I dont think it helps the product at all. Personally the purses are so inflated ao are the price of a horse at yonkers for example a 12500 claimer is probably about a 5 in reality.
The yonkers product has never really been good. To be honest harness racing as a whole isn't what it use to be. Look at the Meadowlands... its basically freehold moved over between the horse flesh and driving colony hard to watch