East Rutherford, NJ - Last
Saturday night at The Meadowlands driver Joe Bongiorno was replaced on two of
his mounts after a pre-race interview in which he stated that his instructions
from the owners of those horses were to race those two horses
conservatively in anticipation of upcoming stakes.
The judges at The Meadowlands,
after listening to the interview, felt that he should be replaced to
protect the interests of those wagering on the races discussed. Protecting the
integrity of the racing is their job description.
Drivers and other racing
personalities that may be interviewed or post comments on social media are
certainly not trained in the field. Mr. Bongiorno has said publicly that he did
not state his intentions clearly in the interview. At twenty years of age, his
media exposure is limited but his enthusiasm for racing and his integrity are
unquestioned.
Experienced horseplayers are
aware that there is no substitute for observing the actions
taken by drivers during a race to determine if the horse was driven
properly. The interview comments made by drivers are similar to the
way the NFL discloses injuries, to provide interested
parties with the most current and accurate information possible as well
as adding a personal component to the broadcasts.
In this age of information
saturation, as we navigate through the process of utilizing the various social
platforms to our best advantage, there will be missteps. So long as wagering is
an element of our product, those will be magnified. While this situation
may be regrettable, it was dealt with in an objective and thoughtful fashion.
The Meadowlands considers both
information and integrity vital components to the future success of harness
racing. Our expectation is that any horse entered to race at The Meadowlands is
racing to win every time.
