Censorship on Bloodhorse
 

I didn't get a chance to read the article this morning but apparently Haskin's BC roundup article was up this morning and questioned Darley retiring Bernardini and how sporting they really are. The article has since been removed from the site. This sport is unreal, all it wants is fluff pieces. You write something negative about the sport and they censor it. Just seach for 'Haskin' on bloodhorse.com and the article comes up. Unfortunately when you click the link you get a message saying "We are truly sorry, the story you are trying to access was time sensitive and is no longer available."

it's right here: http://www.bloodhorse.com/articleind...e.asp?id=36300

i read it last night, and had no trouble finding it just now.

Ha, awesome. It wasn't available fifteen minutes ago and they just got a bunch of angry e-mails from fans. The date posted is also changed from November 8th to November 9th. Glad to see they put it back up.

Apparently Haskin was contacted via e-mail that the article was gone and contacted an online editor to get it back up. Perhaps it was just an on-line glitch that just happened to be in a negative article towards Darley rather than censorship.

You have a direct line to Haskin?

Trust me when I tell you the Blood-Horse doesn't censor. I know that first-hand.

However, several different people are responsible for posting stories to the website and sometimes things get moved around and links are dropped by mistake. The "time sensitive" thing is an auto response.

What does that mean?

They are certainly sensitive of many issues. Are you honestly suggesting they will print pretty much anything?

She's suggesting that she writes articles for the Blood-Horse (which she does.)

No, but he does a very good job of responding to e-mails and responded to the e-mail that alerted him to the issue.

He's just glad to have a fan!

HAHA!!! :D

I thought that was a good article in all seriousness. He brought up some good points.

Are there any other questions you answer for her?

I don't particularly agree with her post whether she writes for them or not.

Nah... I've just read a few of her articles and figured that was what she was talking about. :p

I'm a fan of anyone that writes an article questioning how sporting the Sheikhs are or how good they are for the game. The one T Times article yesterday that praised the Sheikhs for being sporting by racing Invasor against Bernardini but neglected to mention them not racing Dubai Escapade or Discreet Cat or Ashkal Way made me want to puke.

Um, what? I didn't think my comment needed to be clarified. But I will regardless....

If it's newsworthy and it steps on toes, even the biggest toes in the game, the BH will still print/publish it. As far as I'm concerned there's really no hard-nosed journalism in horseracing, but the BH isn't afraid to print anything and, so far in six years of working for them, they have. Whether it be editorials or whatever...

Now that's not to say some people's jobs aren't geared toward the less controversial. Haskin, for example, isn't a newswriter. He's a features writer and there's a different direction than someone who does mostly news.

But the BH is a publication owned by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders' Association and, therefore, designed to promote the industry.

I don't agree with the second paragraph....though I do agree about the lack of hard-nosed journalism in Racing ( over all ) and surely Ray has done a great job with the Jess Jackson story.

I couldn't agree more. I liked this piece by Haskin and he's a great guy.

Okay, that's the beauty of it all... not agreeing. And Ray has stepped on a lot of toes (as have several of his cohorts) in the name of doing the right thing and reporting as is. Think, for example, of the ethics in sales stuff and double commissions, Jockeys' Guild, California racing, NYRA, bogus horse ownership lawsuits, drug testing, etc. The BH has covered it all, objectively I believe. And many, many people came away angry. Mission accomplished? I dunno, but I think so...

I, unfortunately, have first hand experience with the BH stepping firmly on very large toes and me having to go back for more info. Not a terribly friendly situation often times.

I wouldn't say the reprinting of Empire's press releases has been hard hitting journalism in the case of NYRA.

i know back when the jocks were negotiating with manley bloodhorse had no problem in questioning his credentials, and suggesting he was a bad choice and that the guild could do better...matter of fact, i was kind of surprised that they went as far as they did.

Jesus you're tough. OK, so maybe the NYRA thing wasn't up to your snuff (and I don't know because, well, it's allgreektome) but you simply cannot fault the rest of the things I listed. And, of course, there's more. But I think I made my point.

With all the stuff that is being written about the Sheiks and their "buying up the game" and retiring horses along with a numbers guy basically bashing them and their operation , I think it would totally be funny if they just took their ball and went home.
Pull all their stock and take them to Europe , South America and everywhere else and with that take all their money that they pump into this sport in the USA , dont invite any Americans to come and compete in Dubai ( they are most likely tired of us taking their money anyway) just forget they ever heard of horse racing in the USA.

It would suck if they did that and people continued to sell our top horses to them knowing they would take them off to other countries to race. Otherwise I don't think it will be a huge deal to the sport of racing. The breeding bubble would burst which would actually increase the number of top horses on the track. I don't know of anyone that would stop gambling on the races beause there are no longer any Sheikh horses racing. As a fan of the game and not someone financially invested in it I don't fear the Sheikhs taking their ball and going home at all. I'd welcome it.

Jockeys dont advertise with the Bloodhorse. Perhaps they were a little skittish following the reports that the Arabs stud farms pulled all their ad's from the DRF after Beyers unflattering piece on the arabs.

They did? Wow...

Jockeys may not buy advertisements, but consignors do.

And, truthfully, I sincerely believe if anyone over at the BH thought that the Sheikhs spending billions was bad for business, they'd comment. But I don't think anyone does. I mean, I won't speak for them, but the economic impact of selling those horses trickles down all over the Bluegrass. How can that be bad?

Well that is your opinon, I would just say this, that their money would be a big loss to the sport in the USA , they pump alot of money into this "dying industry" as some would say. They buy farms and horses , millions of dollars worth a year, ask any person in the breeding industry and they will tell you that the Sheiks contribute alot of money .
They sponser races that have HUGE purses throughout the world and here in the USA , they give jobs to alot of people here in the USA by having American trainers and farms. Believe me this industry would sorely miss their particpation in American racing.

You made your point....and I don't agree with it.

Maybe they can make up some fake races over in Dubai and award their own purse money to themselves. Oops...they are already doing that.

We have what they want...horseflesh and prestige. The breeders may need them, but they need us, and they give nothing to the American racing fan. NOTHING. They only subtract.

They should definitely go to South America. I bet their big races would be easier to win. Then again, if they can't, they can always buy their best horses. Oops again....they already did that.

But you do seem to be speaking for them.

Suprised you didn't hear about the pulled advertising....just about everyone has heard that story.

No doubt there would be tons in the industry impacted although almost entirely on the breeding side. I think the main impact on racing, which is what I am a fan of, would actually be to keep better horses on the track longer which would be a positive for racing. The entire market in the horse breeding industry is a bubble. If people in the industry aren't prepared for that bubble to pop then they are being foolish. They should be profiting all they can now but better have backup plans if it does pop. I'm sure there are some that are aware of it and others completely oblivious to it.

Be carefull what you wish for......

You must be joking. It would be my dream for them to go away completely.

Sorry, I haven't noticed all their entrants in February at Aqueduct. They are a drain on the industry at the high end. I would love it if they announced tomorrow they were done with racing. Maybe racing would take over instead of breeding.

People are chastising them for what we American breeders and owners do here right now.

Godolphin is kicking American racing fans like me in the stomach. :(

LOL, yeah I am still waiting for the 25k Darley maiden claimer in late January on the AQ inner.

Japan built their whole establishment on the great Sunday Silence and it has been successful. The quality of the horses and races is right up there now....I can only assume that the Dubai gang is hoping for a similar success story. And with their resources, they will get wherever they want. Simply a matter of time.

I definitely do think they get too much of the blame. I posted on another thread that I thought it was ridiculous that they are being attacked for retiring Bernardini and Henny Hughes yet somehow Coolmore retired Aussie Rules, a sound 3yo, for a $15,000 stud fee and are avoiding scrutiny. The whole breeding industry is a problem for racing but there is really no hope of it getting fixed anytime soon while people know the Shiekhs and Coolmore will vastly overpay for one of their horses.

Yeah right , because so many American breeders and owners have the money and desire that they do .
How many American owned horses have been retired to the shed that you would consider premature ? I think people who are directly involved in the game know what an impact the Sheiks pulling their money from this country would do.

I'm not speaking for them whatsoever. There's a significant difference between speaking for someone and speaking based on personal experience with someone. These are my personal experiences and opinions.

And I haven't heard the story because I've been out of action for a week... stuck at home, doctor's orders.

The doctors keep me locked up as well.

My vitriol extends to Coolmore as well. In fact, they are worse.