT

The new ditty scared the horses! Anything that scares the horses does not belong.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:21:28 GMT

I'm glad to read that I wasn't the only one upset about the song! The ABC transmission was a fiasco...the audio was bad..you could not hear the comments because of the noise...NBC did it better with the Derby and Preakness.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

Larry — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:18:31 GMT

Do you think in fifty year's they will be humming whatever that Jayzee song is ? I could definitely picture a baby grand on the apron with Billy Joel (or someone close!)doing New York State of Mind. Dream on.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

Terry — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:04:51 GMT

Change is not always a good thing. When its not broke don't fix it. The song is a classic. Always trying to chage things to draw a younger crowd, makes me sick.

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

Greg J. — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:27:20 GMT

Good article Evan, BUT, About that song, I was about 100 feet from the young lady performing it, And, While she might be a good young singer, It was a terrible choice to replace a classic! There is no way that song will be back next year, That is if there is a next year for The Belmont...

Just compare this year to last year:

2009 Belmont, "New York, New York":

www.youtube.com/watch

2010 Belmont, "Empire State of Mind":

www.youtube.com/watch

Finally, I believe Drosselmeyer was the only colt with cotton in his ears, Which would explain his victory :)

re: Empire State of Mind - By Evan Hammonds

Joanne — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:15:14 GMT

Go back to Frank Sinatra's New York, New York.!!!!!