Seems much less activity on this forum?

[Sysonby]

Without people like you, the people who own horses would be racing them for negligible prize money and a modest silver cup out in someone pasture. The fans are forgotten far too often.

Yes and no. Fans are great and I'm certainly not saying "just a fan" should leave the sport. But realistically unless the fan bets, breeds or owns or a combination of the three, he or she is not a big factor in keeping the lights on.

[bdw0617]

not necessarily true. fans watch TV. TV viewers attract advertisers, advertisers pay bills for TV networks, the more advertisers the more people are willing to put Horse racing on TV, the more horse racing is on TV, the more people are included to wager on it and eventually possibly own a horse.

that's kinda like saying if you don';t own an NFL team or play in the NFL or buy a ticket to an NFL game, you have no saying in how successful the NFL is, while the NFL is divvying up a 10 year 1.6 BILLION dollar TV package between the teams

maybe it's not as direct but i don't' think it's fair to say they have NO impact. This coming from someone who does more than his fair share of wagering. Fans are very imoprtant. Even if they aren't wagering they are going to the tracks and buying concessions and stuff.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Soooo...

Some are saying I (the average race fan) should get voted off the island because I'm not 'significant' enough, while others say without fans, the sport would decline.

I've seen that former attitude everywhere, in every hobby, political party, and religion.

And then later on, the dwindling hobby/party/faith base wonders why their numbers are dwindling.

[Sysonby]

not necessarily true. fans watch TV. TV viewers attract advertisers, advertisers pay bills for TV networks, the more advertisers the more people are willing to put Horse racing on TV, the more horse racing is on TV, the more people are included to wager on it and eventually possibly own a horse.

that's kinda like saying if you don';t own an NFL team or play in the NFL or buy a ticket to an NFL game, you have no saying in how successful the NFL is, while the NFL is divvying up a 10 year 1.6 BILLION dollar TV package between the teams

maybe it's not as direct but i don't' think it's fair to say they have NO impact. This coming from someone who does more than his fair share of wagering. Fans are very imoprtant. Even if they aren't wagering they are going to the tracks and buying concessions and stuff.

Right- you are talking about fans wagering. So was I.

As for the BC and the TC, they attract fans which is a good thing. But then the fans need to go wager. While I wouldn't criticize anyone for participating by blogging about their favorite horse or taking pictures, let's not overstate what that brings to the table.

[bdw0617]

i can agree with that for the most part. just saying those fans that are tuning into HRTV and TVG and buying hrtv online memberships and stuff like that, they count too.

[clh]

I think a strong fan base is very important to the racing industry. If we don't maintain fans we won't obtain new owners in my opinion. Right now I think this industry needs all the enthusiastic, positive people involved that it can get. Fans certainly are a very important and vital part of that. I think that is one major reason the industry is failing, it has forgotten its fan-base. Other sports that involve their fans aren't suffering like our industry is.

[Bast]

I think a strong fan base is very important to the racing industry. If we don't maintain fans we won't obtain new owners in my opinion. Right now I think this industry needs all the enthusiastic, positive people involved that it can get. Fans certainly are a very important and vital part of that. I think that is one major reason the industry is failing, it has forgotten its fan-base. Other sports that involve their fans aren't suffering like our industry is.

If I try to talk about horse racing among non-racing people, I get blank stares. The public at large knows next to nothing about racing, and they have no motivation to learn because it has mostly vanished from tv, and most people don't know anyone who gives a damn about the sport.

This was not always the case. The first step in getting people to bet is to get them interested in the game.

[bdw0617]

I think a strong fan base is very important to the racing industry. If we don't maintain fans we won't obtain new owners in my opinion. Right now I think this industry needs all the enthusiastic, positive people involved that it can get. Fans certainly are a very important and vital part of that. I think that is one major reason the industry is failing, it has forgotten its fan-base. Other sports that involve their fans aren't suffering like our industry is.

If I try to talk about horse racing among non-racing people, I get blank stares. The public at large knows next to nothing about racing, and they have no motivation to learn because it has mostly vanished from tv, and most people don't know anyone who gives a damn about the sport.

This was not always the case. The first step in getting people to bet is to get them interested in the game.

i will agree with this very much.

I mean, creating bettors / gamblers, hell even owners, is a process. very few people just get rich and say out of the blue hey you know what i want to do i want to go spend 10 dollars on race horses what's bob bafferts phone number. people (Generally) who grow up to be owners, were introduced to the game as a fan. Repole at one point in his life was that little kid just hanging on the rail at the big a not making any bets.

they got to come from somewhere. \

I listen to Jim Rohme all the time and he is a newer owner in horse racing. At one point in time he used to do entire freaking semgants just cracking on horse racing and how it was not a sport. then he started going to the races and he started talkingr about how he had a new respect for the game of horse racing. then he eventually got into a partnership. then he eventuly went out on his own. now he owns graded stakes horses.

bettors, owners even trainers or jockeys just don't appear out of the mist. they are culivated from a group of fans who at some point in time aren't gambling. that guy who 'never is going to own a horse" his father leves him an inheritance that he can now do something with. I actually know a guy right now who is dealing with that exact same scneerio and he wants to learn how to gamble on horses and I am showing him the ropes. girl who just likes to go to the track and look at horses, ends up marrying a guy who can buy her horses one day.

even when i got into racing i just didn't jump in. i watched races for almost what.. a half a year before i decided to make a wager.

[sprocket]

I have lurked on this site for the last three or four years, learned a lot and posted once when I intially found it. Iwas also not well received or understood but I am racing now and breeding,I guess one could say I learned by the my response to forget breeding my 2 mares as the did not have class enough to sell well. At the time I was looking to breed the best I could afford to the best racing lines realizing my mares were not what most of you would breed. I wanted to breed a horse to race from these mares that had size and bone, I was in a position to wait to start them, and was aware that if they could not run soundly, without drugs, and profitably they could be used for jumpers. We have property in New England and Ocala, Fl.. I was at the HITS jumper show this week, there are jumper classes paying $100,000.00, horses sell in the range of$15,000. to well over $100,000.00, the point being I want to race, breed and improve what I breed, I came here hoping to get back ground on blood lines, what to look for if I found a mare, with size, would it have the temperment to do two jobs, I know horses, I don't know racing, I can breed a sport horse, and I have learned much by following what has been said by many of the frequent posters, but would suggest that what works for one doesn't necessarily have to work for another. So far you've been right I've cheap 10,000. claimers running no bute or lasix and know they have a place to go where I won't have to give them away when their racing careers is finished. Funny I've found this amount to be were many better breed horses end up racing for various reasons. Thanks for your many comments through out the years.

[bdw0617]

you know what.. you bring up a very very good point

I do see a lot of "this mare isn't good enough to breed" but.. good enough to breed for what? every horse isn't going to be an allowance or even a high level claiming horse. if you know you are going to bred a 10k claimer what is the harm in that?

not only that, go to freggin Arkansas or Louisiana and see some of these excuses they have for bloodlines. some of these pedigrees these owners out to just be ashamed of themselves, horses running with 2 and 3 tail female lines not even racing lol, broodmare sires by sires you have never even heard of. just a bunch of to put it bluntly, bad pedigrees, yet they are running. considering they are running for 10k-15k claimers, probably not doing all that bad either honestly. at least some of them that can compete at that level.

personally i see no issue with someone breeding, questionable pedigree horses if they know what they are getting into a nd not thinking they are breeding the next john henry or something. just know it for what it is. good chance this horse might not see the track. but if that is what you wish to do, who is to tell you that what you are doing is wrong? you re playing t the level you can afford to play at.

[madelyn]

I think everyone, and I mean everyone, should be welcome here. Sorry you got a bad reaction, sprocket.

Speaking for myself, I no longer have the time to painstakingly research mares and stallions, and matings. I believe if I can't positively comment, I shouldn't answer..

I also believe that those that are not really knowledgeable about those things, the "peanut gallery", should not be warning off newbies.

[bayrabicano]

Sprocket,

I don't know where you're racing, but some of those so-called poorly bred horses running in LA are beating half million dollar horses shipped in.

I would think that most would agree that it would be far better to get a winning 10k claimer from breeding an inexpensive mare than pay $500k for one. Those races are necessary as they can't all be stakes.

I think that breeding race horses with a high residual value like yours is a smart move and I wish you much luck and success.

"As an asterisk to any studies regarding the breeding of Thoroughbreds, good horsemanship and luck have to be factored in. Cold, hard numbers are OK to look at and discuss, but there is more to the industry than just the facts." (Extract from The Blood-Horse)

[Sysonby]

Soooo...

Some are saying I (the average race fan) should get voted off the island because I'm not 'significant' enough, while others say without fans, the sport would decline.

I'm confused- where is the post someone said that?

[Sysonby]

Sprocket,

I don't know where you're racing, but some of those so-called poorly bred horses running in LA are beating half million dollar horses shipped in.

I would think that most would agree that it would be far better to get a winning 10k claimer from breeding an inexpensive mare than pay $500k for one. Those races are necessary as they can't all be stakes.

I think that breeding race horses with a high residual value like yours is a smart move and I wish you much luck and success.

"As an asterisk to any studies regarding the breeding of Thoroughbreds, good horsemanship and luck have to be factored in. Cold, hard numbers are OK to look at and discuss, but there is more to the industry than just the facts." (Extract from The Blood-Horse)

I have to admit that there are times I go to my local sale, see some of the products of certain breeders programs and wonder (a) what are they thinking of and (b) why did they think their horses were commercial? But I certainly don't go up to the consignors and give them a piece of my mind. Why do I get to have an opinion? If what they are doing doesn't work, they will find out right away with or with out me and unsolicited advice is almost never welcome. Or even often right.

[Mahubah]

Personally, my lack of posts is mostly due to lack of time. Besides having a regular column for The Blood-Horse's website and writing other articles here and there, I work a full-time day job in a different field and have all the usual responsibilities of a wife and mother as well, plus a couple of novels I'd like to finish writing (one my own, another a collaboration with my husband). I also quit giving out free mating advice years ago -- it's simply far too time-consuming if I really think it through and do it right, and not worth that much if I don't put in the effort.

Nastiness from a few people has come and gone, and I don't think it's the hallmark of the majority of posters here. For myself, I don't feel it would be right to put up anything I wouldn't be willing to say to a person face to face. Of course, I don't have the luxury of complete anonymity as a temptation, since between my professional connections and my unusual name, I'm easily tracked down. But I have never seen that vulgar language or abuse furthered any discussion -- the only thing it usually proves is that the nasty person is out of both ideas and manners.

I feel that this forum is one which should welcome any person with a genuine interest in racing, be they breeder, owner, trainer, bettor, or casual fan. There is something here for everyone who is willing to learn or trade knowledge.