Letter to the Editor: Stop the Back-and-Forth Attacks

[Wandering Eyes]

I am new to Thoroughbred racing, but have grown in a short time to love the sport. So, as I read all the interesting attacks on The Jockey Club and other organizations that have apparently dropped the ball in advancing the best interests of horse racing, a few questions come to mind.

First and foremost, where was Mike Repole and Aron Wellman when Churchill Downs was destroying horse racing in Illinois? Where were they when one of the major stakeholders in this great game, Churchill Downs, Inc., closed legendary Arlington Park to fuel the best interests of their local casino? Why weren't those two major players screaming at the top of their lungs then?

I remember not too long ago “Commissioner” Repole telling all of us how important California racing was to the horse racing landscape nationwide. So, where was Repole, and Wellman, who is based in California, when 1/ST Racing and Belinda Stronach led the charge to close Golden Gate Fields?

And now? Florida is under attack because of–surprise–1/ST Racing and Belinda Stronach. The decoupling bill in Florida, led by Gulfstream Park, threatens the future and the livelihood of thousands employed in our business. Instead of attacking The Jockey Club, why aren't those guys and, for that matter, Jaime Roth and LNJ Foxwoods, who just quit The Jockey Club in protest, doing all they can to stop the decoupling action in Florida?

I don't have answers to those questions, but what I do know is that the positive course of action is not this dialogue that seems to be picking up steam as people jump on the bandwagon. We see that far too often in government. We don't need to see it in horse racing.

Maybe we would be better served to celebrate the following: If horse racing is in such bad shape, if the powers to be are doing such a terrible job, then how is it that the industry just had their first $500 million dollar sale courtesy of Keeneland September? How is it that every major sale in North America shattered every imaginable sales record, including the $600,000-plus second-day average at Fasig Tipton Saratoga? How is it possible we are running Maiden Special Weight races for $120,000 to $170,000 in Kentucky, essentially running for more money than ever before? And, finally, are we forgetting that our horses are running for insane amounts of money in the Saudi Cup and the Dubai World Cup?

The answer to those last questions is that the lobbyists, the sale companies, and others who are working hard on behalf of horse racing, both in this country and abroad, are doing a fabulous job. Could we all be doing a better job? Of course. That is always the case. But whatever is happening in horse racing here and now appears to be pretty darn good.

As everyone in this great industry works towards solutions, maybe some of us could take a page out of the great John Shirreffs's playbook, look yourselves in the mirror, then support horse racing with grace, dignity, and honor. While The Jockey Club, Mike Repole, Aron Wellman, Jaime Roth and LNJ Foxwoods have all done great things in thoroughbred racing, these back-and-forth attacks on everyone is not one of them.

Zhenxi Li is the owner of the multiple stakes-placed My Lil Punky (Outwork), a recent winner at Turfway, among others.

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