THE ASPIRING HORSEPLAYER

As many of you know, one of the highlights of the last year for yours truly was being able to attend the NTRA marketing summit last month in Las Vegas.  One thing I had not expected prior to the meeting was getting some valuable one-on-one time to get to know the CEO of the NTRA, Alex Waldrup. 

I mentioned in my return that the guy struck me as being beyond genuine.  I think I had a misconception in my mind prior to the summit that everything was about dollars and cents – and let’s not kid ourselves, we are talking about business so clearly such matters are a heavy concern.  However, I was awe-struck by how legitimate the man is in seeking to absolutely reform the industry.  In fact, I’d categorize him as something of a revolutionary, or perhaps a visionary.  He’s got his eye on where we need to go, but also keeps keen watch over where we are currently.

While speaking at a luncheon on the 2nd day of the summit, he mentioned that in the coming year he was going to focus on ensuring safety for human and equine athlete alike.  He said quite vehemently that every horse should have a humane option available at the end of it’s racing career; either in the form of retraining for a second career, retirement to a farm that could care for the animal, or if necessary in the form of humane euthanization (as opposed to the decrepit slaughter that occurs all too frequently at present).

I know what many of you are thinking.  Yeah right.  Did I become some kind of paid cheerleader on my pilgrimage to Las Vegas?  Am I just here to shake my pom-poms whenever “they” (the NTRA) speak?  Hardly, although I do wish to share with you whenever I think they’ve got a movement brewing that is in the best interest of our sport from a long term perspective.

With that in mind, take a look at the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance Report that Alex Waldrup has just announced.  My fellow Online Task Force member Superfecta has a write-up that’s well worth reading here.  And of course, our fearless TBA leader Handride is all over the issue as well.

This is by no means an end or a time to start congratulating ourselves on anything resembling a job well done. It is, however, a start – and a necessary start towards enacting positive and much needed reform to the game and the industry.  Is it perfect? Is it full-proof?  No, not at all.  But it is a beginning, and if there’s one thing Alex wanted us to remember leaving the Vegas summit, it was to “hold their feet to the fire” and “challenge” the NTRA to do the right thing.  With that in mind I’m very proud of them for taking this first step and will be counting on racing fans and horse lovers around the nation to do exactly what Alex says by holding them accountable and pushing for additional positive changes. 

So go forth!  Take a look, read up, and get involved.  I can’t stress that enough. You can even sign up and show your support for the initiative.  As always, if you’ve got some thoughts or concerns I’d of course welcome them here, but I’d also encourage you to communicate directly with Alex by commenting on his Straight Up blog.  I can speak from personal experience and promise you – he’s listening, and it would appear is the rest of the industry is as well.