It’s part of harness racing lore that E. Roland Harriman saved harness racing from extinction in the late 1930s. Could Jeff Gural be the savior of harness racing in the 21st century?
That’s probably carrying it too far, but Gural gets credit for so many good things that have happened in harness racing in recent year, particularly in New York State.
Now comes word that Gural’s Tioga Downs and Blue Chip Farms are partnering to sponsor the $200,000 Bettor’s Delight, a new race for older pacers.
Gural has been outspoken in his conviction that harness racing has to find a way to keep its stars on the track. Since no one else is apparently taking action, Gural once again decided to do it himself---with Blue Chip, which is where Bettor’s Delight stands.
Adding one more race for older pacers isn’t going to save harness racing, of course, but it’s a step in the right direction, one of many such steps by Gural.
Gural has been at the forefront of trying to restore integrity to harness racing, so he’s probably not happy with the delay in implementing out-of-competition testing in New York. Racing regulators have had a difficult time trying to police the use of illegal performance-enhancing voodoo in racing and they see out-of-competition testing as a valuable tool.
It’s been used in other states and New York was trying to get up to speed in its regulatory efforts. I’ve heard that one trainer said that if regulators ever came to his facility to test horses out of competition, he’d throw them out.
It makes you wonder what these people are hiding. Or maybe we don’t have to wonder.
Kudos to Jeff Gural, a true leader in harness racing.
No doubt about it, keeping
No doubt about it, keeping top horses on the racetrack is an absolute MUST for the industry. We read with a tinge of sadness this week that Sportswriter has been sold, in part, to a breeding operation before his 3YO year even begins. It doesn't take a genius to work out that, all going to plan, this will be Sportswriter's last year on a racetrack. Such a shame, if he has a phenomenal 3YO year (which I really hope he does) that we will once againt be left wondering just how good he could have been if he'd race at age 4, 5, 6 - just like with Beach, just like with Well Said, just like with Tell All, just like with Dewey, Donato, Muscle Hill and a million others...
Fans aren't interested in how many millions a breeding operation paid for a 3YO horse to breed mares to - we have overkill in the breeding industry (on ALL equines, standardbred, thoroughbred, equestrian) as it is - they just want to see good horses doing what they were born to do - RACE!