Tuesday, March 9, 2010

“Committee to save the horse industry reconvenes (Examiner)” plus 1 more

“Committee to save the horse industry reconvenes (Examiner)” plus 1 more

Committee to save the horse industry reconvenes (Examiner)

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 08:02 AM PST


Committee to save the horse industry reconvenes

Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry has reconstituted her local Save the Horse Committee in an effort to focus the state's attention on the ailing horse racing industry that is vital to Monmouth County.

Two of New Jersey's racetracks are located in Monmouth County — Freehold Raceway in Freehold and Monmouth Park in Oceanport. The Save the Horse Committee has endorsed S-685, a bill by Sen. Sean T. Kean (R-Monmouth) that would allow the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford to install video lottery terminals, according to a Monmouth County press release.

"My interest and the concerns of the Save the Horse Committee obviously lie with the saving the horse racing industry," Burry said in the press release. "Right now New Jersey is losing out to racetracks outside New Jersey that offer more opportunities for gamblers. Our racetracks cannot compete, and as the purses get smaller, horse owners are moving their operations to neighboring states.

Gov. Chris Christie has established a new state panel called the New Jersey Gaming, Sports and Entertainment Advisory Commission to advise him on how to repair the financial and structural challenges currently facing Atlantic City, the Meadowlands, the state's racetracks and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. The commission will look at the viability of the sports authority, find a resolution to Xanadu, suggest improvements to make Atlantic City competitive and horse racing self-sustaining, and resolve the competition between the Izod Center and the Prudential Center.

Christie has said the commission's suggestions are due by June 30. Burry said that gives the Save the Horse Committee an opportunity to make its concerns known.

"If something isn't done soon to help New Jersey's ailing horse racing industry, the impact will be felt in an eventual decline of the quality of life in Monmouth County and the rest of New Jersey when horse farms close and breeders move their operations elsewhere," Burry said. "Agricultural and horse farms will turn into housing developments if we let the horse industry slip away."

Burry created the committee two years ago to lobby state lawmakers to help the state's horse racing industry, which in recent years has been threatened by neighboring states such as New York and Pennsylvania, where racetracks have slot machines that are drawing gambling dollars away from New Jersey. Compounding the situation are the Atlantic City casinos, which have lobbied against allowing slot machines and video lottery terminals at racetracks.

Millstone Mayor Nancy Grbelja, who owns several racehorses, will once again serve as chairwoman of the reconstituted committee.

"The exodus of horses and breeders will continue until the state establishes a long-term solution to make the racetracks of New Jersey self-sufficient and lucrative for our horsemen," Grbelja said. "We will be renewing our efforts to make our representatives in Trenton understand, so they can take the necessary action to preserve what we have. Once we lose a horse farm, we can never get it back. In New Jersey, horse racing equals open space."

The other members of the Save the Horse Committee are Michael J. Mahon, mayor of Oceanport; Dr. Greg Dey of Manalapan, a veterinarian; Tom Luchento, president, Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association (SBOA); Anthony T. Abbatiello, SBOA cofounder and New Jersey Racing Commission member; John Ryan of Colts Neck, thoroughbred breeder; Pat Butch of Millstone, standardbred breeder; Anthony Perretti, owner, Perretti Farms, Upper Freehold; Mark Mullen, owner, Fair Winds Farm, Upper Freehold; and John Ciufo, director, Monmouth County Administrative Department, Planning & Economic Development and RegulatoryAffairs.


Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Horner: Webber a 'dark horse' this year (Planet F1)

Posted: 09 Mar 2010 07:24 AM PST

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner feels an overlooked Mark Webber is the dark horse of this season's Formula One world title battle.

The pre-season build-up has understandably focused on the likes of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, Michael Schumacher's comeback, Fernando Alonso switching to Ferrari and the continued rise of Webber's Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

As Vettel ran Button close in last year's Championship, of the Red Bull duo, it is the young German who many are backing for a second title tilt.

Veteran Australian Webber barely gets a look in, yet Horner has no doubt the 33-year-old is in the prime of his career and should not be ruled out of the reckoning.

"I don't see any reason why Mark can't be a contender," said Horner.

"People overlook him, but for me he is the dark horse of this year's Championship.

"For sure, Sebastian is a prodigious talent, and to be challenging for a Championship last year was remarkable for a guy in only his second full year of grand prix racing.

"A lot of lesser drivers would have wilted under the pressure of having Sebastian as a team-mate, but he hasn't.

"Mark is a very dedicated sportsman who trains very hard, applies himself 100%, and as an example to aspiring young drivers he is the epitome of what a grand prix driver should be.

"He is in the latter years of his career, not at the end of it, and so he has a lot of experience behind him.

"He is still very driven, but he is also comfortable with where his strengths and weaknesses are, and he works hard on those."

Webber finished 14.5 points adrift of Vettel at the end of the 2009 season, which was an achievement in itself given he was still recovering from a cycling accident at the start of the campaign.

Webber broke a leg and shoulder, and as Horner remarked: "He could barely walk getting onto the plane to go to Australia (for the opening race)."

As the younger, fitter driver, Vettel was the more dominant of the two in the early stages, yet Webber bounced back to finally record his maiden win in Germany before adding another victory in Brazil.

Horner believes those two successes means his rivals, including Vettel, ignore Webber at their peril.

"Last year gave Mark a great deal of inner confidence," added Horner.

"There's a big difference between thinking you can win and knowing you can win.

"Mark had been in Formula One a while and never been in the best situation, in a race-winning car, and then he suddenly found himself with the tools to get the job done.

"Sebastian had the early results, winning in China and Silverstone, and many drivers would have been crushed under that momentum from their team-mate.

"But Mark is a tough competitor, and he turned up in Germany, on Sebastian's home ground, and totally dominated the event.

"Mark demonstrated his abilities last year, and now he has the confidence of being a double grand prix winner.

"Going into 2010 without the injuries he was carrying, he is better prepared than he has ever been. He's had a couple of pins removed from his leg so he has full movement, and he has been able to train properly.

"So it's a different Mark Webber this year compared to the start of last year."

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
Posted by at

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)