Will Racing Sleep With The Fishes?
BY THE TERRIBLE TOUT I can’t believe this is my 50th column for Public Opinion. Or that you’ve allowed me to bore you to death for so long. Ah, well, once …
Another Country
I was 14 in 1961 when my family moved to Istanbul, Turkey, from the United States for a one-year Fulbright appointment that my dad received. He was offered a position to …
Fillies Time of Year
It’s that time of year again when the fillies, dull and listless all summer, tend to pop up as unappreciated long shots and reward faithful punters committed to clear thinking with …
Where Time Is Meaningless!
Last week, in-between family duties, I watched as much of the five-day Glorious Goodwood festival from Sussex, England, as possible. On Thursday, a peculiar thing happened. Although the first race went …
Value at the tote (less is more) and in the St Leger
Unfortunately, local horse racing continues to bleed customers of all ages. Very few of the millennial generation are sufficiently interested to invest in a tote that extorts 30% of stakes …
A Derby Day Fashion Statement
The following apocryphal story has been making the rounds since I was knee high to a grasshopper (or grass lice whichever you prefer). Lord Nelson was on the bridge of HMS …
Jamaica Derby Preview
The Jamaica Derby’s 99th running is scheduled for tomorrow but Public Opinion deadlines mean readers must be satisfied with a very early preview. I’ll be looking at the horses I expect …
TV Coverage Essential To Racing’s Survival
If horse racing isn’t to die with its aging fans, two vital factors need to be added to its crash cart: namely marketing and availability. Currently, racing is limping along …
How To Look For Value For Your Betting Dollar
In order to rise above the ordinary, punters must understand that racehorses are people too. It’s just that they can’t talk. But they eat, sleep, think and need, just like …
In-Depth Racing Coverage Needed
At least the bare bones of live horseracing have returned to TV via simulcast on PBCJ. This is a good thing. As I wrote last issue, horse racing’s major investors, without …
One Hundred Percent Of Nothing Is Nothing
A horse racing industry is a three-faceted construction made of investors, contributors and regulators. Investors (breeders, owners, punters and promoters) are the foundations. Contributors (trainers, jockeys and grooms) are bricks …