Horse Racing Considers Rich National Bonus Series for ‘Pros’

A multimillion-dollar bonus program has been proposed for a nationwide series of rich handicap races that would be promoted as racing’s version of a pro golf tour.

The races would be middle-distance events, all on the dirt, including such events as the $1-million Pimlico Special and the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap.

Barry Weisbord, president of the Matchmaker consulting service, said operators of 20 to 25 existing races expressed enthusiasm for the idea when it was presented to them recently at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla.

“We expect to meet next at Pimlico, the day before the Pimlico Special (May 12),” he said. “If we can work it all out, we’d like to announce it at Saratoga in August and start it in 1991.”

Weisbord believes the problem in racing involves the public perception of the big races and their importance.

“Right now, racing’s image is of three Saturdays in the spring (for the Triple Crown races) and the Breeders’ Cup day each fall,” he said. “Frankly, all the money involved in the Strub Series at Santa Anita seems lost on racing. If racing can put together something like the pro golf tour, with many of the same horses running at different tracks, it would hold all the races together and have some appeal.”

Weisbord said he hopes the series can be launched with $3 million for bonuses the first year and $5 million in the third year.