Keystone Kops - by Eric Mitchell

re: Keystone Kops - by Eric Mitchell

Giddyup — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:16:12 GMT

Once again I find myself 100% in agreement with the opinion Lenny Shulman expressed in "And There Off". I don't live in the Quaker state but if I did I would certainly be boycotting Penn National.

re: Keystone Kops - by Eric Mitchell

Criminal Type — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:51:25 GMT

This a totally unecessary situation. I agree this issue must be consistantly regulated within all jurisdictions by one set of rules. In fact, racing needs one set of rules, Period. Not a set for Kentucky, and another set for New York and yet another for apparently, Pennsylvania.

If your running a business which is what a race track is, you need to have a system in place to protect the assets of that business. The horses. It should be the tracks responsibility to hire a vet to be on call during training as well as racing hours. To not have a vet on site is neglegable and the people responsible should be open to animal cruelty charges.

The tracks are collecting fee's from the trainers by the stall, they are collecting money in entry fee's. They are collecting money from slot's. They are collecting money on the handle. They, the track, should be paying for necessary veterinary staff out of those fee's. This is not another cost the trainers should obsorb. They can easily take their stable to another venue that has veterinary staff available.

I would be very curious to know what the exact language of the PA slots bill is and how much of the revenue from those slots is going to the operating facilities. How much greed does it take to let a horse agonize for over an hour ?

This is totally unrelated, but did you see where Ceasers and Stronach are bidding for the Baltimore City Slots venue now since there is no hope of getting it at Laurel Park. That ship has sailed. And there is rumor of a proposed new track so they can move the Preakness out of that hellhole of a neighborhood that Pimlico is in. Yea, I will believe it when I see it.

re: Keystone Kops - by Eric Mitchell

deb — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 13:56:17 GMT

Racing needs regulations just like everything else. We all need a watchdog.

I hope this article will cause regulation at all tracks to have a vet on grounds at all times.

We want this sport, we love our horses, it should be an automatic job on the track, if you cannot contribute to the cost, then lower your horses in training to afford it for the ones you do have. I think every owner and trainer should contribute money to have a vet on the track; plus the people who own the land and buildings. It can be done.

re: Keystone Kops - by Eric Mitchell

PomDeTerre — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:51:08 GMT

BRAVO Eric and spot on. Having no vet during training hours is derelict. The agony this filly had to endure was inhumane and unnecessary. No track should be allowed to operate without a vet no more than 5 minutes away during working hours.

re: Keystone Kops - by Eric Mitchell

sceptre — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:05:59 GMT

Mr. Mitchell,

Thank you for following up with this. I found it disgusting news when first read a few days ago. I'm a PA-resident, receive the Phila. Inquirer, but read nothing about it on their pages. Despite what many believe, horseracing and breeding in PA is a joke. Penn National is all about slot revenues, and could care less about the horse racing and the horses. Similar can be said for Parx. The PA Breeding Fund is largely administered by incompetents, and its breeding program is designed to foster mass production/poor care of breeding stock, and mediocrity. I've seen it all first hand. There has been an obvious lack of expertise from the top (lawmakers) down to the vast majority of breeding farms and racetracks. Likely same could be said for many other jurisdictions and the horse ultimately suffers the consequences. The various humane societies-the only real watchdogs-should take a closer look, better educate themselves, and then exert their political punch toward either real change, or move to abolish the sport. In the meantime, Racing had better redirect its focus away from methods to increase fan base, and toward all means to better protect the horse. I've been actively involed in this "sport" for 50 years, and time has gradually enlightened me to its dark side.

re: Keystone Kops - by Eric Mitchell

Dawn in MN — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:57:27 GMT

"...a 4-year-old filly named Langfurs Answer broke down on the track, collapsed, and lay waiting to be euthanized for almost an hour."

too sad, too sad for words, my heart breaks when I read things like this