League lockouts present opportunity
Horse racing has two peak periods in the public eye during the year. The first is now for the Triple Crown of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. The other is for the two-day Breeders’ Cup in the fall.
This autumn there is potential for a different media and fan dynamic because of labor unrest in the NFL and NBA. There is a possibility the start of their regular seasons could be delayed — or worse.
If that happens, horse racing will be competing with other sports to help fill the void. That scenario could play even stronger in Las Vegas, where race and sports books rely heavily upon the NFL. I suspect those dollars typically bet on pro football will still be in play some way, somehow. It would be interesting if horse racing was made attractive enough to capture some of that action.
A standoff between owners and players in both leagues will create ill will among fans. Who can sympathize with either side in a strike between billionaires and millionaires? Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas once told one of his clients, Eugene Klein, then owner the San Diego Chargers, that one of the benefits of owning top racehorses was after a good season the horse won’t hold out for more money.
An opportunity like this might not come again, so let’s hope there are some creative horse racing minds at work.
■ PREAKNESS STAKES — Is Preakness winner Shackleford a better horse than Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Animal Kingdom? I doubt it, but he was a better horse at Pimlico on Saturday. Shackleford earned his victory by showing a resolve that was missing in the deep stretch at the Derby. You really test the heart of an athlete when the gas tank is empty but you still find more to give.
The Belmont Stakes is June 11, and it remains to be seen if Animal Kingdom and Shackleford will go on to New York. It is a lock there will be a full field of fresh-faced newcomers laying in wait. Thus the very real probability of three different winners of the Triple Crown races.
This could be another year in which the Haskell at Monmouth Park and the Travers at Saratoga will go a long way toward crowning the 3-year-old division champion. And before calling this generation of 3-year-olds a bunch of slowpokes, let’s see how they fare against older handicap horses in the fall.
Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.