Last week, the Meadowlands conducted a race at a five-eighths-mile distance. While we have seen races held at distances other than a mile in the past, a "sprint" of less than a mile is something I do not recall seeing at the Meadowlands. I do remember calling races at the five-eighths distance at Tioga Downs years ago when I announced races there. However, that was a slightly different experience as that distance matched the circumference of the racetrack, and thus was one full lap around the oval. Like anything else horse racing and specifically harness racing tries to do, the experiment was met with mixed results on social media. One user went so far to refer to it as "garbage." I disagree. The race was highly-entertaining to watch. Horses sprinting into the far turn; not fishing for cover; no half-in, half-out. The drivers themselves were possibly a bit unsure how to steer their horses and what the right approach is in such a race. Sure, you can argue that all of that means it is not a great betting proposition, and to that point, I concede that could be correct. But, these things take time. Success or failure cannot be measured by a single attempt. In order to make it a better betting proposition, I would suggest creating a series at the sprint-like distance so that these horses can develop some form, drivers can learn the right strategy and bettors may feel more comfortable wagering on them. The horses who contested this race on March 14th do not routinely race for a lot of money, and a series with legs that went for $12,500 or $15,000 each week, culminating in a loftier final, could prove beneficial to the experiment. The race last week was won by 48-1 shot Somesurfsomewhere, who benefited from a pylon-skimming trip as others raced wide, prompted the pace or fanned out across the track. Perhaps the thought process of the drivers was this was not the kind of race where taking back and hoping for a hole to open up would prove to be the right strategy. But, as it turned out, that was the exact right strategy for the winner. I suggested implementing a series so these horses can show form at the odd distance because that will be important for the bettors. The randomness of these races would be problematic. As much fun as it was to watch the race last Friday, if the bettors are not confident wagering on it, it will not be successful. Horses showing race lines at the distance will go a long way to building that confidence. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter While there is no five-eighths-mile Dash for the Cash (hey, that would make a good name for the series), there is a one and one-eighth mile trotting event on Friday night. This is a distance the Meadowlands has experimented with before, even in some of their biggest races, including the Hambletonian Maturity. My belief is bettors will have more confidence in this race than they did the one-turn sprint last week, just based on history. I even remember during my time at the Meadowlands we tried one and one-half mile events with up to 14-horse fields to try and add something new to the sport. But the inability to do it often and the resulting randomness of that experiment did not help in the eyes of the bettors. The American model for Standardbred racing has traditionally been the one-mile event. Regardless of the size of the racetrack, 99.8% of our races over the past 40 years have been at the one-mile distance. The Meadowlands at one time had the Classic Series, which was for the premier horses in the sport, racing in a series at varying distances, but that series did not make it into the 21st century. The Meadowlands has proven once again that they are not afraid to try new things. Years ago they tried the classified racing system, which actually made for some really great racing. They have tried races at different distances throughout their history. This year they will eliminate the post-time drag during the Championship Meet, a brazen move that could have serious impacts on racing handle. But it is a necessary step to reversing a trend that has honestly become ridiculous, and I hope the rest of the industry supports them, though I imagine many racetracks will be afraid to do so. An idea that was initially implemented for racetracks to "stay-off" one another, meaning not running races at the same time, has gone crazy. The original one- to two-minute drag has turned into seven, eight or nine minutes. If you are at the racetrack it is an awful experience where you find yourself standing around wondering when the race is going to start. I don't know if the post-time drag is too far gone. I suppose we will find out. By my count there are 28 days of racing that comprise the Championship Meet. Removing Meadowlands Pace and Hambletonian Day, the remaining race cards average around $3.2 million, for a total of $83.2 million in handle. If we add in Meadowlands Pace and Hambletonian, we are looking at around $95 million in handle for the meet. If the removal of drag caused a 20 percent decline in handle, it would result in a $19 million handle loss. That sounds like a lot, but at a four percent export signal fee, that is a $760,000 revenue loss before taxes and the split with the horsemen, so that likely would mean about $300,000 to operational revenue and $300,000 to purses. So, the Meadowlands is rolling the dice on a couple of items, one of which requires industry support. The Meadowlands has routinely gone out on a limb, often by themselves, over the past decade. Some of those matters have been controversial. These matters are not and should both be supported by the industry to add excitement and reverse a negative trend of the past decade.