With the numerous problems facing the Harness Racing industry including but not limited to doping , drug abuse and race fixing to name a few, These issues dominate the fines and suspensions list and are headlined regularly, Routinely pointing fingers at Horsemen/Women. At what point does one ask the question of, What level of accountability is owed to the racing officials and commissions? No calls , bias application of rules and seemingly more and more dangerous driving and Trainer practices aloud to take place damage the sport more and more as time goes by. One needs to look no further than Yonkers raceway in recent years to show that the race fixing occurs most easily at the Official level and is a very real problem, Yet almost never is addressed. Fewer and fewer USTA rules are enforced throughout the country and are instead replaced or bypassed with State Commission rules that are almost always left to the discretion of Judges. Why are Judges never on Fines and Suspension lists? Are they not capable of an infraction? Are we turning blind eyes to corruption in out race offices and Judges stands? The sport needs a makeover and it starts at the top. If you want a better product then one must believe it starts with the persons overseeing the product. Theres a very real problem here that most see but dont have the nerve to address. The first step in fixing any problem is realizing there is one.
