WHERE IS THE WHITE KNIGHT

[MR.DALRAE]

BEEN MIA SINCE YONKERS CLOSED?

[elvis is back]

Don't think he wants to drive at the bigm anymore for that owner..

[newjackcity]

He can afford a longer vacation.  where is he or will he be driving ?

[Yimmy]

Thought he was in an old song by the Moody Blues.

[dnnj1]

He like many are not happy driving at the place right now,  they are being treated like children called to the principals office and fined after every race.  Dube was fined 600 bucks the other night for letting a horse in....Mark McDonald was getting up with a 50-1 shot and was fined for using the whip inside the tote board.  Brian Sears won't come back because he got fined last year for letting a horse duck in front of him (the favorite) and followed that horse second over and won the race, he was fined after the race and told Gural he has a responsability to give the horse the best trip for the trainer and owner not the bettor....Dictator didn't like that

[Claiming King]

He can stay gone then. Maybe there would be a few more people in the grandstand if the races looked like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldwDLKrEnFc

Lucky for everyone that loves racing the guy you call "The Dictator" understands that. It's a damn shame a bunch of selfish and brain dead drivers don't.

[the exactorman]

Jeff Gural wants a better product for customers. Let the white knight stay 1/2 in 1/2 out somewhere other than the Meadowlands.

[Psycho Dad]

We finally have a business owner in harness racing that believes the customer is always right.

[Yimmy]

Jeff Gural wants a better product for customers. Let the white knight stay 1/2 in 1/2 out somewhere other than the Meadowlands.

Eloquently and succinctly put.

[clubhouse]

Let him stay at Yonkers.

[Yimmy]

Better yet, let him move there and put his kids (if any) in the public schools. 

[dnnj1]

Without horsemen entering at the track then there is no customers.  The bettor needs the horsemen just the like horsemen needs the bettor, they need to allow horsemen to survive at the track

[Yimmy]

Yeah, the Meads only filled three races tonight, right? 

[clubhouse]

Without horsemen entering at the track then there is no customers.  The bettor needs the horsemen just the like horsemen needs the bettor, they need to allow horsemen to survive at the track

Watch the 6th race from this afternoons Freehold program. Steve Smith gives a hopelessly parked out Cat Manzi a charity tuck which gave Cat a pocket trip and a victory. Is this the kind of racing you want at The Meadowlands ?
I don't ? I shut off Freehold and watched and bet on Dover after that race.

[clubhouse]

Better yet, let him move there and put his kids (if any) in the public schools. 

Next door in Mt. Vernon ?

[Yimmy]

Better yet. 

[Claiming King]

Without horsemen entering at the track then there is no customers.  The bettor needs the horsemen just the like horsemen needs the bettor, they need to allow horsemen to survive at the track

Do you really think it's that hard to find a driver? When legislature after legislature shuts down slots welfare and the track with the best racing is all that remains, they'll be begging to come back to the Meadowlands.

[MR.DALRAE]

IMO,,,THAT WILL BE THE END ALL

[Psycho Dad]

Without horsemen entering at the track then there is no customers.  The bettor needs the horsemen just the like horsemen needs the bettor, they need to allow horsemen to survive at the track

What you are saying is obviously true.  You need a product to have customer.  We don't want the horsemen to merely survive, we want them to prosper.  They prosper by bringing in more customers.

Buiness people learned a long time ago that 'keeping the customer satisfied' was the key to success.  Harness racing never really cared because they were the only night time gambling product.

You want to gamble after a day in the office?  Harness Racing was the ONLY choice.  When competition reared its ugly head, the powers-that-be kept their collective heads up in the sand or up their asses (depending on your metaphor of choice) until Jeff Gural.

[Yimmy]

Yeah, we have to bribe the drivers with fat purses so they don't cheat. 

[the exactorman]

In 5 nights of successful racing, I doubt if you could have walked up to 1 person who said they were losing sleep because Sears is not driving at the Big M

[Yimmy]

I can't even fathom the handicapping mindset that focuses so heavily on drivers.  I find the racing at Blumpkin in Chitown fairly good despite their appalling driver colony.  Meanwhile, Yonkers had Brennan and Sears for quite some time, and was the racing any good? 

[the exactorman]

I can't even fathom the handicapping mindset that focuses so heavily on drivers.  I find the racing at Blumpkin in Chitown fairly good despite their appalling driver colony.  Meanwhile, Yonkers had Brennan and Sears for quite some time, and was the racing any good? 

Only time a driver ever made me bet the horse was in races where Bud Hatfield drove. It seemed he never lost, and then everyone started catching on.
The drivers who people say are the worst at the Big M, whould be standouts in smaller circuits, i.e. Dube.

[Yimmy]

I mean every so often back in the day at Yonkers, you'd have a race in which Julius Kohegyi or Herman Hylkema or some such autotoss would hand the lines to Loosh.  Okay... fine.  3-2, 6-5... no secrets.  Too obvious.

[MR.DALRAE]

THAT WAS THE STORY AT POMPANO ,,,,,,FIRST TIME RANGER WAS AN AUTOPLAY

[Yimmy]

Yeah, and they all paid $3.60 or some such. What good is it?

[MR.DALRAE]

YIMMY,,,A SHORT PRICE IS BETTER THAN A LONG FACE ALWAYS

[Yimmy]

Touche. 

[JLB]

If Sears stays at Yonkers, as seems likely, I am wondering if it will cost him any Grand Circuit drives? I agree with the above comment that I do not think anyone is losing any sleep at the Meadowlands-from management to heavy bettors to casual fans-that Sears is not there. But I am a bit surprised if he chooses Yonkers, because I think the more not-so-sound horses he (and the other drivers) campaign around those tight turns, the more likely the risk of an accident and injury. And he made it clear last year at the Meadowlands that he would not drive in the cheapest claimers.

[Yimmy]

If he wants to be a prima donna, let him go back to the Meadows whence he came.

[burton]

If he wants to be a prima donna, let him go back to the Meadows whence he came.

Where he was the perrenial second place finisher to that no good Palone, who only beats up lesser talent.

[Yimmy]

I assume there's some referent there, an old thread or some such... expla-ma-nation, please?

[burton]

I assume there's some referent there, an old thread or some such... expla-ma-nation, please?

Not really.
The facts were that Sears never beat Palone at the Meadows.
Sears then goes on the be the top driver (certainly top 2-3) in North America for a good stretch.
Yet Palone gets little or no respect. At least on the forums. (not that that really counts for anything)
Never made much sense to me.

[NIATROSS]

Without horsemen entering at the track then there is no customers.  The bettor needs the horsemen just the like horsemen needs the bettor, they need to allow horsemen to survive at the track

the bettor does not need the horsemen,they will just find something else to bet on
just look at all the dopes playing the slots

the horsemen are the ones who need the bettors whether they are slot or horseplayers

 i seriously doubt gamblers will stop gambling if there is no horse racing

[Yimmy]

Not really.
The facts were that Sears never beat Palone at the Meadows.
Sears then goes on the be the top driver (certainly top 2-3) in North America for a good stretch.
Yet Palone gets little or no respect. At least on the forums. (not that that really counts for anything)
Never made much sense to me.

Good god.  I generally don't read the driver-comparison threads.  The ones I did read (cuD Danial Doobay beeT bReT miLorR on a 58/179s TraK??) were so stupid as to sour me on the whole oeuvre.

[burton]

Good god.  I generally don't read the driver-comparison threads.  The ones I did read (cuD Danial Doobay beeT bReT miLorR on a 58/179s TraK??) were so stupid as to sour me on the whole oeuvre.

gotcha

[Yimmy]

 

[Homeboyhanover]

I mean every so often back in the day at Yonkers, you'd have a race in which Julius Kohegyi or Herman Hylkema or some such autotoss would hand the lines to Loosh.  Okay... fine.  3-2, 6-5... no secrets.  Too obvious.

This is the first time in 30 years I saw these two names mentioned in one sentence.

[Yimmy]

Where have you gone Robert Burgholzer/a nation turns its lonely eyes to you...

[dnnj1]

the bettor does not need the horsemen,they will just find something else to bet on
just look at all the dopes playing the slots

the horsemen are the ones who need the bettors whether they are slot or horseplayers

 i seriously doubt gamblers will stop gambling if there is no horse racing

they will stop gambling on horse racing

[Claiming King]

the bettor does not need the horsemen,they will just find something else to bet on
just look at all the dopes playing the slots

the horsemen are the ones who need the bettors whether they are slot or horseplayers

 i seriously doubt gamblers will stop gambling if there is no horse racing

BINGO!

And it would be in their best interest to cultivate actual horseplayers rather than just sucking more welfare from slots players which we should all understand by now is temporary regardless of what a law might say at the time. It shouldn't be hard for anyone with a brain to grasp what Gural is attempting to do.

[Slim Russ]

Sears is still mad about Irish Elitist dumping and dragging him on the way to the gate in the first round of last year’s Clyde Hirt. He’s driven the horse three times since that incident, over at Yonkers, but for the most part he seems to keep his distance.

[Claiming King]

Also, big picture here, I don't want to sound naive. I know that getting slots at the Meadowlands is Gural's end game. But he is first and foremost a racing guy. He's never going to sell racing down the river. He'll use those slots to help racing. Now, of course, Gural will not live forever and who knows what happens when he's gone. But right now he is the best hope racing has.

That's as opposed to Illinois where I truly believe that a slots bill will be the death knell for racing. The Johnstons are looking to put money in their pockets. If they can do that without the headaches of horses and horsemen, they certainly will. They're getting the casino, the horsemen aren't. And nobody should forget that. Canadian horsemen thought they were partners in a casino too.

[Psycho Dad]

My experience hs been that you frequently get great prices on huge driver changes on horses with no apparent form.

You guys cash on Dauplaise to Dube for a $100 payoff?  I know I missed that one, but I have cashed many a telephone number at similar angles.

[FVRedhot]

the bettor does not need the horsemen,they will just find something else to bet on
just look at all the dopes playing the slots

the horsemen are the ones who need the bettors whether they are slot or horseplayers

 i seriously doubt gamblers will stop gambling if there is no horse racing

100% fact.  Or they will stop gambling...god forbid that!  Lucky there is crack, hookers, bubblegum, etc.  There is no economic sense to the statement that bettors need horsemen.  Emotional, perhaps, but I'm sure we've all lost something we loved and recovered from that loss.  But ask people who lose their job in a specific area with little or no other skill how they recover.  That is why racing will continue forever, at least my forever, because there is NOTHING else many of these people could do.  To believe otherwise is foolish.

[Yimmy]

My experience hs been that you frequently get great prices on huge driver changes on horses with no apparent form.

You guys cash on Dauplaise to Dube for a $100 payoff?  I know I missed that one, but I have cashed many a telephone number at similar angles.

Is ANYONE short of Clair Umholtz to Dooby a good driver change?  He seems to have broken the track record for being needlessly five wide on the first turn.  Has Ford broken with him, as now seems to be the case?

[jdizigg]

http://www.drf.com/news/yonkers-live-racing-resumes-friday-sears-drive

[Slim Russ]

In February of last year, four months before the flap between Gural and Brennan over comments the latter made about Lou Pena to the Times, Jeff Gural said the following to HRU:

"The only disappointment that I have had is the fact that
our leading driver last year has decided to drive at Yonkers,"
Gural said. "He's going to win an award this week
from USHWA and he was the Meadowlands' top driver last
year and he has abandoned the Meadowlands when we
needed him the most. I really appreciate the fact that the
other drivers have stuck by the Meadowlands."

Sears has seven drives at YR Friday. I wonder what Gural’s thoughts are about him. Will he comment on Sears’ decision to stay at Yonkers?

Sears isn’t joined at the hip with a Pena like boogeyman the way Brennan was, so the circumstances aren’t the same, but Gural isn’t one to stew in silence.

[clubhouse]

In February of last year, four months before the flap between Gural and Brennan over comments the latter made about Lou Pena to the Times, Jeff Gural said the following to HRU:

"The only disappointment that I have had is the fact that
our leading driver last year has decided to drive at Yonkers,"
Gural said. "He's going to win an award this week
from USHWA and he was the Meadowlands' top driver last
year and he has abandoned the Meadowlands when we
needed him the most. I really appreciate the fact that the
other drivers have stuck by the Meadowlands."

Sears has seven drives at YR Friday. I wonder what Gural’s thoughts are about him. Will he comment on Sears’ decision to stay at Yonkers?

Sears isn’t joined at the hip with a Pena like boogeyman the way Brennan was, so the circumstances aren’t the same, but Gural isn’t one to stew in silence.

Yonkers races 5 days a week with higher purses and at worst he will be 2nd call in every race. He might lose some drives during the Grand circuit but that didn't seem to hurt Brennan's earnings.

[Yimmy]

Good luck on the closers there, Bri!  Have fun!

[clubhouse]

Good luck on the closers there, Bri!  Have fun!

Better yet, good luck on the GWB traveling there from NJ. More fun in the spring when the Jankees are at home.

[Yimmy]

And listen to the sound of one hand clapping during the stretch drive.   

[NIATROSS]

Yonkers races 5 days a week with higher purses and at worst he will be 2nd call in every race. He might lose some drives during the Grand circuit but that didn't seem to hurt Brennan's earnings.

sears is better off driving regularly at yonkers  especially when the meds goes to 2 nites a week

[NIATROSS]

And listen to the sound of one hand clapping during the stretch drive.   

the last replay i saw from there had at least 17 people in the picture
proof positive that racing is not dead

[jks best]

If Sears stays at Yonkers, as seems likely, I am wondering if it will cost him any Grand Circuit drives? I agree with the above comment that I do not think anyone is losing any sleep at the Meadowlands-from management to heavy bettors to casual fans-that Sears is not there. But I am a bit surprised if he chooses Yonkers, because I think the more not-so-sound horses he (and the other drivers) campaign around those tight turns, the more likely the risk of an accident and injury. And he made it clear last year at the Meadowlands that he would not drive in the cheapest claimers.

Sears was not happy with his Grand Circuit Drives in 2012. It was not a good stakes season for him.

[newjackcity]

There will be no tag days for Brian Sears.    Amazing that guys are worried about where and when he will race.  Has done just fine and will continue to do fine no matter where he races.
 

[MR.DALRAE]

Brian is a man of his word ,,,,, and will bet the top choice at yr b4 long

[popcorn pennyless]

Just go to Secaucus and say hi to Brian.

[popcorn pennyless]

Does the white knight refer to his bad habit he had and may still have?

[sulkyfromouterspace]

I think the Team at the Meadowlands is the best in the industry.   Great product .....the numbers are way up !!   

Sears can hang w George B at the tilt o whirl they call yonkers...




Great Job Jason !!