As the frontier has changed greatly, we need to know how to prepare for the future. It is simple… Take everything we have done, and throw it right out the window…. With all due respect to our past innovators. They would be the first to tell you that if it isn’t working, get rid of it… That is what they did….

Monmouth is showing us that less is more.. OK, I am done saying this.. It will take a volcano, or attack of giant sea snakes to make me change my mind. Just run less, offer more, and promote the hell out it by making it the place to be. Just think, people want to be where others are. Oh, they can take care of the regulars by having a giant simulcast mega-plex. They can offer free seating, free admission, and attractive menu items. For the newbies: we can have bands, $1 beer, and $1 wagers. Offer up local radio partners the chance to come out and spin the wheel of fortune. The young love CONSTANT action…. Give it to them… Make it special by having it two to three days a week…Promote the big winners like the lottery, and make the horses the stars as we did in the days of War Admiral and Seabiscuit. Slam dunk…. Everyone wins….

I have read that Churchill Downs will run one of the Breeders’ Cup races under the lights! The Ladies Classic?  Ladies and gentlemen, please sit down… This is just the beginning… The Twin Spires has tested the waters, and it is popular. More fans can be there at night, and just think of the ratings! I looked into my magic ball, and it has shown me that the Derby undercard in years to come will start at 3:00 p.m. The Derby will be run at 8:00 p.m. and make Dancing, or American Vigalante look small as the ratings blow the roof off… Go ahead, mark my word.. I will take all bets, as long as it is donuts or a good cigar…. Or, even a cheap one at that…..Just when I thought Churchill was playing the “old boys club,” they innovate by the hour… They are on target…

So, let it be said. The game is going to change. They will make many happy, and the rest of us will be dragged kicking and screaming into the new era. I can’t wait, and after hearing that two casino companies have bought over three tracks in Ohio, it looks promising that they will survive. They will meet on June 6th, and my donuts are bet that they will ask for a Gov Strickland stamp, instead of going before the people in November. It was the casino interests that narrowly defeated the issue in the past, and now they own the tracks. Guess what? You didn’t know who to root for before, and now they are both fighters in the ring. I don’t want to jinx this issue, but it is looking better than a slam dunk. Give it time… They will get caught up just like the big boys….

Change is good, and when we save our sport, it gets even sweeter. One more crystal ball prediction. Kentucky will have a medical procedure where they have their head taken out of their butt…. Kentucky will see that tracks are changing, and things are happening in other states. The old guard who love the stogy ways of doing nothing well, will take the lead. You will be surprised when the naysayers push the hardest, and it will make old Tammany Hall look like the Kiwanis Club… Kentucky will live, and the game will survive. Just think, this all started along the seashore in New Jersey. I think we need to buy these folks a drink. It is well deserved, as it has shown us a new day. It is up to us to do something with it now….