Crazy Business

The business of racing Thoroughbreds is a little crazy, definitely full of ups and downs. Thus, don't be surprized if that guy who trained a stable of 25 or 30 head at your favorite track last year is serving you a hotdog at your favorite convenience store today. In the spirit of this craziness, two brief bits of news.

In the wake of the Florida/Michigan/parts unknown jockey-scandal-that-wasn't, former leading jockeys Joe Judice and Terry Houghton are currently whiling away their days as exercise riders in Ocala. At least one other of the seven jocks banned from Tampa, Ricardo Valdez, has joined them there.

But while the mighty are frequently humbled in this business, the opposite is also true. Take Mary Anne Barron, a longtime Michigan trainer from a well-known family of trainers. While she was working as a car-parking valet in the horsemen's parking lot at Tampa Bay Downs yesterday, Magna Entertainment annnounced her appointment as Racing Secretary at the upcoming Great Lakes Downs meet. No word on her replacement at Tampa yet, but maybe management should consider interviewing some jockeys?

As they say on the backside, chicken salad today, chicken feathers tomorrow. And vice versa.