Solving the horse shortage

5/27/2009 7:47 PM  | dailyracingnews.com
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...The answer? That's obvious. There has to be less racing. That can be accomplished by revitalizing the concept of racing circuits.

Imagine a Kentucky-Illinois circuit with only one track running at once. And why not? Both Churchill and Arlington are owned by the same company (Churchill Downs Incorporated), are reasonably close geographically and feature about the same level of racing. Churchill could open when it does in the spring and race until mid-June. The action could then shift to Arlington, which could race through September. Both tracks would thrive.

Many of the problems at Pimlico and Laurel could be solved by working in concert with Delaware Park, reviving a Maryland-Delaware circuit that flourished for decades.

By joining forces, tracks can create meets infinitely better than what they're offering now. The fields would be larger, the racing better.
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What the Nation is saying about Solving the horse shortage...

Work together - a foreign concept in racing.
Coordinated racing, posts and stakes? Yes... that would involve the NTRA... way too much to ask of them. They are too busy reminding everyone about Eight Belles and Barbaro.
Would love to see tracks cooperating and coming up with a national plan including coordinated post times, less racing/more quality, full fields, smarter stakes schedule, and lower takeouts. Is that too much to ask?
Exactly... more racing with better quality. Racing also needs to spread out the calendar better. It's great to bet on a track like Tampa on Tuesdays... where they can handle some good dollars and fans have an attractive opportunity another day of the week.