Something has been bothering me in recent weeks and I have tried to come to terms with it. I don't know when it happened, whether it was a pronounced shift in mindset or a calibrated leak in confidence but I think we are living in a time of minimal expectations. Maybe it has always been like this and I am just getting a clue. This might be a departure from the traditional thoroughbred fare but it ties together at the end.
I think it's fair to say the current global situation has us in a shit sandwich in the devil's picnic basket. It is only dumb luck that we are facing this global crisis as a singular event; there is no reason this could not have happened during Katrina or the NY blackout or any other crisis.
Today, Mayor Bloomberg gave Captain Chesley Sullenberger the key to the city. What this key does for you, I don't know but I am sure it is nice to get your face in the paper and have the good wishes of the many people you saved, until the papparazzi get a hold of you.
Captain Sullenberger's actions, while noteworthy and admirable in every way, deserving of accolades and gratitude, are just the inevitable conclusion of a job well done.
This is what pilots get paid to do.
Any imbecile (I speak from experience) can get a plane from point A to point B when nothing goes wrong. The automation on these things is ridiculous and somebody who can handle an XBOX could get this thing around when it's all good but the measure of a leader, is the craft and command with which one handles a crisis.
Intransigence, waste, incompetence and greed are easy to overlook when things are just moving along but as soon as the engines go quiet and your glide ratio is marginally better than a brick's, one damn well better have a clue.
Myriad racing jurisdictions, ADW disputes, medication and drugs, dysfunctional leadership, predatory racing schedules, usurious takeout rates, disparate surfaces, risible enforcement policies, incestuous sales and grading practices and a sly wink to the Cosa Nostra have insidiously conspired to hobble this game.
And still the horses run.
Mr. Waldrop, you wanted the controls, well you have them; you are the tip of the spear.
You had best be sharp.
09 February 2009
The tip of the spear
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The Bid
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4 comments:
I can understand your emotion to this post and share your angst over the state of horse racing. Theses are hard times all over, this industry being a microcosm of our national woes.
However, to lay the future of the game on Alex Waldrop is premature. He is the President & CEO of the NTRA. While the title includes "National", the NTRA is far from a unifying body.
State governing bodies, such as the California Horse Racing Board, must come together in the spirit of cooperation with the NTRA, Jockeys Guild, TOBA, and horseplayer groups such as Horseplayers Coalition and HANA. Until the game is unified AND Mr. Waldrop or some other qualified commissioner is elected, all of the complaining about different medication rules, racing surfaces, ADW's, and unfair takeout will simply fall into the abyss.
Even in my scenario, there is a danger that a unified body will turn the game into "Steroid baseball" that MLB is trying to extract itself from. What unification does is assure that all the "owners" of the game are represented in meetings and decisions are made for the common good.
That is why baseball survived a strike. It is precisely the "machine" that survives the current "A-Fraud" scandal.
Capper- Thanks for weighing in.
I disagree that it is premature to lay the future of the game at Mr. Waldrop's feet. He after all asked for this.
I don't think his approach is the best and I disagree that government intervention, with all its baggage, is not the way to go, but he sat in front of Congress and said that he didn't want it and that the NTRA would lead the way to a better future.
I agree with you regarding the consensus that needs to happen but Mr. Waldrop put himself out there as the guy that could do it.
One can't ask for responsibility and then eschew accountability. I am just holding him to account.
Waiting for Waldrop, as well as Godot.
Waiting for Waldrop, as well as Godot.
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