A perfect location for Barbaro memorial

While his many fans observed a reflective, perhaps mournful anniversary, a year to the day after the death of the most celebrated thoroughbred in recent memory, it was announced on Tuesday that the cremated remains of what was once Barbaro will be buried outside Gate 1 at Churchill Downs, where he won the 2006 Kentucky Derby a fortnight before suffering an unusual and ultimately fatal fracture of the right foreleg in the first 200 yards of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.

Barbaro’s owners, Gretchen and Roy Jackson, will commission a statue of the horse to mark the gravesite, the location of which required almost a year of deliberation but could be no more appropriate. The grave and statue will be placed outside the track’s main admission gates, which also serve the Kentucky Derby Museum. Its location will permit viewing of the monument without the payment of admission. Four other Derby winners, Brokers Tip, Swaps, Carry Back, and Sunny’s Halo are buried at the adjacent museum but Barbaro will be the first interred on the grounds of the track.

“Through all this, his fans have always thanked us for including them,” Roy Jackson said. “The decision to bury him at Churchill is in keeping with that openness. I think it's appropriate, the place where he ran his greatest race and where the general public can come and pay their respects."

Said Churchill Downs president Bob Evans: "I have a sneaking suspicion that over the course of a few years, the number of photographs that get taken with people and … this Barbaro statue are going to be mind-boggling.”

That is probably true. Barbaro’s popularity was – is – unprecedented and a fund established in his name has become the fund-raising focal point for research of laminitis, the condition that ultimately resulted in his euthanization at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center more than eight months after having suffered the original injury.

The Jacksons, who own a two-year-old full brother to Barbaro who has recently entered training in Florida and will when ready join trainer Michael Matz, said the decision to bury Barbaro’s ashes was made with the intent of returning him to the place where he define himself at his finest hour. It will, and should, be widely applauded.

OTB: Bloomberg – State showdown looms

Though the Senate Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee chairman expressed support on Monday for New York City's position that the state's off-track betting operations need to be reformed, we’re in the early phase of doubletalk and vagueness, so as the worm turns, it appears that not only do we await the possibility of a showdown between the New York Racing Association in mid-February, when the extension of the franchise extension expires, but yet another in June, this one involving New York City OTB.

Tuesday morning reports from Albany were almost comical.

With NYRA twisting in the wind while legislators play mine’s bigger than your, "we might as well do something" for the OTBs, Sen. William J. Larkin Jr. told Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "I personally think its long overdue [and] I will do anything to assist you." [Note: There are many ways to interpret this sentence, many with a high chuckle quotient.]

This while the mayor testified in Albany concerning the proposed state budget, reiterated his intention to shut down New York City OTB when it runs out of money on June 30. "If anybody thinks I'm kidding, they don't know me very well," Bloomberg told lawmakers.

City OTB is profitable, but under state law it must turn over so much of its revenue to the state [Note: Ain’t New York grand?] that the net result is negative. OTB is apparently not at its worst a zero-sum business.

"I've always been uncomfortable with government depending on gambling to cover its expenses," the mayor said, "But I think, if we're going to have gambling, we might as well get the revenue for New York City."


But what about the veterinarians?

Pay attention. This is a good thing, but still not enough. The Ontario Racing Commission has adopted new rules for medication violations that are the toughest in North America.

Horses that test positive for certain classified drugs, involving the most serious offenses, will be banned from racing for 90 days. This eliminates a common practice that most racing fans find troubling, that of owners transferring horses to other trainers – particularly those associated with or employed by offending trainers -- when their own trainer has a violation. It will likely go a long way toward eroding ties between repeated violators and some clients.

Ontario, which also provided a strong model for the combination of racing, OTB and casino gaming, is to be commended for taking a major step forward but there remains no provision to suspend, fine or otherwise punish veterinarians who treat these horses.



Rearranging the week in Maryland

Live racing at Laurel Park, which is currently being conducted on a Wednesday through Saturday basis, will now be offered Thursdays through Sundays, beginning the week of February 2r. The 15-week stand will now end on April 13 instead of April 12.

“We saw a decline in the on-track handle last year and it has continued during the first four weeks of the new year so we decided to try something new,” said Maryland Jockey Club president and general manager Chris Dragone. “I believe we can get more fans out to the track on a Sunday versus a work day. That is the whole method behind the decision. The football season is wrapped up and we think people might have more time to come out to the track.”

Aqueduct: Jan. 30

Actually, this is not an awful Wednesday card, but not one that presents a betting opportunity.