https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/new-venture-to-bring-team-concept-to-horse-racing-launch-labor-day-weekend/

Anybody remember when Andy Stronach came up with "Super Track Racing" and it went over like a lead balloon? (even had  cheerleaders!)   -- eventually Super Track Racing was re-jigged into the Sunshine Millions program which also fizzled (and was ultimately supplanted by the Pegasus World Cup, which is just a rebranded Donn Handicap).

Wow, fast forward 20 years and somebody else is trying the same concept?

We were talking about this the other day and I did get deja vu but I didn't remember who hatched the idea.  Thanks, Tex.

This is a perfect example of trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole.  It's a mistake.  

2 divisions of 3 teams?

East Division....New York / Kentucky / Florida

West Division...California / Louisiana / Arkansas?

Pre season races before Kentucky Derby?

2 year old rookie camp before September?

Breeders Cup....horse racing Super Bowl?

HISA acting as Roger Goodell?

IMO...never happen!!

It sounds to me that the brain trust of this venture thinks "team loyalties" will be born at the snap of their fingers.  They further believe it will be a productive hedge against top notch horses going into early retirement.

I don't get it either.

There is a built-in disconnect between, say, NY sports fans who are dedicated fans of NY sports teams and this idea.

I suppose I could have it wrong and it will become a huge success. 

Some sports weren't meant to be team sports.  Who the hell follows World TeamTennis?  And more recently, LIV Golf: not only did they poach some of the world's best players from the PGA and European tours... they grouped them in this team concept alongside the traditional leaderboard.  I doubt the team logo clothing is flying off the racks at the souvenir shops at their events! I have yet to see the sports highlights show mention which golf team won this weekend.

Here's an article about Andy's lamebrained idea:

https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/24/sports/horse-racing-roundup-team-concept-may-be-adopted.html

TexSquared said:

Some sports weren't meant to be team sports. 

That is it, exactly.  I can add nothing to that.

If it didn’t sound so dumb I would just think it’s a way to get more money out of more people.  

And it's happening... the LIV Golf of horse racing...

https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/ntl-kickoff-event-at-hudson-yards-promises-change-for-racing/

https://ntl.racing/

So the teams are the NY Knights, California Shamrocks (?!), Nashville Dreams, NJ Royals, Philadelphia Stallions, and Seattle Gems.  

Nashville's "home track" is Kentucky Downs as there are no tracks in TN.  NY and NJ share the Meadowlands (I guess that means all turf racing since I doubt they'd run on the harness track), curiously California uses Los Alamitos, Seattle's home is Emerald Downs (hence the Gems name) and the finals ("Super Bowl"?) will be at the neutral site Tampa Bay Downs.  I didn't see an event listed for Philadelphia (I would assume Parx). Since it's the same horses competing in each round, the horses need to handle both surfaces -- I mean, you have two all-turf tracks (Kentucky Downs and Meadowlands), and two that only race dirt (Emerald and Los Alamitos).   I assume Tampa was chosen  for the neutral site "finals" since  it has both turf and dirt (shouldn't they have really made it neutral and have the finals run on synthetic at Gulfstream?).

Hoo boy.  Pardon my jaded, cynicism, my friend, but I am underwhelmed.  

Andy Stronach tried this before with Super Track Racing and that went nowhere.  The team concept (for a sport that just isn't set up for that) and the extra entertainment all smells like the LIV Golf of horse racing (their slogan is "Golf, but louder"). I guess this bunch thinks with more money and hype they can pull off what Stronach couldn't.

I am surprised at the various big names backing this. Tom Ludt formerly of the BC and Billy Rapaport of NBC Sports, then tack on the NFL and NBA players investing in teams (this surprised me most).  

That's where the similarities to LIV end.  LIV is just the Saudi Public Investment Fund (so one BIG investor/owner) throwing billions at a new "sportswashing" golf league, poaching some of the world's best players with signing bonuses and crazy purses, and then having Greg Norman for their mouthpiece.  That's definitely not what's happening with the NTL.