What Would You Fix? Rob Whiteley

For the past few weeks, we have been running a series of responses to The Jockey Club's proposed cap on a stallion's book at 140 mares. Many people expressed the feeling that there were more pressing problems to which the industry should attend. So we asked a group of respondents, `What would you fix first?'

Far and away the most important action toward “fixing” our continuously declining industry is to work with Congress to establish a centralized governing body across all states that can establish policy and growth objectives, create common rules and regulation for racing, monitor participant conduct including use of drugs and whipping, and enforce compliance with consistent and strict consequences for infractions.

Without a national office providing this kind of leadership and regulation, the sport will continue to dwindle and perhaps implode.

Any other “fixes” are simply band-aids on a heavily bleeding artery.