For Immediate Release:
Dateline: Lexington,
KY
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Tommy Roberts: In Addition to Maggie MossUpdated: February 24, 2015 Horse Races Now received the below commentary from Tommy Roberts after publishing an article from the Thoroughbred Racing Commentary, “Moss: Get rid of people who cheat and hurt horses,” in our daily newsletter last week. You can read the original article by clicking here. “My name is Tommy Roberts and I have been on the track full time since 1953. I would like like to add to Maggi Moss’s excellent analysis on the state of racing. To start, let me list my credentials so you get the idea that I might know something about our SPORT.” “Since 1953, I have worked for the New Jersey Racing Commission, been Publicity Director at Garden State park, Radio/TV director at Monmouth Park and Atlantic City, Vice President and General Manager of Hialeah Race Course. In addition I started the practice of putting Claiming prices on the overnights at Garden State in 1954, Insisted that our track announcer give Fractional times during the Running of the races in the spring of 1958, Put over 50,000 people in the track when I revived The Jersey Derby,(11 yrs older than the Ky derby) on Memorial Day 1960. In 1969 a nation news story called me “The Voice of Horse Racing”-see NY Herald Tribune) In addtion, I hosted , or called, the national race of the week on TV for NBC-TV, ABC-TV and both the Sports Network and Roberts Television International. Did that for 21 years. Also did a “Race of the Day” broadcast on a regional network that stretched from New York City on WOR, Philadelphia on WCAU and Baltimore on WBAL, 23 stations in all at one point, from 1954 to 1975. In 1984 I founded what today is Roberts Communications Network, the largest provider of simulcasting in the world.” “Now to my addition to Maggi’s very insightful comments. I recognized early in my career that the young people growing up were a problem for thoroughbred racing. I said time and again in speeches and on radio/tv. We have a problem for the future. Kids don’t grow up PLAYING LITTLE LEAGUE HORSES! In the early days kids could not attend the races until they were 21…by then we had lost their attention. Our remedy, which I firmly believe is valid today, is backstretch tours for boy scout, girl scout and cub tours. Our tours put kids on tram trains and we drove them around the backstretch (never in the pari-mutuel plant) they saw horses being shod, horses getting bathed, horses being fed, horses being exercised. While riding the tram, we gave them chocolate milk and doughnuts and then at 10 am we took them into the track kitchen and fed them a big hearty, healthy breakfast. The tours were booked 3 weeks in advance, and 90% of our tours were from church sponsored groups. The visit made a lasting impression on these little boys and girls. The loved the horses and the care they got. They got older with a healthy respect for our sport and they responded by becoming patrons and owners of horses. LET EVERY TRACK ADOPT SUCH A PROGRAM NOW!” “I agree with everything else Ms. Moss said, with one additional thought. Just as politics are local, so is horse racing, except for the Triple Crown and Breeder’s Cup. Players in Northern California do not follow Southern Louisiana for example. While pushing for National Testing and Racing Rules, do be mindful of local jurisdiction needs.” Tommy RobertsThis entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.
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