No jealousy. I'm a horse player not owner/trainer/driver/groom. It's sad to see the Rise and Fall of American harness racing. Eighty percent of the general population knows little or nothing about it. Most of the other 20 percent think it's fixed. Yet, the credibility of the sport has rarely been addressed. Brett Beckwith invariably breaking with trotting favorites right from the get go looks bad. Maybe a refund should be considered for bettors.
Currently, you have 300 people on one side of Nelson Avenue (Harness) and 30,000 people on the other side (Thoroughbred); playing runners that race far less to form than trotters and pacers because of the length of time between starts. The elder Beckwith was a known heavy gambler in his youth. His best friend is Hennessey. Management should look at the perception of it all.
If you kick a horse to try and win, you'll be called on it. But if you take back to last from the inside, nary a word is said. They police the people who are winning.
A long time ago, Saturday night was the night horsemen fooled around because the handle was so big. It really hurt the sport. The regulars knew it too. You'd have horses that didn't figure coming in all the time on that night.
