Bill Heller
| #SOUNDBITES |
#SOUNDBITES We asked trainers, track executives and owners this question:
What do you think racing will be like five years from now? # Todd Pletcher – Hall of Fame Trainer
# Barry Schwartz – Owner and Former NYRA CEO
# Eric Jackson
A lot has changed because of the pandemic. I think it exposed people to gambling on the Internet. Handle is everything. To me, right now, racing looks very alive and well. You see what’s going on at Keeneland. They’re already way past last year. Critical to racing is HISA. They’ve got to get that up and running so the public has more confidence in racing, and that racing is legitimate. I think if we have a real strong organization in place, it will make people a lot more confident about racing—about racing being legitimate. The bottom line is I see a lot of things to be happy about with racing going forward. I didn’t feel that way five years ago.
– Oaklawn Park Senior Vice President
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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 62
Five years is a pretty short time from now. There will be fewer tracks than today, but those that survive the withering will be better than before. Sports are popular. I think it will be quality over quantity. In any sport, there’s a demand to see it at a better level.
PHOTOS: COADY PHOTOGRPAHY, ECLIPSE SPORTSWIRE, FASIG-TIPTON PHOTOS.
It’s difficult to project, but I think we’re going to continue to see what we’ve seen the past five years: a reduction in the tracks that are open. I think we’ll see continued growth in gambling, period. I think racing is benefitting from that—an open mindedness to gambling. Everyone now is gambling on football—pretty much on everything. One thing that grew during the pandemic was gambling. There will be fewer tracks but more of them operating successfully. One thing we need to do is continue to make improvements on safety. Assuming it (the HISA) goes through, it’s a good thing for the sport. We need some uniformity. It’s very difficult as a trainer to keep track of all the different rules in every jurisdiction. It should level the playing field.