Jug changes conditions!

Yesterday we spoke about Steve Elliott’s reaction to the Jug conditions that allowed for first-heat splits of 9 and 10 horses for a 19-horse field.

Shari Hazlett had this reply to our blog:

I was so glad to see you asking this question. As an avid harness racing fan I was appalled that they went with two eliminations. I cannot believe that they have two trailers in one division and one in the other with the outer horses (including Well Said) basically being in as bad a position as you would ever think of in your nightmare.

To begin with, there should NEVER be trailers in an elimination and ESPECIALLY on a half mile track. Last year everyone was critical that Somebeachsomewhere was not in the Jug. After seeing this performance, I can totally understand why the Beach wasn't there. What if this had happened and he got the eight hole or, even worse, a trailer position. If the Jug wants to keep its place as a prominent race for 3-year-olds, they had better think very strongly about how they decide how many elims there will be. I give credit to Well Said's connections for racing him. If I was the owner, he would suddenly be ill the day before the Jug and wouldn't be in it.

Harness racing wonders why they struggle for fans. This is a perfect example. Just by the "luck" of the draw, Well Said the best 3year-old, may lose this race. That is absurd.

 

Well, Shari, it looks like the Jug already heard you! A release came today that said the Little Brown Jug Society had approves changes in future draws effective in 2010. The statement requiring a split for a set number of entries has been eliminated, and race officials now will determine splits based on the number of entries.  Society directors admitted they were concerned at having to set nine and 10 horse divisions for the 2009 race and would have liked to have split the 19 entries into three divisions, but the current conditions did not permit that. 

 

It’s great to see the Jug taking swift action on an unfortunate situation. Here is wishing everyone the best in the 2009 Jug—and I hope to see you at the Delaware races and the Speaker Series!

 

Nicole

Elliott on Post 8

Had a great talk with Steve Elliott today, as he prepared to head out for the Delaware County Fair to train Well Said for what he hopes is a Little Brown Jug . Of course, he wishes that Well Said had drawn better than post 8 in his elimination—where he will face Vintage Master and Carnivore—but Steve wasn’t really upset about it. He is and always has been a que sera sera type of person—whatever will be, will be. You can’t control some things and have to live with what happens.

One thing Steve and a lot of other people were more concerned by was Delaware’s decision to go with two elims for its 19 Jug entrants—nine horses in one and 10 in the other. That means there are two trailers in the second, 10-horse elim.

Last year, with 20 in the field, there were 3 elims with 6, 7 and 7 horses, respectfully. The conditions (which are available at http://horsemen.ustrotting.com/stks_conditions.cfm) say specifically: When 20 or more horses declare to start in the Jug or Jugette, three elimination heats will be raced.

But there are people in racing who think the Jug should look to make changes to ensure everyone who is putting money into the Jug purse pool through entry fees has a fair and equal chance to make some back—and this 9-10 split is not accomplishing that goal. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Send me a note to nkraft@ustrotting.com, and I’ll run the comments here.

And you can ask Steve about this topic and more when he visits the USTA’s Speaker Series in the Jugette Barn at 9 a.m. Sept. 24—Jug morning. Be sure to come out for all our speakers—from 8-11 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday in the Jugette Barn.

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There is a big debate in media about how to attract new visitors to publication Web sites. A lot of publications are going Web only, and debating whether or not to charge for content. Others, like us, keep our print product but want to offer more on our Web site. The question is: What should we offer on the Web to keep people  coming back. I would love to hear what you would like most from our Web site content. Please e-mail me at nkraft@ustrotting.com.

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The Feature Well

Today we laid out the pages for the October issue of Hoof Beats. Usually this is an uneventful part of the publishing process.

It starts when art director Gena Gallagher prints out a thumbnail image of each story on individual 8.5x11-inch sheets of paper and lays them out in order on the long table in the conference room. Nicole comes in and makes sure that everything looks to be in the right order and that all the advertising flows well with the editorial copy.

Today, however, they called me in for my opinion.

Each month we look to have a "feature well," usually four stories, broken up by very little advertising, that have rich art and hard-hitting copy. This month's features are: Little Brown Jug coverage (which will be written next week, naturally), Embryo Transfer, Pennsylvania update and a profile of Treasure Blue Chip, a 34-year-old mare living at Blue Chip Farm. We like to balance between hard-hitting stories (like ET) and more entertaining stories (like Treasure Blue Chip).

Our problem this month was that we had two long, substantial stories in ET and the state of Pennsylvania racing story. We don't want these two stories to come back-to-back and bog down the reader, but we also would like the feature well to end on a lighter note. Plus, we had what amounted to be three cover stories in the same issue, which made it feel heavy.

Eventually we decided to lead with the Jug coverage, then transition into the Pennsylvania story, which is a positive piece written by Tom Lamarra. I made a case to transition into the ET story to keep the meat of the issue together, but not cause a reader standstill by turning from the spalshy Jug layout to the more scientific ET story. We would finish with the Treasure Blue chip story,which will leave the reader coming out of the feature well on a breezy, high note.

We hope you have never even thought of the order of the stories, because if we are doing things right, you never have. TJB

Well Said is Jug Bound

Straight from trainer Steve Elliott: Well Said is going to the Jug!

Harnessphere has been quite active on this topic since a story on Standardbred Canada’s site that the colt might not go to the Jug. Elliott second-trainer Toni Rose, who I think is terrific, was no doubt trying to be diplomatic when she was less than definitive about the colt’s plans for Delaware, and Elliott said her comments were misinterpreted. The truth of the matter, according to Steve, is that Well Said has always been pointed in the Jug’s direction, and that is officially the next stop on his racing dance card.

It’s amazing how quick people jumped on this topic, clearly reflective of sore feelings left over from last year when Somebeachsomewhere skipped the Jug. As one Harnessphere poster pointed out, though, that horse’s absence opened the door for an incredible performance from Shadow Play. There is rarely, if ever, a bad day of racing at Delaware. It is truly one of those racing experiences you need to have in your lifetime—hopefully more than once.

I hope everyone will make it to Delaware for the races and the USTA speaker series, where Steve Elliott will no doubt be asked about the Well Said “controversy” when he speaks to fans with Ron Pierce on Thursday at 9 a.mn. in the Jugette Barn. He is one of several racing celebrities who will be with us Wednesday and Thursday from 8-11 a.m. We will also have prize drawings and coffee and donuts—and I hope we will have the pleasure of your company as well.

Be sure to stop by and say hello!

Nicole

 

Respect

Barack Obama said a lot of interesting things in his speech on health care reform last night, but the most remembered statement to come from the televised event was just two words--and it did not come from the president.

South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson called out, “You lie!” in response to Obama’s comments on illegal immigrants and his health plan—a break from decorum that shocked members of the Senate and House, pundits and the viewing public. Love him or hate him, agree or disagree, they all say, Obama is our president and should be treated with respect—especially when speaking before Congress and a live, televised audience.

I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment, but I would like to take it further—he should be treated with respect simply because he is a person just like you and me, and no one deserves, or appreciates, being attacked with words.

I write this about just hours after I posted to Harnessphere a reminder that posts to that forum must be made with respect. That does not mean that everyone should agree or pander to each other, but if a point is to be argued, let’s simply do it with civility for our fellow men and women. Name calling and derogatory comments never advanced an argument well.

Our Harnessphere participants have been terrific, for the most part, about speaking to each other without hostility or confrontation, but it has taken a lot of work to get the message board to that condition. I appreciate and respect greatly those who participate, and the terrific monitors we have who work to keep the boards available to all.

I know--perhaps better than some--that not all messaging is like this. The anonymity offered by the Internet seems to remove, for some, the verbal filter that says, “This is really not an appropriate thing to say to or about another person.” But civil dialogue is always more productive, especially when it comes to topics we about which we all care so passionately. I value the opinion of those who impassioned about harness racing, and being able to hear comments and suggestions openly. Let’s keep talking—and let’s be kind!

Great times at Canfield Fair

Today we made a visit to the Canfield (OH) fair, because we are doing a feature story and video on it as the Blue Ribbon Fair Award winner for 2010. Photographer Mark Hall, videographer Rich Johnston and I traveled the three hours from Columbus to visit this fair, which is near Youngstown in the northeast part of the state.

What a great fair!

My harness racing experience started at the county fair, so it feels like coming home when visiting a new fair. All county fairs have the same basic elements: half-mile track, elephant ears and wandering crowds, so what we are looking for in Blue Ribbon Fair Award winners is that dedication to harness racing that sets them apart.

The Canfield Fair requested $500 in USTA Matching Fair Grants, and we were intrigued by what they planned to do with it. They sent 500 postcards to residents of the Canfield area, and the first 25 to bring them to the races received a free tote bag with a harness racing logo on it.

After every race, announcer Roger Huston gave away a Canfield Fair/harness racing water bottle through a losing ticket drawing. There was a wagering seminar before the races, put on by Lee Unkefer, which helped many people learn to make their first bets, as Rich found out when doing video interviews later.

They also had a local TV commercial, but what really blew us away was their Web site www.canfieldfair.com. Check out the Youtube page! I think that is the best part. They are also on Twitter, have a blog and share photos online, so they are certainly bringing a decades-long tradition online for a new audience to discover.

It was great meeting Bev Fisher, fair manager, who submitted the proposal. Her passion for making Canfield the largest and best county fair in Ohio was evident when we spoke with her.

We also enjoyed the hospitality of George Berlin, who gave us a tour of the fair and did a great job in his video interview.

Rich and I kept remarking about how welcome we felt when we were there. County fairs generally tend to be neighborly places, but the folks at Canfield went above and beyond to make us feel welcome, put on a good harness program and get fair visitors interested in harness racing.

Congratulations on being named the 2010 USTA Blue Ribbon Fair!

Cheers,
TJB

First of the month

The last week of the month is always the busiest/most exciting for me here in the Hoof Beats war room. I just finished up the Hoof Beats newsletter, which gives an inside look at the stories that are coming out that month. I always have to go back and look at what to cover in the newsletter, though, because by this time I'm deep into the October issue and writing November stories!

We're looking for writers for some new Hoof Beats departments, and I got some responses. I can't wait to see what they write. We had a reader survey some time back and many respondents wanted to read about more "unsung heroes" in racing. Well, we're working to give you more space to tell your story, so please keep those story ideas coming! Better yet, write your story and we'll work to get it out there.

Not a writer, you say? Don't worry--I'm an editor and would be happy to make your story shine.

Hope you enjoy the September issue. It's on its way now!

TJB