recall years
ago watching Ken Burns’ BASEBALL series and an interview with the late
Buck O’Neill, famed Negro League/Kansas City Monarchs baseball
playerand manager. He noted that whatever travail baseball encountered,
something came along to “bring it back.”
And in racing’s case this past weekend, it was a filly named Rachel Alexandra.
Yes,
as the Baltimore Sun reported today, the attendance in the infield was
down over 30 percent, but wagering was up—significantly. $59 million
vs. $45 million last year. Which again shows that the party infield
revelers don’t give a hoot about the races…they evidently don’t even
bet.
And,
as the Sun noted, “for the horse racing industry, the money that counts
is the handle - the total amount wagered…that figure, $86,684,470 for
all races run Saturday at Pimlico, was the fifth highest ever for the
second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown.”
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