Saratoga Springs DOESN'T need NYRA ....... as much as the "powers to be" think

In today's world, there are a lot of catch phrases out there. While many of them are very annoying, some are appropriately fitting. One such is "reinventing the wheel" when it comes to making changes that really have no effect on the task at hand. Case in point, this past Tuesday evening somewhere in downtown Saratoga Springs, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) decided to switch the Travers Stakes post position draw from the traditional Wednesday morning paddock event to the night before. I found out about the change the night before (Monday) on the local news. There were no press releases to the media covering Saratoga (at least I didn't get one). Ever since I've been involved in the coverage of thoroughbred racing, NYRA always drew the post positions for the Mid Summer's Derby at 11am that Wednesday before the race at the track paddock. It's never been a big deal for NYRA when conducting these race draws, unlike Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby and Pimlico for the Preakness Stakes. Changes have been made through the years for these track venues when showcasing their big days. But, it has always been low keyed for New York with both the Belmont Stakes and Travers, also very traditional. Until Tuesday night.

First of all, the event was held at a private facility or business (which I've never heard of) at 6:30pm in the evening. Actually it looked like it was behind one of the buildings on Broadway. I watched the "live" streaming event, not on the NYRA website, but from a local television's website. You would think that NYRA would have also streamed it live on theirs. Retiring track announcer; Tom Durkin was the master of ceremonies and he always does a great, entertaining job at these events. But while watching it, the set up seemed a little chaotic and Tom was a bit confused on the order it was going to be presented. The 2014 Travers post position board where the jockey silks were place to the post position numbers was a bit confusing too. There were 11 numbers listed, but only 10 horses running. After doing a little research, I figured out the Ken McPeek runner; CJ's Awesome who was nominated to the race, decided not to run. The members of the NYRA racing office, that drew the listed horses and post position pills, had their backs to the camera (switch Tom Durkin commented on and had them move). There was even a little confusion when drawing the pills and making sure that they matched up with the board. It all seemed a little hastily put together at the last minute and just another unnecessary part by the new NYRA officials to put a spin on something that has been basic to horse racing for years.

Saratoga, is what is it when it comes to thoroughbred racing in the summer months. While change is good in some aspects, others like moving the post position draw downtown are really unnecessary. This "reinvention of the wheel", when it comes to the new NYRA people in charge is a little over done in my opinion and this is another example, one of many the past year. Saratoga Springs is the TOP resort area in the Capital District during the summer, bar none! People go there whether the track is open or not. NYRA doesn't need to feed off of downtown and the business there and vice versa to attrach people. A good product does that for both companies. The popular Twilight race cards the first Friday and last Friday are gone because of the "downtown" influence. That is been a big mistake for NYRA in my opinion. Saratoga Race Course has been around for 150 years and done quite well. It's the Golden Goose of the three tracks owned by the association. Can we stop with all the changes and remember it's main purpose is for thoroughbred racing? Downtown Saratoga Springs will survive quite well just with that and so will the track.