ARCADIA, Calif. - Lese Majeste, officially considered age 12, awoke on the first day of the new year to a whole new world.
After nine campaigns and 190 starts in places like Belmont, Saratoga, Hialeah, Calder, Gulfstream, Suffolk, and Rockingham - mostly Suffolk and Rockingham - he found himself in a roomy paddock, staring at the rolling hills outside the town of Tehachapi, Calif., population 26,843, elevation 2,000 feet.
TUCSON, Ariz. - It may not be politically correct or politely acceptable to start off a new year talking about horse manure, but given the fact that it is racing's latest crisis, it may be necessary.
This is not levity; horse manure could be lethal to some racetracks, and at the very least it could be devastatingly expensive.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Gulfstream Park's plans for major renovations to its plant have received a good deal of publicity. But as Gulfstream prepares to open a 90-day meeting on Thursday, the management's main focus is on the meeting and the present.
MIAMI - Good show.
By attracting full fields and quality horses for its Grand Slam presentation Saturday, Calder had its most successful afternoon ever, with record combined wagering totaling almost $9.5 million. A well-above-average weekend crowd of more than 12,000 enjoyed a fine program of racing, and while form was on holiday, the entertainment level was high. Management put together a superior show and then sold it to the community with textbook effectiveness.
ARCADIA, Calif. - With sincere apologies to Roger Angell, Ed Bowen, and Errol Allen, my ninth grade English teacher who compared me to Edgar Allan Poe, but only as a potential laudanum addict and chronic debtor:
Another year has gone and here
We are past-posting, crystal clear,
The things we should have known from scratch,
The winners, losers, plots that hatched.
Betting coups, sweet scams and schemes,
All coming true, like childhood dreams.
Now comes the time to tip the hat
To those who made our wallets fat,
NEW YORK - The racing industry was supposed to be downing a few extra glasses of champagne this New Year's Eve, with 2002 ushering in long-awaited enhancements in the sport's two biggest markets: slot machines at New York tracks and account wagering in California.
Instead, the industry will be swilling its usual cocktail of Pepto Bismol with a dash of bitters. Neither of these potentially lucrative developments will be anywhere near the starting gate when the calendar changes Wednesday, and their once-bright long-term prospects seem dimmer by the day.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Sorry to burst any bubbles out there, but the real Santa Claus is a 69-year-old guy from Bloomfield, N.J., who lives in coastal L.A., has a horse farm in Temecula, a wife, two kids, and a business degree from Dartmouth. Yes, his hair is white, but it is trimmed neat as a pin and there has never been a long white beard. Or a red suit.
Okay, so John Amerman doesn't really answer to St. Nick. But what else would you call the man who ran the world's most famous toy company for 17 years?
WASHINGTON - When Bridger appeared in the entries for Friday's third race at Laurel Park, most racing fans did a double-take. What was the son of a stallion with a $150,000 stud fee doing in an $8,000 claiming race? Why had he waited until the end of his
7-year-old season to make the first start of his career? Could his superior genes possibly make him an effective racehorse at this advanced age?
MIAMI - Good racing is good business.
Every track approaches the marketing of its product differently, even if some of those differences are finely drawn. Calder has enjoyed considerable success with its festival concept. By packaging several stakes on the same program, with or without a theme, a sense of value is prompted, and a touch of excitement is added to the scene. It adds up to improved figures for handle and attendance, which is how Saturday's Grand Slam II program came about.