We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For!
“We are the ones we have been waiting for” - as best I can tell this phrase originated from a Native American prayer passed down by Hopi tribal elders. I know that sounds like new age BS, and I actually found it on a random website that features a lot of new age BS. But what do I know, I’m just a guy who likes horse racing. I happen to be a sucker for historical quotes and I’m particularly fond of ones from that “rugged individualist” himself Teddy Roosevelt. And when you read the entire Hopi Elder’s passage; you will note how it stresses individual responsibility to take bold action for the sake of oneself and their community – an idea good ole TR would fully endorse.“We are the ones we have been waiting for” – it gets to the heart of something that’s been bugging me about the state of racing, and the racing industry, for a long while now. There are millions of racing fans and horseplayers out there who are die-hard followers of the sport. And most of them are pissed (it’s true, read about it here) about the sport’s current state of affairs. However, the simple fact they haven’t completely abandoned the sport altogether demonstrates how great the sport is and their dedication. This is a powerful resource that should not be underestimated. Furthermore, the “racing industry” tends to take horseplayers for granted and lump them into a generic category of habitual gamblers. This is particularly insulting as horseplayers are on average more intelligent, sophisticated, and passionate than your everyday casino denizen (especially compared to slots players).
Furthermore, there’s been endlesss discussion, hand-wringing, blog-posting, meetings, symposiums, summits, and so on and so forth about what is going wrong in thoroughbred racing. Everybody and their mother knows things are bad and change is needed, the only point of contention is where to start first: the inconsistent medication rules or the lax enforcement? The excessive takeout or the poor customer service? The ineffective marketing or the need to do better PR? And don’t even get me started on industry fragmentation and infighting (“ADW signal wars” anyone?). Not to mention its less than stellar record on support for thoroughbred retirement and backstretch workers, and the industry’s apathy toward the issue of equine slaughter (except Suffolk Downs!) are not helping its PR issues. The list of problems goes on and on. Everyone wants to figure out who is going to clean this mess up? Some have called for federal intervention and/or the establishment of some form of “racing czar,” however, this may lead to a case of “be careful what you wish for.”
Instead we have to quit sitting on our hands waiting for someone else to come along and solve these problems. The people and organizations that are in charge, whether they have good intentions or bad, whether they are competetent or incompetent, are only going to keep doing what they’ve always done. And what they have always done is to protect their turf and pursue their own self-interests to the detriment of the sport. We are the ones who must drive change. It’s up to us to make the things better. The efforts of HANA to create a grassroots organization to engage the industry and lobby on behalf of horseplayers is a great example. I believe we can take it to the next level.
Wise words indeed. In fact, the elders’ philosophy aligns closely with the objective of this site - self-empowerment, interaction, participation, cooperation. As everyday brings another bit of bad news, it’s finally time to stop waiting around for someone or something to “save” racing. It’s time to act.
18 August 2009, 9:42 pm
This reminds me of a bumper sticker I see every once in a while: “Stop bitching and start a revolution”. Of course, the bumper sticker is usually on a beat to hell 1970 VW so I guess starting revolutions doesn’t pay all that well. Or maybe revolutionaries just don’t care about what kind of car they drive.