For photos from the Meadowlands contact Lisaphoto@playmeadowlands.com

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Decision Time, Top Trotters Return, Listening to the Fans

The connections of Auckland Reactor are in a quandary as what to do with the New Zealand pacing star.  There are several offers for the Reactor to stand stud duty in New Zealand so they need to decide whether to go on with a fall campaign with the Breeders Crown as the target or to head back home.  I personally think the best thing to do is race him in the fall when it is cooler, then give him the winter off before launching a full season campaign.  But then I don't pay the bills.  Expect the Reactor team to make a decision real soon.   

Lucky Jim and Enough Talk return to the domestic racing wars with their first starts since the Elitloppet in Friday night's Titan Cup Prep race (10th) at the Meadowlands.  The two of them will be meeting Arch Madness, Corleone Kosmos, Buck I St Pat, and others.  It will be interesting to see how these two perform being they have not qualified since they returned from Sweden.  Will they be ready at first asking or will they need the race to get back into shape?

Dean Hoffman over at the USTA website talks about the importance of listening to the bettors about what they want.  What a concept!  The industry needs to understand without the bettors there is no industry.  You can't guess what the bettors want, you need to ask them, listen and act.  It seems so simple yet most people in the industry worry about what is good for the breeders, the horsemen, and the track operators; everyone but the gambler.    

Apparently, getting Running Aces under a single owner is not going to be that easy after all.  A story in the Star Tribune suggests the possibility exists that the current harness meet may need to end early due to Minnesota Harness Racing Commission rules.

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