I can remember a time when winter racing went on with few hiccups. The challenges then were all consumer based. With racetracks the lone place to make legal wagers, if the horses were racing you had to show up to make a bet. It was a time with far less hype surrounding what we refer to today as "weather events." Snow was snow and the only question would be how much and how fast, since racetrack crews needed to prepare the surface for the cards ahead. Traveling conditions only mattered to those coming to the track since a large majority of the horses and horsemen were already housed in stable areas surrounding the main track. Their "ship-in" was usually something within walking distance, and thus other than dealing with the wintry elements, horses and horsemen were virtually insulated. There were times that traffic was unkind, but for the most part whether driving to Roosevelt or Yonkers Raceways, or the Meadowlands upon its birth in 1976, if the weather was good enough to race in it was good enough to travel to from most locations. That times have changed is an understatement and at times I wonder why we even bother to race during the winter in 2024 in the Northeast. Any time snow is hinted in the forecast the news of it arrives in waves of fear that didn't exist in the early 1980s. That said, the dynamics of racing today do not match what they were nearly 50 years ago, and perhaps it's time all of those who have a stake in it modify their behavior to meet the moment. Horses now need to be shipped significant distances on race day or race night, and that involves time, energy and manpower. Bad weather leads to far longer days traveling to and from the track and higher risks on the highways. Conversely, the consumer can be easily entertained and engaged in the comfort of his/her home, fully capable of making any type of wager without being cold or wet. As Yonkers Raceway began its 2024 racing season on Monday it faced no weather issues. However, looking over the first five betting programs it was quite noticeable that regardless of future weather conditions horses won't be showing up to the Westchester County half-mile track oval as some would expect. With a five-day-a-week schedule planed throughout the winter and currently no serious competition for stock within the state, Yonkers could only muster 370 horses over the five programs, an amount that reduced the number of races to just 53 over the five-day period, with but 22 of those of the full-field, eight-horse variety. While these numbers could in fact grow in weeks to come, there is still a cautionary tale about winter racing, especially at a track that relies heavily on shippers not within 30 miles of the facility. Winter harness racing has had an edge in wagering throughout North America for years as more Thoroughbred tracks are on hiatus and thus horseplayers have fewer choices, elevating trotters and pacers to the playable list. That said, wagering on these races is voluntary, and thus for a player to have a minimum number of full fields to wager on and an abundance of six-horse fields or less to ignore in the midst of five programs, there would appear to be less of an attraction from a wagering point of view. One issue in today's winter racing is that it is limited to a smaller number of horses than say spring or summer programs. There simply are no horsemen interested in racing sophomores at this time of year. With Sire Stakes racing broken into subsets in several locations, horsemen can make more money during far better climate conditions. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter What's surprising to me is why Yonkers Raceway would need to race five nights a week during the winter. I understand that race dates have been a point of contention with the SOA of NY since the advent of racinos. Yet again, the structure of those dates was set during a time when the number of horses racing, and the types of races, varied dramatically from where we are today. Fewer and fewer horses racing and horsemen having an incredible number of choices where to race has just made it harder to meet the demands of the dates set forth by contract. To simply dribble out a substandard product because a calendar has been drawn up seems more than counterintuitive. If the benefits of racing during the winter are spikes in handle, but the races lack in number or depth to produce handle, who wins? It always struck me funny that purses are higher at Yonkers during the spring and summer months and then get reduced in the fall and winter. On top of lowering the purse values, the insistence on a five-day schedule on top adds a significant burden to the horsemen. Why not race just four nights a week during the winter? This wouldn't be about eliminating races or racing opportunities. Quite the contrary. This would be about carding the same number of races but doing it over a four night span. The hope would be to have a 90 percent full-field ratio as opposed to the abysmal 40 percent we saw through the opening week of action at Yonkers Raceway from January 22 to 26. Of more importance though is that it would not mandate work for both horses and horsemen during the worst weather months of the year. With purses firmly guaranteed with a super large majority from slot revenue, horsemen would still share in the pie at current levels but do so while facing the elements one less night of the week. Cancellations due to weather can easily be made up if there is a given "Open" date on the racing calendar each week. While there was a time way back when the show went on and we bragged about the courage and toughness of our horses and horsemen braving some of the worst conditions, the time has come to respect all that put themselves on the line for this sport and go with the national trend of a shortened work week, at least for the winter.