Harness racing needs a “Damola!”
by John Berry
You probably have never heard of Damola Adamolekun.
I hadn’t until he pulled a major restaurant chain out of bankruptcy in just a few months with his bold initiatives and forward thinking.
Adamolekun is a 36-year-old Nigerian-American businessman and genius who pulled Red Lobster out of that bankruptcy cloud, reviving the struggling restaurant chain throughout the country — now a “1:47.2” performer after being a “2:02.3” laggard over the past few years.
His name came up during a visit to my BDHC (Broken Down Horseplayers Club), located in the simulcasting venue at the nearby casino.
It was the BDHC’s “Smitty,” who brought up his Adamolekun’s name.
“Smitty,” a 45-year veteran in the field of education in Chicago — now retired, of course — still displays an unusual wisdom for someone whose age is approaching 32 (CELSIUS) and, he, along with other BDHC old-timers, have some valid insight into our grand sport.
In the early 1960’s, when you and I sat in those Sportsman’s Park seats along with 15,000 others, there was an aura that surrounded us that has dissipated over the years.
“No doubt about it. Since casinos have invaded our sport, they have become the crutch — or one of the crutches — for harness racing.”
The other crutch is any legislature that appropriates money to the cause… and that has kept the industry still breathing.
“No doubt and, to tell you the truth, I liked the sport much better back in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s than today. I loved the era of the stopwatches and rating, but, just like many of us oldsters, everything has shriveled up — especially the crowds.”
So, you mentioned this gent from Nigeria as we got started with an industry absolutely unrelated to harness racing. Why?
“Because he has done something that harness racing refuses to do — listen to the customers. He read the countless complaints that customers had and he did something about it and has revived their business with a modern thinking approach. In other words, he just didn’t sit around and let business erode… like we have done in our sport.”
But we’re two unrelated businesses.
“Yes, but all businesses need customers and we have ignored ours… for the most part, anyhow. We used to be a spectator sport that was geared to attract the betting dollar. We do not do that anymore. Yes, we have guaranteed pools which help, but basically, our sport is geared for the horsemen only — not the fan.”
Give me an example.
“Sure. The racing secretaries at the Chicago tracks way back didn’t stretch their conditions much at all. They had their A-B-C classes, claimers, non-winners, stuff like that and they were very competitive.”
They stretched them a bit on occasion to make them fill.
“Yes, but Phil Langley, Bob Larry and Doc Narotsky kept them competitive and interesting. Today, most race secretaries seem to cater to the horsemen, who are looking for an edge. You should know, JB, you were in the race office for some years at Pompano.”
Yes, and whether it was Greg DeFrank or Joe Zambito, there was little wiggle room to get a horse in a race that didn’t exactly fit. We’d always say, ‘We’ll see what we can do!’
“Any time a race secretary does something to get a horse in that doesn’t fit (the class) it invites a 3-5 shot in there, which takes away value for the bettor.”
Not if the favorite bombs.
“It’s not just that. Take this year’s Hambletonian, for example, They had three seven horse eliminations the week before. Don’t get me wrong, there were three nice races, but, in the bettor’s eyes, two fields (one 10-horse field and the other 11) would have given the bettors much more value for their buck. It’s simple mathematics. In a seven horse field — and this comes from my educational days — the ‘mean’ odds (every horse the same) is 9-2 odds ($11.60). In a 10-horse field, it’s 7-1 ($16.60).(Editor’s note: The 11-horse field has ‘mean’ odds of 8-1). The more horses in a field, the better value for the player. They chose to go the horsemen’s route.”
You have a point but race secretaries have to deal with horsemen and women all the time and one can’t blame them for trying to card these events. It’s a thankless job.
“I completely understand that, and those guys do a tremendous job in juggling so everybody is happy. But, we’re talking about the public in a spectator sport and short fields accommodating everyone is no good for the (betting) business. Race secretaries deal with horsemen — not the public.”
You have to admit that the breed is better than ever these days and the speed is dazzling.
“So, how is that better for us? All of us up here [in the simulcasting area] care about is cashing a ticket. We don’t get paid on the time of the race, unless you know of a prop bet on time, which isn’t a bad idea now that I think of it.”
You have a point
“There is little or no strategy in racing today — at most tracks. It’s go, go, go, go. And the way some of them lean back, half the field is out of contention 10-12-15 lengths back at the half. You tell me. If a field is for non-winners of, say $4,000 in ‘x’ number of starts, is a horse that’s near the back 10-12 lengths back, is that horse two or three seconds better than the leader in the final half mile, quarter mile or whatever? The tighter the field, the better it is.”
As you know, the medication issue has loomed large over the sport. Does that have any effect on the guys up here?
“Not really. Most of these guys are hardcore players that love the game and have been playing for decades. Some would bet a buck on two cockroaches crossing the street. They die off and we have done nothing to replace them. Having said that, the doping problem in racing — or in all of sport — will never be solved. It would be cost prohibitive for personnel and the equipment to police the entire industry. I’ve read all about this over the years and the guys that have been caught thought that the odds of being caught were 99-1. Believe me, if there’s one out there, there’s a thousand more. If there is money involved — big money — there will always be those that think they can beat the system, and most do.”
We had a 1:50 mile in the Hambletonian on Saturday. Surprised?
“Not really. There have been a lot of 1:50 trotting miles in our history and in a relatively short time. As I mentioned, I am one who is not necessarily a fan of speed. Speed can cut a horse’s career short. I’ve read about horses that raced into their 20’s when it was allowed. I don’t know the number, but I know that the number of horses racing that are 10-years-old and up has decreased substantially over the last decade or two. Every time we lose a horse, a race loses one, too. The difference in field sizes from nine or 10 to six or seven takes away a lot of value from the bettor and for the bettor. Once we’re gone, the industry will really be on crutches, or beyond repair. I hope not.”
Will you and a couple of friends come back for round two sometime?
“Of course.”
Until harness racing finds its version of Damola Adamolekun, May the Horse Be With You, Smitty, and all of our HRU faithful.
