SARATOGA SPRINGS — With growing criticism of the strain on their equestrian sport, the New York Racing Association is taking a more aggressive approach to its critics.
Ahead of Travers Stakes Day – which was eventually overshadowed by two horse fatalities on Saturday, including one that was televised live on national television – the NYRA urged the city of Saratoga Springs to remove protesters from the group Horseracing Wrongs from the entrance to the Saratoga Race Course at the Keep away from the intersection of East and Union Avenues. The city then demanded that the group move to the far corner of the intersection.
“That just wasn’t acceptable because otherwise we would be marginalized,” said Patrick Battuello, the group’s founder, who said the request was a first and one that Horseracing Wrongs rejected.
At a meeting earlier in the week with city officials, including Mayor Ron Kim and Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino, the protest group agreed to reduce its presence at the corner and move some of its 60 or so protesters elsewhere. Montagnino, who confirmed NYRA asked to have the protest removed from the entrance, said the meeting was amicable.
I’d say it’s to the city’s credit that NYRA didn’t get its way, other than that it shouldn’t have filed the application in the first place. After all, the sidewalk is public space. The track is owned by New York State. Demonstrators have every right to gather there, especially since previous demonstrations have been peaceful.
“Most of our activists are women in their 60s and 70s,” Battuello told me. “It’s not like we’re the Proud Boys.”
As the protest took place, he was met by a small group of counter-protesters from We Are New York Horse Racing, a group supported by NYRA and other industry groups. That was also a first, said Battuello, who believes the protesters were trying to incite Horseracing Wrongs into a confrontation that would force police to evict all protesters from the racetrack entrance.
“It was about getting us out of that corner,” said Battuello. “I have no doubt that NYRA tried to muzzle, if not silence, us.”
NYRA spokesman Patrick McKenna denied this, saying the association respected the rights of protesters. However, he added that the protests had become increasingly aggressive in recent years, raising concerns about safety and access.
But if that’s NYRA’s concern, why include counter-protesters? Wouldn’t they only increase the crowding and the possibility of a confrontation? (McKenna said the protesters were not paid and were not NYRA employees.)
Battuello listed other ways he believes NYRA is trying to stifle his group’s effectiveness. For example, he pointed out that NYRA recently invoked copyright infringement to successfully get YouTube to remove a video showing a horse injury from Horseracing Wrong’s channel.
“We’ve never had a problem,” said Battuello. “Now NYRA is trying to silence us because they feel pressure.”
Horse racing is having a particularly bad year. Churchill Downs in Kentucky had to stop racing earlier this year because of fatal horse accidents. The nearer Belmont Stakes in June was largely overshadowed by a worrying spate of horse deaths and questions about the safety and sustainability of the industry.
However, McKenna countered that the videos in question belonged to NYRA — or in some cases Fox Sports — and that the federation was essentially doing what the Yankees or Mets would do to combat unauthorized use. This is especially true when clips are used to convey an unflattering or distorted view of the sport, McKenna said.
NYRA, which is technically a non-profit organization, also edits its video replays to remove segments where horses are injured. These moments are traumatic and cruel, McKenna explained the decisions. (Fox Sports did not replay footage of the Travers Day injury — the horse was euthanized behind tarps — and NYRA did not make a replay available online.)
But those moments are sadly also the reality of the sport, meaning NYRA essentially gives viewers a sanitized and inaccurate view of racing. And yes, the same criticism can be leveled at the coverage of the industry as well.
That’s understandable I think. Race injuries, whether they’re horrible or chilling, aren’t something you want to see, and rarely is there an industry or company willing to publicize their warts.
However, let’s not forget that NYRA has been classified as a “government actor” and is supported by significant tax subsidies, including the $455 million government loan used to rebuild Belmont Park. Videos of his races should therefore, in my opinion, be considered public property and part of the public record.
So cutting out footage of a horse’s injury is not unlike a mayor ordering embarrassing moments to be removed from tapes of a city council meeting. It turns the video into propaganda that hides the truth.
But McKenna said NYRA is simply showing the sensibility that is increasingly typical of sports broadcasting. He compared the edit to how ESPN and the NFL dealt with Buffalo player Damar Hamlin’s in-game collapse, with the station switching to studio stations while the Bills were kept safe on the field.
Fair enough. But the broadcasters kept showing the blow that led to Hamlin’s collapse, as they often do when athletes are injured.
Then, of course, the NFL stopped the game when it became clear how critical the situation was and didn’t replay the game. The Saturday and Sunday NYRA races went ahead as planned despite the two horse fatalities.
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