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Finally, after years -- if not decades -- of fighting, peace in our time has seemingly been achieved at New York’s racetracks.

The beleaguered New York Racing Association, which had been mired in a long-running high stakes game of political poker with state officials, quite abruptly folded its hand on Tuesday.

In response to the state’s yanking on NYRA’s purse strings by withholding casino revenue, NYRA acquiesced to the demands of Governor Andrew Cuomo and agreed to a reorganization that will give the state the ability to re-shape the not-for-profit corporation.

The cornerstone of the peace treaty is the establishment of the NYRA Reorganization Board which for the next three years will control racing in New York through a board dominated by public appointees.

The new 17-person board will feature seven members named by Cuomo, two by the New York Senate and Assembly and five more will be selected by NYRA. Breeders and horsemen will be given an ex officio member, while the chairperson, who must be approved by the board, will be nominated by Cuomo.

The new board will also chose a CEO for NYRA.

"With the structure of the gaming industry changing here in New York, the state also needs to take a new approach to how it manages and governs racing,” Cuomo said in a press release, which added that NYRA will return to majority private control at the end of three years. “New Yorkers can be assured that the NYRA Reorganization Board will act in the interests of the members of the public who enjoy horse racing, the taxpayers who support it, and the horses themselves, to make racing in our state the strongest, safest and most enjoyable in the country."

The same press release contained equally supportive and optimistic comments from Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, NYRA chairman Steven Duncker, NYRA board member John Hendrickson, President of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Barry Ostrager and NYRA board member and New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association president Rick Violette Jr., indicating the dawn of one big, happy family in New York racing.

Of course, only time will tell if Cuomo is a modern day Neville Chamberlain -- sans the moustache and wing collar -- with hollow promises or an admirable leader and statesman.

More will be known once the board is filled and a chairman is named. That’s when the state’s course for NYRA will finally become clear, and we’ll learn whether there can be a happy marriage between the Governor’s plans for racing and the hopes and needs of the fan base that supports the sport.

The past has shown us a mixed bag. New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani scored a touchdown in 1994 when he brought in Allie Sherman to run New York City OTB. Sherman did a much better job with NYC OTB than he did while coaching the New York Giants, which admittedly is not saying much. Prior to that, Mayor David Dinkins made an abysmal decision in putting NYC OTB under the control of a political crony, Hazel Dukes.

Yet as we wait for the new landscape to be developed, there will be one interesting change. For years, NYRA had been a convenient piñata for politicians and their minions, even though a share of NYRA’s problems stem from state regulations.

Now, when something goes wrong at the track, fingers cannot be pointed at Charlie Hayward or Barry Schwartz or anyone else who ran NYRA. The woes can be traced back to Albany.

It’s all on the Governor’s watch now, and a few years from now he’ll deserve either praise or shame for the state of New York racing. Politicians usually accept blame as freely as they would the flu, but in winning his poker game Cuomo now has the keys to the kingdom and he cannot castigate others for his mess.

It’s his people who will have the loudest say on matters like the use of Lasix, breeding incentives, customer rebates, improvements to the facilities and the backstretch areas and whether Aqueduct will be closed to make way for a new convention center. And their decisions will reflect on him, for better or worse.

At this point in time, as everything begins to evolve, there are some very fair questions to ask. Will the board take some business risks and allow the sport to thrive for the benefit of its fans and the thousands of industry workers in the state? Or will it simply follow a page out of the standard political playbook and squeeze every possible penny of the sport on the supposed behalf of the taxpayers?

Will the next Chairman of the Board and CEO have an allegiance to the sport or to saying “your wish is my command” to Cuomo?

In the end it all comes down to a question of fans or taxpayers. Who will New York racing belong to in the next few years? Clearly it should be fans because no one has to own a horse or even wager 10 cents on a race -- at least in New York anyway. All of that happens because people love the sport, and if that support erodes and fans and horsemen are driven away because political appointees drain the life out it, it will be the Governor’s fault. There’s no other way. To blame NYRA will be like a celebrity claiming they were misquoted in their autobiography. You can say it, but no one has to listen.

Yes, Governor Cuomo has won the war and soon he’ll control NYRA. What he does with it is the mystery that will ultimately decide whether he should be remembered for saving racing or merely hastening its decline.

When it rains, it pours and that had nothing at all to do with the cloudy skies that have hovered over the Big Apple for the last week or so.

For the New York Racing Association, 2012 has seemingly produced one tumultuous week after another, including last week’s news that President and CEO Charles Hayward and general counsel Patrick Kehoe had been fired in the aftermath of a State Racing and Wagering Board interim report on NYRA’s failure to properly lower the takeout rate on exotic wagers in 2010.

It was a dramatic move and in some ways it was inevitable. Hayward denied any intentional wrong-doing to the Albany Times Union, calling the report “flawed and admittedly incomplete.” And it’s completely plausible that the takeout debacle was more of a misunderstanding than deceit. Yet emails published in the report indicate someone at NYRA should have been aware of the problem, and when you’re talking about keeping more than $8 million out of the pocket of your customers, pleading ignorance while collecting a $475,000 salary has a hollow ring to it.

When that much money is involved, a boss like Hayward cannot just say “oops” and move on without consequence -- even if it was just an unintentional brain freeze. Confidence in someone’s business skills is difficult to rebuild after a 14-month-long goof.

Moreover Hayward’s cause wasn’t helped by the digs he took at some politicians in a published email to Daily Racing Form editor and publisher emeritus Steve Crist, which brings us to this week’s chapter of the ongoing NYRA soap opera.

As NYRA searches for a replacement for Hayward, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has the spin machine rocking like an old juke box. On Monday, according to the Associated Press, Cuomo said “he and lawmakers are considering legislation to end what he calls the troubled history of the New York Racing Association.”

His words about regulating and controlling NYRA were completely predictable, and hearing them should conjure up visions of the old Marx Brothers movie “Duck Soup.”

Just picture Gov. Cuomo as Groucho, with his grease paint moustache and cigar in hand, hunched over as Rufus T. Firefly singing “The last man nearly ruined this place, he didn’t know what to do with it. If you think this country’s bad off now, just wait ‘til I get through it!”

Yes, if you believe things are going badly with a management structure like NYRA’s in place, just wait until politicians and their hand-picked designees start calling the shots.

For examples, simply pay a visit to 515 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, or 991 Second Avenue.

There you’ll find two shuttered New York City Off-Track Betting parlors that stand in testament of how the government can quite regally mess up a money-making racket.

The collapse of NYC OTB should be all any patron of the sport in the Big Apple needs to turn a deaf ear to Cuomo. In more cases than not, government agencies and leaders are simply ill-equipped and lack the business savvy to run or oversee a venture that provides entertainment.

The government is used to collecting money whether or not its taxpayers want to fork over their hard-earned dollars, and typically view the flow of money as a one-way street -- into its pockets.

Spend a dollar to make a dollar? That’s not the government way.

For an entity like NYRA to succeed it needs to have a long range plan that features building a loyal customer base and giving those people a reason to spend their entertainment dollars at a racetrack as opposed to a casino or movie theater. Money needs to be pumped into the business, not just out of it.

But in the eyes of the government, racing is just a cash cow. It’s necessary for its revenue stream, and nowhere in the mind of some political leaders is there an understanding that racing needs to be something people enjoy.

That’s why, for the fans, NYRA is necessary. Hayward made a big-time mistake, but he cared deeply about the sport and its fans. And right now those fans need someone else in charge who is concerned foremost about catering to them and insuring the future of the racing industry as opposed to focusing on much how much money will be turned over to the State of New York in the next few months.

Despite what some politicians might say, racing does not belong to the state or even the general public. It belongs to those people who follow racing, who wager on it, who buy horses, who spend their lives training, riding, breeding or caring for horses. Without them there would be no revenue stream for the state tax coffers.

To the head of a successful company, that type of business acumen is a no-brainer. Take care of the customer. It’s Rule One. To a politician, well, let’s not forget all those closed NYC OTB parlors. They best explain what government control can suck out of an entity like NYRA, especially at time when Cuomo wants to expand casino gaming.

So the next time, you hear Gov. Cuomo or another politician squawk about the state running NYRA, just think of Groucho. You will not want to see the place when they get through with it.

If there were questions about the ability of The Lumber Guy to handle a mile, they were split in two Saturday at Aqueduct by a Bunyan-esque swing.

In winning the Jerome by 2 3/4 lengths, the speedy 3-year-old confirmed his status as a highly capable sprinter.

But at the time of year when talk about 3-year-olds centers on the Triple Crown, are there bigger and better things on the horizons for the talented New York State-bred? Perhaps.

In his previous start, The Lumber Guy faced an ambitious challenge, running in the mile-and-an-eighth Wood Memorial in just his third career start. While appearing a bit rank on the final turn, he set the early fractions, with eventual winner Gemologist in close pursuit, before tiring in the stretch and winding up fifth.

It certainly wasn’t a performance that shouted out “Kentucky Derby” but with some more seasoning -- like a front-running victory at a flat mile -- there was enough promise in the effort to keep afloat the notion that he can handle at least nine furlongs.

Trainer Mike Hushion was non-committal after the victory, but certainly had his interest piqued with another two-turn test after watching the son of Grand Slam go gate-to-wire in 1:36.04.

“His gallop out looked good to me -- from what I saw quickly -- so I don’t know about distance limitations,” Hushion said. “I guess that 36 flat [1:36.04] is going to come up a nice time. Getting to the two-turn thing is a bridge we’re going to have to cross sometime pretty soon. Today, he showed what we were hoping he would show. When he got his head, in front his stride just opened up. His stride looked awfully good down the backside. He’s a nice, big mover.”

“Soon” could mean the May 19 Preakness, when The Lumber Guy would have two extra weeks of rest over the horses who knocked heads in the Kentucky Derby and his presence would enliven the pace scenario.
The $200,000 Peter Pan, a week earlier at Belmont, offers less risk while helping to answer questions about The Lumber Guy’s distance limitations and seems a better target.

But be it long or another sprint stakes for The Lumber Guy’s next assignment, the Jerome showed just how much talent he has in his tank. And being a New York State-bred, his performance, and that of fellow NYSB and Jerome runner-up Brigand, speaks volumes for the quality for the state breeding program and gives off hope that the local racing scene may be graced with another state-bred who can compete with the best horses in the nation.

With some luck, we could be looking at another Funny Cide or Haynesfield in the making.

It is an early Saturday or Sunday morning and the kids want to go somewhere. The parents are deciding what would keep the interest of the kids. Over at Belmont Park the thoroughbreds are training and it is a beautiful day.

“Breakfast at Belmont provides a wonderful opportunity for families to visit the racetrack during morning workout hours and see thoroughbreds up close as they train,” said Dan Silver, director of communications and media relations for NYRA. “This free program provides an exceptional introduction to Belmont Park and we hope many New Yorkers will take advantage of it this spring and summer.”

Mary Ryan a fixture at NYRA is in the Belmont Café hosting the Breakfast as she announces. Ryan points out trainers and jockeys who are on the track apron and gives information about the 2,000 thoroughbreds that are stabled at Belmont.

NYRA includes a tram tour that goes behind the scenes to show the stable area where the horses and their caretakers live. Fans get a look at the peaceful Belmont landscape.

After the tram tour, it is time for the starting gate demonstration where visitors see what it is like from a jockey and horse point of view, when the starting gate bell rings, they run out of their gate number just like a racehorse.

By the paddock in the beautiful backyard several NYRA employees and a retired racehorse show how a horse is dressed with all types of equipment.

What a way to start the day with breakfast by the track!

It’s finally time for a change of scenery.

After a winter that had far too many breakdowns, hardly any snow and illustrated how all that glitters isn’t gold, the New York Racing Association’s marathon six-month stay at Aqueduct comes to an end Sunday.
On Friday, April 27, Beautiful Belmont Park will open its doors, signaling that we’re just seven weeks away from the Belmont Stakes and only 13 weeks shy of Saratoga.

OK, we’re getting ahead of ourselves a bit, yet let’s just say it’s nice to envision racing somewhere else other than Ozone Park.

Looking back, the Big A’s inner and main track meets featured a surprising number of stars with horses like Gemologist, Hansen, Alpha, Jackson Bend, Caleb’s Posse and It’s Tricky in action.

The final weekend looms a bit anti-climactic after races such as the Wood and Carter, but at the very least Saturday’s $200,000 Jerome features a 3-year-old who might have an axe to grind later in the year in some of the more important middle distance graded stakes. The Lumber Guy was an easy winner of his first start at Aqueduct and the Miracle Wood Stakes at Laurel. Then he was cut down to size by Gemologist after setting the early pace in the mile-and-an-eighth Wood Memorial, as he faded to sixth.

While that loss hammered the final nail in the coffin as far as The Lumber Guy’s Triple Crown hopes go, trainer Mike Hushion apparently has no interest in allowing his colt to pick up splinters sitting on the bench. Returning on just two weeks rest, The Lumber Guy should find the one-turn mile and the competition -- which may include Adirondack King, Dan and Sheila, Guyana Star Dweej, Right to Vote and Sensor -- much more to his liking.

“It’s back quicker than I’d like, but I’m anxious to run him in a one-turn mile,” Hushion said. “I think that’s the key. A rider can just come out there real quietly, wherever he wants to take him, and make them sort it out for a half-mile down the backside.”

The Jerome closes out Aqueduct’s stakes schedule, and then after Sunday’s card, it’s off to Beautiful Belmont where racing will take place without slot machines to lure people to the grounds.

Won’t that be an interesting sight?

Aside from seeing an exciting renewal of the Wood Memorial, there was another nice aspect to last weekend’s visit to Aqueduct.

I picked up the 2012 edition of the New York Racing Association Media Guide.

The truth be told, on a dusty shelf here in the Shelton abode, there sits a copy of the 1980 NYRA Media Guide, which was my initial passport to all of the vital information about the many personalities, be they vibrant or dull, that gave New York racing its distinct flavor.

Back then, NYRA was a pioneer among racetracks in producing a publication with comprehensive biographical and historical information. And in those long ago days before Al Gore (or someone) invented the internet and put every trivial fact at our fingertips, it was cool as a racing fan to peruse through the pages of a book that gave horsemen the kind of star treatment that had been reserved for professional athletes.

Admittedly, 32 years later, the media guide has become somewhat old hat for me, yet another trip down memory lane uncovered some great information that once again informed, surprised and even humbled this longtime improver of the breed. There’s quite a cast of characters at NYRA.

Thanks to the internet, you can download a copy of the guide at www.nyra.com, but to save you some time, allow me, with tongue in cheek at times, to point out some of the many nuggets of information at your disposal.

For instance:

-- Owner Henry Terranova “spent 22 years working as a WWE referee and also was a baseball scout for the San Francisco Giants.”

It must have been quite an adjustment for him seeing a bat used to hit a ball instead of someone’s skull.

-- Ed Bowen, who operates Drawing Away Stable, is the retired director of pensions for the New York City Transit Authority.

Guess he just can’t pry himself away from pensions.

-- I was eager to find out more about Funky Munky Stable, which seemed the creation of someone who, like me, devours Chunky Monkey ice cream or at the very least a guy who loves crazy dancing -- another passion of mine (I live to do the Disco Duck). Instead it’s owned by a guy named Richard Munk. Munk -- Munky, Funky, get it?

That’s pretty deflating. Sort of like finding out Madonna has actually been a librarian in Bayonne for all these years.

-- Was glad to read that Kiaran McLaughlin has been doing so well as a trainer. Previously, he was the “agent for the late Chris Antley in 1992-93.”

Now I know there are a few trainers out there who are not the brightest bulbs on Broadway, but I’m thinking it had to be hard to book mounts for a jockey who had passed away. Excellent career change, Kiaran.

-- Among the notable accomplishments of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum is “Responsible for the modern development of Dubai.”

Yeah, I’ll admit that tops the line in my resume reading “Participated in Times Mirror’s Frontline Leadership and Building Management Skills and Techniques seminars.”

-- Chester Broman owns Chestertown Farm which is located in Chestertown, N.Y.

Way to go, Chester. You own a farm AND a city. That’s neat. Don’t think the world is ready for Ehaltville, though.

-- Winning Move Stables is owned by Steven Sigler, whose daughter is Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who played Meadow Soprano on TV.

I’ll bet he knows if Tony got whacked.

-- Owner Landon Robbins III is the founder and chairman of Service Net, a leader in the extended warranty industry.

My 12-year-old toaster is in the mail, Mr. Robbins.

-- Jockey Maylan Studart, in her native Brazil, “Grew up around horses and rode jumpers.”

I got jumped walking home from school in 1967. Went with the territory when you grew up in Queens.

-- John Parisella has trained for actors James Caan, Jack Klugman and Telly Savalas.

That’s great, but he’s not the trainer of the stars in my book until he adds ALF to his client list.

-- Trainer Eoin Harty is a “die-hard New York Yankees fan.”

Eoin, 20 years from now, you have my Hall of Fame vote in your back pocket.

-- It was written that trainer Shug McGaughey has “childhood friend and former fellow Cub Scout ‘Buzz’ Tenney” as his longtime assistant.

Sorry, folks, I’m not buying that one. If Shug and Buzz ever wore Cub Scout uniforms a picture would have surfaced in the “Indian Charlie” newsletter by now.

-- Owner William S. Farish III is the Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to Great Britain.

Wow, that pretty much trumps me being the thrice-impeached past president of the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance.

-- Jockey Rosie Napravnik is married to a gentleman named Joe Sharp.

You figured some Sharp guy would scoop her up.

-- Trainer David Donk, when he was 24 started working as an assistant to Woody Stephens.

Now I’m jealous. Woody was a hero of mine. Loved his personality and the way he brought out the very best in so many great racehorses. I won’t get into some of my old bosses, but let’s just say at the same age as when Donk had the good fortune to work with Woody I had the “steadily depressin’ lowdown mind messin’ working at the car wash blues.”

-- Jockey Jorge Chavez said he had never ridden a horse until he was 20 when a friend brought him to the races in Peru. “I started galloping horses the next year,” he said.

Ah, there’s still hope for my riding career. All I need is a trainer willing to accept 143 pounds of overweight and an agent to secure mounts for me. Wonder if Kiaran McLaughlin has some free time.

-- Billy Turner, the only trainer left on this earth with a Triple Crown sweep to his credit. His introduction to racing came from growing up with Burley Cocks’ son, Winky.

Not even I am going to touch that one.

Interesting thing about the weather.

A year ago, during a winter only the owner of a ski lodge could love, spring was greeted like Willis Reed limping out for Game 7.

This year, we have about as mild a winter as anyone could ask, and at Aqueduct Racetrack spring still could not get here quickly enough.

Tuesday’s official arrival of spring came a day before the New York Racing Association opened the main track at Aqueduct, bringing on one level an end to racing on the winterized inner track two weeks earlier than scheduled, and on another, perhaps some normalcy back to the sport.

After a horrific winter in which there were 20 fatalities in less than four months of racing over the inner track, the opening of the main track and a full-court press to curtail the breakdowns has shifted the focus from breakdowns to scratches -- a trade any general manager would make in a heartbeat.

There were 18 scratches on Wednesday’s first card on the main track, followed by 14 on Thursday and a more reasonable eight on Friday. Since NYRA does not make scratches by its veterinary staff public, it’s difficult to ascertain how many were voluntary and how many were mandated.

The previous Wednesday and Thursday there had been a combined 21 scratches.

Yet, regardless of the circumstances, the impact was clear as the first three days of racing produced no fatalities, welcomed news after having seven during the period covering March 2-17.

The change in latitudes and attitudes also comes at a time when a task force was introduced Thursday by the New York Racing and Wagering Board to investigate the fatalities at the inner track meet and uncover answers as to why there was calamity at such an unprecedented rate.

The four-person task force, assembled in cooperation with New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association president Rick Violette, includes Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, Alan Foreman, chairman and CEO of Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Associations, Dr. Scott E. Palmer, the hospital director and staff surgeon at the New Jersey Equine Clinic, and Dr. Mary Scollay, the equine medical director of the Kentucky Horse racing Commission.

Together they will undertake an all-encompassing analysis that will focus on a review of NYRA’s policies on public disclosures, necropsies, track conditions and pre-race examinations of horses and its rules covering claims, veterinary procedures and equine drug use.

“We have assembled an outstanding panel of industry experts, who will conduct a fair and objective investigation to determine if there is a definitive cause for the increase in the number of catastrophic breakdowns at Aqueduct this winter,” Violette said. “We trust they will analyze all data meticulously, and New York 's horsemen will give our whole-hearted support to this initiative. No one has a more vested interest in protecting our horses and our jockeys to the very best of everyone's abilities than the 5,000 members of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association."

The task force’s findings will be made public, adding some transparency to the process and giving off more hope that something beneficial might ultimately arise from as dark a winter as NYRA has ever endured.

Spring, what took you so long to get here?

Each of the New York Racing Association (NYRA) tracks has its own distinct atmosphere. Saratoga is known for the large crowds it draws every day of its summer meet, from the locals and diehards to the tourists and vacationers who visit the historical town each summer. And of course Belmont Park boasts the annual Belmont Stakes, which draws a national and global audience every year, never more so than when it holds the potential of awarding a triple-crown title.

And, then there is Aqueduct. The crowds are sparse, the winds are strong and the seagulls battle to fly in the raw winter air. But there is one voice that warms the fans that venture to the Big A: John Imbriale, who started working for NYRA on November 5, 1979. Today he is the Director of NYRA Production, overseeing all production and a 30-person TV crew. But not only does Imbriale oversee TV production, he is also the race caller at Aqueduct Racetrack when Tom Durkin takes a vacation. For years, Imbriale has provided his voice to call the horses over the inner track of Aqueduct throughout the winter meet.

While Imbriale works in the shadow of legends such as Tom Durkin, his advice to future race callers stresses a fundamentally important trait -- the need to be yourself, “Develop your own style and don’t imitate Tom Durkin or Trevor Denman or anyone else.” Imbriale also longs for a bit more diversity in the caller’s booth, noting “I’d love to see and hear a female track announcer.”

Imbriale seems to enjoy most of the races he calls, as he responded to a question about a favorite memory by noting how much he enjoyed announcing one particular horse in the very recent Tom Fool Handicap, run on Saturday, March 3, 2012. “I got a thrill calling Caleb’s Posse. He didn’t even win. He’s just very exciting when he makes his late run,” noted Imbriale.

Spring is a week away, which means the Aqueduct meet has a month left, the voice of the inner track, will be silenced for the season. But Imbriale will be back next year, and in the meantime will continue to bring the fans the sights and the sounds of racing -- albeit behind the scenes -- as he continues his responsibilities, as director of NYRA TV.

Michael Fenrich is a freelance writer covering sports and human interest stories.
Michael has had horse racing stories posted on usatoday.com and bloodhorse.com.
Michael can be contacted at: mikefenrich@optonline.net

In a winter filled with the glow of unprecedented purses and unusually mild weather, it’s sad to report that an ominous van rather than a horse has emerged as the lasting image of New York’s 2012 winter racing season.

The haunting specter of the white horse van that removes injured or deceased race horses from the track has been seen of late at Aqueduct with seemingly the same frequency as Sam the Bugler.

Since Nov. 30 there have been 15 fatal breakdowns in races over Aqueduct’s inner track, a figure which is reportedly 50 percent higher than in the past two inner track meets.

Numerous other times, like twice on Sunday, horses with minor or at least non-life threatening injuries have been led into the van and driven to their barn or a veterinary hospital for treatment.

Yonkers may have its talking spokesperson horse, but NYRA has now its van, which has become such a ubiquitous part of a day at the races in the era of real-time, digital coverage of the sport that one can only wonder how long it will be before its driver, or perhaps even the van itself, starts a Twitter account.

In response to a situation that’s spiraling downward at a frightening pace, NYRA’s vice president and director of racing, P.J. Campo, vice president of facilities and racing surfaces, Glen Kozak, and the circuit’s leading jockey, Ramon Dominguez, met with the media on Thursday to declare the racing surface safe.

It was a highly predictable party line, and, most likely, it was probably correct. The inner track has never been considered dangerous and this year’s mild weather should not have worsened the situation. Dominguez’s comments also echo that sentiment as jockeys put their life on the line every time they hop on the back of a horse. If the racetrack was to blame for the injuries and fatalities, it’s logical to believe there would be a deafening outcry from the jockey colony.
So what’s happening?

Without the benefit of exhaustive medical research or access to veterinary bills, it’s impossible to point to one reason with absolute certainty. Yet somewhere in the mix it would seem to involve the time of year, the quality and physical condition of the horses racing and even the inflated purses.

Winter racing has never been a haven for the best and brightest of the racing world. It’s a time when non-descript horses and small outfits can rake in enough purse money to help pay the bills during the lean summer days. Horses that finish last in their Saratoga debut break their maiden on the inner track.

They are slower horses, often having a litany of medical and physical issues. They can have excessive wear and tear from a long, taxing career. And in the winter this small army of also-rans comes together to sustain the sport and fuel its mutuel handle, albeit at a far more lethargic pace.

It’s been that way for years. Yet this year enhanced purses from casino revenue have changed the landscape. There are still $7,500 claimers, but the purses are dramatically higher. In the NYRA of 2012 those horses which can be bought for $7,500 can bring back nearly $17,000 in purse money for winning a race, a financial distortion that might partially explain this year’s rash of injuries and breakdowns.

It’s not that some horses are running back too soon, say in two days, which is both glaring and rare. More common is that in some instances the narrow time frame for the easy pickings in the winter -- things will change when the major outfits return from Florida within the next month -- could cause a trainer to run a horse twice in a month instead of once and increase the strain on the animal.

In another scenario, it’s simply that the horses are running in the first place. The dramatic imbalance between purses and claiming prices has created a frenzy at the claim box, which in this dynamic might be encouraging some folks to race achy horses who in the past might get a vacation.

In background discussion about the state of the claiming game, a veteran trainer said he’s getting more calls per day than ever before from his owners about getting a horse. In some cases, there’s little concern about a horse’s physical condition because in the current climate a horse with a problem can be dropped a notch in claiming price and someone will claim it and make it their problem.

With some horses, it’s not so much the claiming game as it is hot potato. Last year, for example, when the claim box was gathering dust, there was more of a reason to be prudent and not push the envelope. Now, with huge purses and 12-way shakes for claimed horses, horsemen can be more impulsive because of the larger financial safety net.

There’s no way of knowing whether this was responsible for one or all of the injuries, but it seems a double-edged sword at the very least. It’s a great time to latch onto a good horse and turn a quick profit, and an even better time to unload a horse with a laundry list of issues.

In this kind of an environment is it at all surprising that Daily Racing Form reported nine of the 15 fatalities (60 percent) occurred at NYRA’s lowest rung on the claiming ladder?

In recent a talk with Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens for another post, he voiced a concern that the purse enhancements had thrown the balance between claiming prices and purses out of whack. “There’s not much good that can come out of that situation,” said Jerkens, who is currently stabled in Florida.

Perhaps this year’s spate of injuries is a reflection of that. Dealing with the problem, though, is a more difficult situation. Lowering the purses for claiming races would go over like a lead balloon with horsemen.

Since there is a “buyer beware” philosophy inherent in the claiming game that works against transparency, the best option would seem to be more vigilance on the part of the NYRA veterinarian staff. Some might see it as an overreaction, but at times like this, something has to be done. If it takes more scrutiny and less tolerance and the placing of more horses on the vet’s list (which sidelines them for at least two weeks and sends a loud message to someone who might claim them) then it has to be done.

Just saying it’s not the track, is not enough. More has to be done to keep NYRA’s infamous white van in the garage.

Paul Ruchames has been involved in social work for nearly three decades, but he says it’s been the last two years that have been the most rewarding for him.

Since taking over as the executive director of the Backstretch Employee Service Team (B.E.S.T.) in March of 2010, Ruchames has been at the helm of an integral behind-the-scenes program that has helped to change lives on the backstretch of New York’s three racetracks. On a daily basis, the non-profit organization extends a helping hand to racetrack workers, providing them with essential services and goods such as free heath care and life insurance, drug counseling and mental health care as well as food and clothing.

“This is the most meaningful endeavor I’ve been involved in,” Ruchames said. “We’re helping people live better lives and there’s such a tremendous amount of satisfaction that comes from that as well as working with such an incredibly dedicated staff and a team of volunteers. There are so many generous people out there willing to help others.”

Ruchames says B.E.S.T. has a fulltime staff of about 15 and nearly 150 volunteers who work tirelessly on behalf of nearly 2,000 backstretch workers at Belmont Park, Aqueduct and Saratoga. Supported by an annual budget of $2.2 million, which comes mostly from the New York Racing Association and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, B.E.S.T. operates an on-track clinic throughout the year at Cottage 28B on the Belmont Park backstretch, which is staffed by a fulltime physician, and services workers at Saratoga for seven months out of the year.

The clinic treats roughly 120 patients per month and approximately 20 more are taking advantage of the group’s drug and alcoholic counseling programs. For many of those workers, a large number of whom are immigrants, treatment by Dr. Frederic Cogan at the B.E.S.T. clinic will serve as their first visit to a doctor in years -- if not ever.

“So many of these workers come from poor rural areas that they’re never seen a doctor before,” says Ruchames, who has played a lead role in revitalizing B.E.S.T., which was plagued by cash flow troubles prior to his arrival. “And they are such hard-working people that even if they get hurt they will not stop for treatment; they just keep working. Through our program, we’ve been able to provide some help for these people and also get them vaccinations to keep them healthy.”

The many success stories arising out of the work by B.E.S.T. has caught the eye of several New York businesses, allowing the program to grow at a dramatic rate the last two years. Macy’s, for example, recently provided B.E.S.T. with a $10,000 grant for hepatitis testing.

Ruchames also notes a computer lab was recently opened at Saratoga and plans are in the works to introduce one at Belmont Park.

“The computers and components like Skype are great for workers who are disconnected from their families,” Ruchames says. “When workers can contact their families it helps to alleviate the emptiness that often leads to drug or alcohol use. As much [as] we provide treatment to those who need it, we are also focused on trying to eliminate the root cause of those problems.”

Clearly, a large and growing community of needy backstretch workers have guardian angels looking over them. And through all of that care and concern, something quite special has been taking place away from the bright spotlight of the circular dirt surfaces that have made New York racing so famous. Some dedicated individuals have taken the B.E.S.T. and made it better.

(Note: Anyone interested in supporting B.E.S.T. can reach Ruchames by email at paul@bestbackstretch.com or by phone at (516) 488-3434, ext. 103)

It may seem an odd source of inspiration, but New York racing can learn a thing or two from Little League baseball.

In dealing with fragile and developing throwing arms, there are restrictions on how many pitches per week a youngster can throw.

In light of some recent events, perhaps the New York Racing Association should institute its own version of the “pitch count” by restricting the amount of times a horse can race over a short period of time. How about mandatory a five-day gap between races? It seems pretty painless. It wouldn’t affect many horsemen and would have little to no impact the average number of daily starters.

It would also eliminate a frustrating problem for handicappers and the industry, while reducing strain on horses.

Is there really a downside to it?

All of this stems from this past Saturday’s Aqueduct card when trainer Linda Rice ran Lithe Legend in the fifth race. Some 48 hours earlier, on Thursday, Lithe Legend finished third in the fourth race. Because of the quick turnaround, the track program and Daily Racing Form editions lacked information on how Lithe Legend fared on Thursday, leaving some fans in the dark.

Compounding matters, NYRA did not declare Lithe Legend a non-wagering starter, and stipulate she run for purse money only. In a similar incident three months ago, when trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. raced Iron Lou on Nov. 6, two days after he ran on Nov. 4, the horse ran for purse money only.

Clearly, NYRA deserves a Big E on the Rheingold scoreboard (old Mets fans will recall that one) for that blunder as Lithe Legend finished fourth on Saturday, burning plenty of money as the 9-2 third choice in the wagering.

Establishing firm rules that would have mandated Lithe Legend run for purse only is a start, but in a game that’s propelled by wagering, the presence of non-wagering interests can create unnecessary headaches. Lithe Legend, for example, pressed the pace of the front-running Mad River, a 9-1 shot who finished fifth. Perhaps if Lithe Legend spent Saturday in the barn resting, Mad River gets brave on the front end and lands in the triple.

The presence of a Lithe Legend in a field can also be exasperating to a handicapper who studies a race the night before it’s run. The general expectation is that a horse like her would be scratched. Instead it runs and then in some way, shape or form affects the outcome.

A major part of the problem is that while it might be assumed that Thoroughbreds are too fragile to compete effectively when given less rest than a starting pitcher, they are usually competitive. More precisely, they tend to run back to that very last race.

The infamous Oscar Barrera would often run a horse on a couple of days rest and win at 3-5 odds. Just last week, Dutrow won a high-priced claiming race at Aqueduct on Friday with This Ones for Phil and then 72 hours later sent him out to finish second -- to a stablemate -- in a graded stakes, the $200,000 Grade 2 General George at Laurel.

A few years back, in discussing horses on short rest with Len Freidman, a partner with Ragozin Thoroughbred Data, which puts out The Sheets, a question was raised about the way he views a horse on 2 or 3 days rest. Keep in mind, the Ragozin -- and Thoro-graph, too -- philosophy revolves around a sufficient amount of rest after a taxing effort. His response is that they can sometimes duplicate or come close to their last-race figure, but then need an extended rest to recover from the strain of back-to-back races.

Which means, good luck wagering on Lithe Legend if she returns to the races in another week or so. It’s unlikely she’ll run faster than she did Saturday unless she gets a vacation until April, though there’s even no absolute guarantee of that for beleaguered handicappers. She could be an exception to the rule that runs huge next time, creating more angst for the wagering public.

And, in a worst case scenario, what happens when a horse running on two days rest breaks down? There might not be medical evidence linking short rest and breakdowns, but why should facts suddenly get in the way of public opinion.

So why risk it? Put a protective rule in place to end all of the confusion and uncertainty, and look like good, caring guys and gals. For the sake of a few starts a month, why not? It makes sense.

If we can be protective of a 10-year-old’s arm, is there really anything wrong with safeguarding the legs of 3-year-olds and the wallets of 21-year-olds and up?

And what are your thoughts on this? Is running for purse money only enough? Is a 4 or 5 or 6 day ban fine? Or should it be a case of “gambler beware” with no set policy?

It has been said that Facebook helped engineer the overthrow of a political regime in Egypt.

Yet every now and then some good can be achieved by simply raising a hand and talking.

To that end, New York racing fans will get a chance to speak their mind on what’s wrong or right about the sport on March 3 at Aqueduct when the Racing Fan Advisory Council will conduct its first public forum.

Actually, the event will take place in the Central Park Room (third floor) at the Resorts World Casino New York City from 10 a.m. to noon, but racing promises to top the agenda.

The Racing Fan Advisory Council was formed last September for the purpose of advising the New York State Racing and Wagering Board on racing and wagering inside the Empire State.

Among the council’s duties is passing along feedback from fans and the March 3 meeting should provide an ample opportunity to direct questions or thoughts to the council members, a group that currently includes chairman Patrick M. Connors, a professor of law at the Albany Law School, Michael F. Amo, chair and co-founder of ThoroFan, Allan Carter from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, and M. Kelly Young, associate director of national affairs for the New York Farm Bureau.

The meeting will feature opening remarks from council members, a presentation by the New York Racing Association, a question and answer session and a tour of the racetrack.

So, if you have a gripe, mark March 3 on your calendar, when you can also check out Hansen running in the Gotham and three other stakes (the Tom Fool, Top Flight and Kings Point) while you’re in the neighborhood.

And if you can’t make it out to Aqueduct, questions can be submitted via email to racingfan@racing.ny.gov.

Guess it wouldn’t be an official event these days without some form of a digital presence.

While the new casino at Aqueduct and inflated purses have created a buzz with most New York horsemen, there’s at least one trainer who could care less about what’s happening in the space that used to house the Big A’s grandstand.

H. Allen Jerkens, New York’s most famous and revered trainer, said he did not visit the Resorts World Casino before heading south in mid-November with his horses. Nor should you look for him there with a cup full of quarters once spring rolls around.

At the tender age of 82, Jerkens says more than anything at all racing is still about the love of horses for him. So, larger purses or not, he has no plans to abruptly leave Florida and chase the bigger pots in the Big Apple. He’s quite content to spend the winter watching his horses thrive in the warmth and glow of the Florida sun -- as he’s done for decades.

“I’ll head back to New York in April, like I usually do,” the sport’s living legend said by phone from his Florida barn. “I’m not changing anything. I’ve heard about the purses but I’ve never worried about them. If you’re not winning, the size of the purse doesn’t matter. I worry about the horse part of this game. That’s what matters.”

Jerkens certainly has not been winning as much as he did in the 1960’s and 1970’s when he was sending out paupers to beat the regal likes of Kelso and Secretariat. He has a stable of 14 now, and has won a pair of races during the current Gulfstream meet.

Yet those victories by Brampton and American Angel showed the master still has a winning touch, and the thrill those moments gave Jerkens was as emotional as ever. Be it a Grade 1 stakes or a claimer, there are still times when Jerkens’ pride can get the better of him and bring tears of joy to his eyes.

“It’s still such a thrill for me to be around the horses and watch them develop,” Jerkens said. “That’s still the part I enjoy most.”

Jerkens says he has no plans to slow down, that time has handled that for him. Outfits like Hobeau are gone, and he simply does not get as many horses as he did during his glory days.

His best horse right now is Bold Warrior, a talented 4-year-old son of Bernardini, who was stakes-placed at three. It’s a far cry from years past for a man who has won more than 3,800 races and $101 million and has been in racing’s Hall of Fame for the past 37 years.

Yet for Jerkens, it’s not about the number of wins. Or how much they are worth. Or if there’s a casino to generate extra revenue.

For him, as always, it’s all about the horses.

It was a warm February afternoon, one that felt like April but conjured up visions of May while shrouding March in uncertainty.

That confusing little time warp took place Saturday in the minutes before, during and after the 1:44.23 it took Alpha to confirm his status as New York’s top Kentucky Derby contender by notching an easy victory in the $200,000 Withers.

Following up a 2 ½-length win in the Count Fleet last month, Godolphin Racing’s Alpha cruised one step closer to the Derby by launching a strong, wide rally and taking charge in the stretch to win by 3 ¼ lengths as an odds-on 2-5 favorite ($2.70).

Realistically, with 44-1 longshot Speightscity finishing second, he probably didn’t beat much in the Withers. But with a runner-up finish in last year’s Champagne vouching for his class, Alpha certainly seems like one of the better candidates to be in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs.

“There are some good 3-year-olds out there,” said Alpha’s trainer, Kiaran McLaughlin, “and I hope we’re one of them.”

Finding out just how good Alpha can be might take a little longer than expected as McLaughlin said he would talk with Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford before mapping out Alpha’s next start. The Grade 3 $400,000 Gotham on March 3 at Aqueduct seems a likely target, especially since starting spots in the Derby are based on graded stakes earnings if more than 20 horses plan to run. Yet McLaughlin also raised the possibility of shipping Alpha to a different part of the country, especially if Mother Nature issues some payback -- a.k.a. a couple of blizzards -- for all the nice, unseasonable weather in recent weeks.

“He’s here in New York right now, but he could relocate, or he could run back in the Gotham in a month. We’ll just have to talk about it. At least we got $120,000 in graded earnings going forward to the first Saturday in May,” McLaughlin said. “That’s important.”

What’s probably more important right now is for a 3-year-old to show some progress from race to race, and, to no one’s surprise, Alpha also earned high marks from his trainer in that area. Alpha’s behavior in the starting gate has been a concern for McLaughlin since the colt had a tantrum prior to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (when he was 11th), but Saturday, aided by breaking from the outside post, Alpha was a choir boy.

“He was great in the gate. We’ve been schooling him a lot. It worked out today. Obviously it’s nice to be outside, but at some point he’s going to have to be inside, so we’ll see how our schooling is working,” McLaughlin said. “I think he improved some from his last race because of how wide he was both trips. He gets a better grade for this race. If it was a ‘B’ last time, he gets an ‘A’ this time.”

And in a year in which the reigning two-year-old champ already has a loss at three, A’s in February just might pay off handsomely in May.

A chalk-fest at Aqueduct

As nice as it was to see three stakes on Saturday’s card, there wasn’t much value at the betting windows.

Prior to Alpha’s win at 2-5, Nicole H, a 1-2 favorite, made it 4-for-4 on the inner track by capturing the $100,000 Correction by 2 ½ lengths and returning $3.

In the Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan, Mike Repole’s Calibrachoa took the race for a second straight year and improved his record to 4-for-4 on the inner track. Diski Dance, at 19-1 was second, while Caixa Eletronica, who was coupled with Calibrachoa, was third.

The Repole ($2.90) entry was also sent off at 1-2 and returned $4 as the front end of a daily double with Alpha in the Withers.

“It was nice to win the Calibrachoa stakes again,” joked Repole, whose 5-year-old had not raced since finishing third last November in the Cigar Mile. “He was a nice $40,000 claim [in Nov. 2010]. We wanted to give him and he ran very well. We’ll keep an eye on the other graded sprints for him in New York, like the Tom Fool [March 3] and Carter [April 7].

Overdriven to miss Triple Crown

Repole also said Overdriven, who was one of last year’s most promising 2-year-olds until he was taken out of training in late August, probably will not race until June at the earliest.

“Overdriven and Stay Thirsty [Repole’s Travers winner] will be sent to [trainer] Todd Pletcher’s barn on March 1 to start training. We’re looking at all the major races for Stay Thirsty, but Overdriven is more likely to concentrate on sprints like the King’s Bishop [at Saratoga].”

After having two of the top Triple Crown candidates last winter in Stay Thirsty and Uncle Mo, it’s looking more and more like Repole will only be a spectator at this year’s Derby.

Repole’s How Do I Win set the pace in the Withers but faded to fourth, effectively ending his Triple Crown hopes. That leaves only Our Entourage, who was fifth in last year’s Remsen. Repole said Our Entourage would run in a Florida turf race in a couple of weeks and if all goes well, the next stop would be the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct (April 7) as a dress rehearsal for the Derby.

If a national poll was taken on the nation’s best racetracks, it’s unlikely that Aqueduct would rank in the top 10.

From an aesthetic viewpoint, if you put the three New York Racing Association venues in a beauty contest, the Big A is the one that would finish up the track behind Saratoga and Belmont.

Aqueduct, quite frankly, is little more than a highly functional home for New York racing during its slowest parts of the year.

Yet if New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gets his way and Aqueduct is eventually closed to make room for a massive Convention Center, racing fans will learn the hard way that they’ve been taking the Big A for granted.

As much as the sport could survive by racing purely at Belmont and Saratoga, it will not thrive while spending 46 out of the year’s 52 weeks at Belmont.

Removing logistics from the equation -- it would cost hundreds of millions to winterize Belmont, where the grandstand is not even positioned properly to draw heat from the sun -- Belmont’s lack of a subway stop would make it a ghost town, especially during the winter.

A 10-month Belmont meet would also make the racing season mundane. While it may not match the excitement of opening day at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, one of the cool things for fans in April is knowing the shifting of racing to Belmont, not to mention the arrival of spring and the Triple Crown that comes with it, is right around the corner.

OK, we’ll amend that. Looking over the Mets’ roster, there might be more of a buzz at Belmont Park than Citi Field this spring.

Yet, forgetting the Wilpons’ mess for a while, what’s more important than the way two tracks will impact the flow of the racing season, for its long-term good NYRA cannot afford to distance itself from the casino.

Cuomo’s interest in Aqueduct has nothing to do with racing or that Ozone Park is the ideal geographic spot to bring millions of visitors. At time when tax dollars are dwindling, his eyes are riveted on the dollar signs of the casino and the way it has become a magnet for visitors.

Right now, a king’s ransom of cash from the casino flows into NYRA’s coffers, but take away the umbilical cord that bonds Aqueduct and the Resorts World Casino New York City and one day another politician might start to question why so many dollars go to racing. With the obvious link between the track and casino erased, political leaders will no doubt point to the small crowds at Belmont and insist too much money goes to a sport that no one cares about.

That’s the way it goes with politicians. Give them the opportunity to divert revenue so it can suit their own needs, and they’ll take it.

Not helping matters is that as time goes on, Genting, which operates the casino, figures to have far more clout than NYRA because of the $10 million or more per week in profit it generates.

To prevent that imbalance of power from growing at a faster rate, the casino and the racetrack must remain a coupled entry. Even if the racetrack is dark for half the year, NYRA needs the crowds and activity that the casino brings, plus the revenue, and it cannot let its life preserver out of its sight.

Barely three months into the life of the casino, Gov. Cuomo has already showed casino cash means more to him than the racing industry by presenting a plan that would ultimately evict Aqueduct from the grounds.

Now just imagine the situation 10 years from now and the political pressures on the sport with the nearest track some 25 miles away from the casino. Believe it or not, you’ll miss Aqueduct.