Opinion?

[Mr.Turnpike]

 

  What’s the difference between
Harness racing in the 80s and now?

[Pacer 2]

 

  What’s the difference between
Harness racing in the 80s and now?

        Much bigger purses, faster and more expensive horses, better drivers and trainers.

[Justwatchingtheraces]

Bigger purses and Lower handles

[Yonkers1A]

Chemistry

[Kenny]

        Much bigger purses, faster and more expensive horses, better drivers and trainers.

Far fewer fans/customer. Purses funded almost exclusively by government handouts. Horses hiding in sire stakes to protect their overstated stallion fees.

[Trigger]

I remember well...

Tracks, OTBs, Wire Rooms were packed, if you couldn't watch live you placed your wagers and called in results, or received the next day in the sports section.

The Big M, Yonkers, wall to wall people.  If you didn't have a vehicle they had these private van services carting your ass there and taking you home, gave you betting and food vouchers so it was basically free.

The handle starting slipping so they started manipulating wager amounts, didn't work, I remember a $3 tri at Yonkers lol.

That 714 tri scandal at Yonkers that got Lachance banded and packing for the BigM was a blow, Herve on another too with the Feds and they dropped the race tampering and went for the tax evasion.  I think around then they added the passing lane to make it more competitive. 

They co-existed in a world with Jai alai and dog racing.

Simulcasting, the first big lifeline, lots of in fighting who would receive what signal.

The SPORTS EYE - a great past performance.

Milkshakes, and the needle were the ped then until the veins collapsed.

Some OTBs up north in NY you could get track prices, some bookies at the OTB too.

Jate Lobell had one hell of a very long winning streak and raced quite frequently.

Some of y'all predecessors kept fucking it all up, ceaseless greed and corruption 

[Meadow Ford]

In the 80's I knew that whenever I got a horse ready to  race there was a race in Chicago for it.  Sp Park, Haw, May, or Bal.
If it wasn't Chicago stock, it could race at East Moline Downs and Fairmont Park.
Today the dates are very limited and only Haw. is left in IL.

[seriously]

Far fewer fans/customer. Purses funded almost exclusively by government handouts. Horses hiding in sire stakes to protect their overstated stallion fees.

Pretty accurate.

Drivers are not better.  In fact, aside from a few, most absolutely suck in terms of racing IQ.

[Any1Left]

Pretty accurate.

Drivers are not better.  In fact, aside from a few, most absolutely suck in terms of racing IQ.

100 percent and its not even close,   In every sport the athletes are better but not in harness racing or the runners with PINCAY JR,  SHOEMAKER, CODERO, GARY STEVANS, CHRIS MCCARRON, BAEZA, HAWLEY, AND HARNESS today a very old TETRICK and DAVE MILLER are still top drivers far from their prime.    The differance is a Wow as nothing is even close with speed tracks and single file with speed bikes and new drugs and for me the shit small prices with a huge chop and all dead money playing casinos

[Any1Left]

Far fewer fans/customer. Purses funded almost exclusively by government handouts. Horses hiding in sire stakes to protect their overstated stallion fees.

A few years ago GURAL asked the horsemen at VERNON to lower the rake and big it got voted down by complete morons that should have zero say in how the sports gets run.