A NEW RECORD, EVEN FOR THE JEW

[NJ HORSEMAN]

 4 GSY DIVISIONS ON THIS FRIDAYS JOKE OF A CARD AT THE GURAL DOME

EMBARRASSING TO SAY THE LEAST

[Bernie Madoff]

 

[Nostrathomas]

There were four last week. Keep up.

[Atthetrack7]

THATS 4 TOO MANY IF YOU AXE ME

[mwins]

No wonder the handle is up at Mohawk. What a joke.

[dinkadoo]

4 GSY DIVISIONS ON THIS FRIDAYS JOKE OF A CARD AT THE GURAL DOME

EMBARRASSING TO SAY THE LEAST

who runs the place - the amateurs ?  I like that you will see that they have multiple drives...

Yet lets be considered the elite of racing....

[The Exporter]

Without this series, you would remove one of the remaining incentives for these owners to be in the game at all. Who are they harming?

[silent one]

Without this series, you would remove one of the remaining incentives for these owners to be in the game at all. Who are they harming?

  Answer: The fans, and bettors, and the track's image. Also, should "THE MECCA OF HARNESS RACING" be catering to amateurs not once, not twice, not thrice, but FOUR F'ING TIMES, on a single card?

   Sincerely, Silent One

[The Exporter]

I respect your point of view. I see it differently. I see it as I said. Being an owner and armature driver, you are contributing to to the sport. Just as a fan or bettor does.
 What I fail to see is how the armature driving series harms the sport. You are not compelled to bet every race.
 

[Emperor Dapple]

I respect your point of view. I see it differently. I see it as I said. Being an owner and armature driver, you are contributing to to the sport. Just as a fan or bettor does.
 What I fail to see is how the armature driving series harms the sport. You are not compelled to bet every race.
 

I know from friends of mine who are pure gamblers, that they are annoyed with the amateur races and wish they didn’t exist as they feel it’s tough enough to handicap a race with a professional driving and having an amateur driving it just adds more unpredictability to the race as they feel these guys will make stupid moves.. As a former horseman and non gambler I agree with you that I don’t see the harm but I’m not looking at it from strictly a gamblers point of view.. Maybe a compromise would be non betting amateur races prior to the regular betting card

[The Exporter]

I see your point, Silent one and Emperor. If this was 30-40 years ago, nobody would even consider carding these races on the live betting card. Especially, not at M1. You could not drive with a P license at RR, Yonkers or M1. That was a time when the ownership ranks were filled with more businessman type investors.  Today, that demographic has shrunk, tremendously.
 Now, owners are more hands on. The rewards of the game have changed. The only recognition you get is from your peers.
 So, if it takes a few armature (owner) driving series to keep their competitive juices flowing, resulting in continued investment in the sport, I say it is good business.   

[pocketrocketwinner]

There are plenty of racing options available to gamblers on Friday nights.

Assuredly, money that would have gone to meadowlanfs handle heads elsewhere because of the amatuers. Worse yet, it heads to options outside of horse racing. You think this continued investment outweighs those lost revenues?

[The Exporter]

No, I could not. Nor, am interested in doing so. So what is your opinion with the armature drivers, driving in pari-mutuel races on the Jug card today?
 

[pocketrocketwinner]

If amatuer driver harness racing PM wagering needs to exist, a county fair in the Midwest seems like the best place for it.

[mwins]

Its bad for betting, and I will make the case that it's bad for most owners.
I list Dexter Dunn to drive my horse, and wind up with Bruno Chiodo.

When my $3500 training bill comes at the end of the month, will I be compensated for the amateur drives, effort, and skill set of Bruno Chiodo?

Not likely.