Farewell to The Ohio Derby

[Ogygian]

I have to admit when I first read this I was pissed, then I realized that the Ohio Derby is not what is used to be due to Thistledown not being what it used to be. I remember the days of Lost Code, Broad Brush, King Glorious, Demons Begone... then fast forward to a few years to Skip Away. Do to where I lived (Erie, Pa) it was the biggest race of the year that I could see with out driving too far...Commodore-Erie Downs was a dump...so at the time it was a thrill to go see the Derby. Back then the track was packed, the card was good...Rose Debartolo, met D Watne...
In recent years the I have watched the decline of Thistledown...moving the Derby all over the calendar...the past few years I wouldn't even go, which is aweful. The place is like a giant homeless shelter in the worst part of town, not to mention the quality of racing is pathetic.
A few weeks back, Steve had a caller from Cleveland say he go to Thistledowns to go "upstairs" to bet on the "high quality" racing and ignore the low level horses that run at the track. And there is where he hit the problem...no one wants to go to the track to watch a poor product, in the worst part of town, and in my opinion it is a lot easier to handicap quality racing then that junk. Hence we never see a great pick 4 play at Thistle or Retama in the selections.
I'm not sure what the answer is, it is aggravating and embarrassing.