What Better Time Than Now?

by Ed Meyer

posted on February 15, 2010 in General Discussion | 2 Comments >>

Everyone seems to bitch and moan. If it is not about purse cuts, it is about the condition of the game overall. Let’s try something new. Let’s fix it ourselves…..

Trainers – The average trainers are going to get steamrolled during theses tough times. Not because they have average to below stock. It is about the business model. Why don’t they kick to the curb any owner who does not pay? Why don’t they price up some other services that provide hay and straw? If you ask them, they will answer no they have not tried this. They are waiting for someone to bail them out.

Owners – You own the game. They are your horses. If you do not like what you are seeing, then change up. If you do not have any runners, there will be no racing. I know this sounds like a hard-ass approach during the toughest times ever. But, if you look at the business model, you are demanding a service, and calling for those involved to give their best. This tough love is a step in the right direction of taking responsibility for your actions and decisions.

Tracks – I know, the attendance is down, and the horsemen have you by the throat. Now, you must make a decision. Act now, or pay the price… Let us decide how we will conduct business. If we ran 5 days a week, let us consider a three day a week operation. Less is more….. We can use one of the days that we would be closed, and put it into purses. The other, the track will save.. Now, there are no purse cuts.. The fewer days will allow for fuller fields, and the tracks will handle more with bigger fields. The money we make gives the track a profit, and the purses will grow. Funny isn’t it? Let’s run less times, and the people will miss the game. They will come back. Once upon a time before the simulcast explosion, tracks had down time… This allowed players to recoup bankrolls, and the game prospered.

Results – We are waiting for an entity to solve all of the problems. That isn’t going to happen soon. We need to take charge of our own little section of the world, and if we all get this accomplished with an open mind, we may see results. Once upon a time, racing was the only game out there, and we won by default. We have to have complete cooperation before we can step further. This is not your grandpa’s game. We have a task, and it is up to us to complete this mission. More than ever we need to be heard. Horsemen cannot argue with the tracks. Unions cannot worry about the future. If there are no changes, there will be no contracts. As the song goes: “Let’s Stick Together.”

Congressmen: I know this is one issue, and it can die and wither on the vine. Maybe we should try their game for a while. Let’s communicate with our neighbors and ask them to back our issue. In turn, we will get behind theirs and march with them. Let’s take away the power from these leaders, and let them know they are voted in. If we just stick together, we can ask for tax relief, breaks from taxation, and schools to be built and cared for. All it takes is the first step. Please take away the power from our elected officials and hold them accountable. After all, they do work for us. Only after a genuine caring and non-political agenda will we have policy. This is not a long shot. We have just been made to think this way.

It is time for changes, and what better time than now when nothing seems to be working? If they had the solution, then shame on the them for not saving jobs. I hope I get this part right, but you will get the idea. I believe it was the rock group Rage Against The Machine:

“What better place than here? What better time than now?”