Industry should use U.N. blueprint

Excuse me if I don’t get too excited about the horse race industry hearing Thursday on Capitol Hill before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.

That’s because Congress has subjected many sports to a public flogging on C-SPAN, but has little stomach for federal intervention. And why should it? Our government really doesn’t want to meddle in the operation of bodies such as the NFL, MLB, NCAA, pro boxing and now horse racing. Congress has a lot more pressing issues to be concerned about.

The sports in question have been smart enough to take their medicine, then do the bare minimum to appease their harshest government critics. The big test for horse racing will be to meet that minimum standard so it then can be left alone.

I hope that’s not asking for too much. Public opinion has forced horse racing to take a hard look at itself, and it’s not a pretty sight.

Horse racing never will have a commissioner. It is not a league like the NFL or NBA. Horse racing consists of scores of fiefdoms fighting over turf as in medieval times.

Rather than a commissioner, what racing should use as a model is the United Nations. Give every group a seat at the table, and a vote. Recognize that the biggest shareholders deserve more influence, thus, they would form a Security Council. A secretary general would be elected to lead, such as Alex Waldrop of the NTRA or former head D.G. Van Clief.

The United Nations is not a perfect organization. But as a model for bringing horse racing chaos under some structure, the sport would be better off than the status quo.

• PETA PROTEST — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals found a legal way to voice its opinions at Thursday’s Churchill Downs shareholders meeting. The organization bought 80 shares of CDI stock so it could attend.

Churchill President and CEO Robert Evans agreed to a meeting with PETA representatives and vowed to do “everything in our power” to improve racing safety.

• CSI: HORSE RACING — Phar Lap, an Australian champion race horse who died in 1932 under mysterious circumstances in California, made the news. Forensic tests on the horse’s hair samples showed a high probability Phar Lap accidentally ingested too much arsenic in the hours before his death.

Supporting the claim is a handwritten notebook of homeopathic recipes used by Phar Lap’s trainer, Harry Telford, that came to light in April. Telford mixed in arsenic and strychnine among many ingredients in tonics and ointments used on his horses.

• RED ROCK CONTEST — A one-day qualifier for the National Handicapping Championship will take place Saturday at Red Rock. The entry fee is $200.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.