racism in horse racing

Barry "The Sniper" Spears, a successful handicapping tournament player, public handicapper, podcast host and influential voice in the world of horse racing Twitter, joined the latest episode of Bettor Things with Joe Bianca this week for a wide-ranging conversation on topics inside the sport and out. Spears has been an outspoken advocate for better minority representation in racing, and talked to Bianca about the importance of pointing out the subtle racism that the industry has been slow to address over the years. Spears and Bianca also discussed the good, bad...

'Condemning' Tom Van Meter's mind-numbingly horrible racist comments is next to worthless, an example of empty industry PR. The only worthwhile response from anyone in the thoroughbred industry is an outright refusal to conduct any business with him, period. As owner Robert Masiello stated "If you buy a horse from Tom VanMeter in September, you are part of the problem. End of story,". The same goes for sales companies, racetracks, farms, owners, vets, jockeys, agents, etc. If you work with this man in any fashion, you share in his guilt...

One day after his racist comments on social media were made public, Tom VanMeter sent the Thoroughbred Daily News a statement which he asked be published in the Tuesday night edition. "Over the weekend, comments I made on a private page of a social media platform surfaced which have since come under scrutiny due to their racist nature. I will not attempt to deny that I wrote the comments, nor will I attempt to justify my actions. Certainly, I am frustrated with the current social situation in our country, however,...

Dozens of angry industry members took to social media Monday morning after a racially charged social media post by a prominent Thoroughbred consignor surfaced on Twitter. By the end of the day, The Jockey Club, Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, the Stronach Group and the NTRA had issued statements denouncing the posts. Tom VanMeter, who owns and operates VanMeter Sales, a leading consignor based in Lexington, Kentucky, posted two comments in response to a question posted on Facebook by farm manager Donnie Snellings, asking people to repost his post if they planned to...