Here in California those of us who participate in horse racing don’t agree on a whole lot right now. What surface should we be racing on? Should we raise the takeout? Where should Oak Tree run its next meet? All extremely polarizing issues at the moment that split our horsemen basically right down the middle. But on Saturday the 24th, California horsemen put down their pitchforks and torches for one evening to collectively support the racehorses that give us an industry to survive with. CARMA, the organization that has spearheaded the drive to better support our retired race horses in our state, held its third annual poker tournament at Del Mar.

Over 300 trainers, owners, jockeys, executives, and celebrities took part in a very entertaining evening that raised over $60,000 that will aid horses in need. Who wouldn’t enjoy an opportunity to play poker at a table with the likes of Jim Rome, Mike smith, John Shirreffs, or Arnold Zetcher. A very impressive turnout considering Joe Harper held a party at his house the same evening.

California horsemen came together, despite their differences, to help horses who can no longer help themselves, showing that as a group, we can accomplish just about anything in our state. Here’s hoping that the other states that participate in our sport, will pick up the torch, and start similar programs. Retirement care is needed wherever racing occurs, and many in our industry have the resources and time to help. Racing just needs to better organize its efforts, and like CARMA, more efficiently use its available finances to help as many horses as possible.

For more information about CARMA, go to www.carma4horses.org

Mr. Stronach came to California last week and spoke in front of the CHRB. He touched on a number of issues, but I thought one of his ideas deserved more attention than it has received. Mr. Stronach proposed a new wager he called a “quadruple quadfecta,” which he described as a wager with a “lottery style payoff.” The idea certainly has merit, but it got me thinking. Why not have a lottery style wager, that involves the lottery?

Let’s assume for a moment that the CHRB would be open to helping Santa Anita team with our state lottery commission. Why not consider having a lottery drawing whose final number would be the saddle cloth chosen by the person who had the first five numbers correct. Think of it this way, there would be a lottery drawing every Thursday of the Santa Anita meeting, which would determine the first five numbers. Those “survivors” would be announced on HRTV Friday, and flown to Santa Anita for Saturday’s races.

On Saturday, they would be interviewed by HRTV, and given an opportunity to solicit handicapping tips from the analysts they prefer. They will make a selection in Saturday’s feature, using the saddle cloth number as their final lottery number, and the drama of a life-changing event will take over from there. This would be a win-win for everyone involved. The lottery would get a new game, which gave a player a small chance to control their own destiny.

Mr. Stronach would win in a number of ways as well. He gets the guarantee of an exciting payoff every Saturday, whether there is a pick 6 carryover or not, as opposed to waiting for someone to hit the quadruple quadfecta on a slow Thursday, and hoping someone noticed.

What the pick 6 has always lacked, is the ability for fans to watch the player go through that grueling last 20 minutes before the last race crosses the wire. If we could find a way to splice the lottery concept, with racings’ drama, and add the component of live TV coverage, we could introduce the excitement of our sport to millions of new fans.