The New York State Racing and Wagering Board announced the formation of a task force yesterday to examine the increased break downs of horses at Aqueduct’s inner track during the recently concluded winter meeting.
Having more oversight by people who are vested and knowledgeable in the industry is a wonderful thing. For the most part, this task force does that.
As the Daily Racing Form reported several of the members are well qualified to deal with the issues before NYRA. They include the condition of the inner track, claiming regulations, ability of horses to run, and medication policies. These and other aspects of racing on the inner track at Aqueduct will be examined.
These issues need to be examined. The fact that during the last week, there were nine break downs of horses indicates a real problem….and the fact that NYRA did not independently seek to implement these changes is troubling. Governor Andrew Cuomo called for NYRA to act. In order to avoid more negative publicity NYRA authorized this group of equine experts.
Hopefully this group will figure something out.
Winter racing in New York is a necessity for the horses, the owners and the trainers. It’s not supposed to be where horses are getting injured. It is not supposed to be about injuries to the horses and jockeys. It is supposed to be about the ability for horses to continue to run, and win for their owners and bettors.
Let’s wait and see what happens…
