Ralph Siraco: Ky. derby talk upstaged by simulcasting dispute

Monday, April 21, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

SOMETIMES, as the saying goes, it just doesn't pay to get out of bed in the morning. Don't get a good idea, don't try to solve a problem in the very industry in which you make your living, don't answer the phone and, above all, forbid the thought of helping a pastime you love and the people who join you in that endeavor.

As a person who has devoted my entire adult life to racing and the seeming cult enjoyment of it, turning my back on a problem in it is like kicking the family dog. It's like giving a bum's rush to a friend or not voting because you don't like the candidates.

It's like giving up on life.

Well, they shoot horses, don't they?

At this time of year, turf reporters like myself are supposed to be scribing the hopes and chances of the glamour sophomore group of our sport, the equine stars of the future and all the great human stories that surround them.

Center stage

It's that time of year when horse racing takes center stage for much too brief a moment, and more precious space in the sports sections of this city's newspapers. When all forms of the media beckon racing's experts in equine competitive prognostications to talk, analyze and compare the horses for America's most famous race -- the Kentucky Derby.

But, instead of the competition between such racing heavyweights as Pulpit, Captain Bodgit or Crypto Star, this space is filled with the names of gaming giants and regulatory leaders in an impasse and dispute that has gone way beyond its very reason. Instead of the glory of Santa Anita Derby winner Free House, we're writing about Not In My House. Why talk about Silver Charm and his conditioner Bob Baffert, when the battle of gaming Silver is baffling to those with less Charm?

Usual racing terms such as black type give way to blackout, past performances are now petitions and the promise of a Derby colt now substituted with doubt.

It's Derby time, not hard time.

With less than two weeks to the 123rd Kentucky Derby, we are left to cover the power pull of California simulcasting to Nevada instead of the California horse power in Kentucky.

And what about the fantastic turnaround fate of last year's Derby trainer duo, Bob Baffert, who will wrap up his first Santa Anita trainer title by the day's end, and D. Wayne Lukas, who may wind up with no Derby starter this year?

The local story

So, while great stories unfold as they do each year at Derby time, as local reporters on the local "racing beat," we'll spend time and space covering the local story -- as we should.

The ongoing saga of the California simulcasting blackout has been documented to the point of O.J. trial status in the local racing press.

To sum it up, for those of you who have been on an Apollo mission, this reporter provided what was meant to be a simple solution to the California simulcast impasse and presented it to the Nevada pari-mutuel powers that be. The plan called for a cable television package that would have increased handle and revenue to satisfy the California interests that wanted more rights-fee monies.

The Nevada powers that be rejected the proposal on the grounds California's track had a valid multiyear deal it was not honoring. One wonders that, if a slot machine provided had a multiyear contract with one of the power's casino and failed to deliver the product on the agreed date, would it take the casino 5 1/2 months to enforce the agreement with that provider? Try replacing the months with minutes for the answer.

After the rejection, walks in independent race book operator Vic Salerno and his Leroy's Race & Sports Place. Salerno, CEO of American Wagering Inc., says yes, underwrites the project and returns to the powers that be for a "no cost to you" approval, only to be denied.

Salerno decides to go it alone and has petitioned the Nevada Gaming Commission to approve his right to negotiate a deal with Hollywood Park, the next track on the Southern California schedule, opening Friday night. That has created a backlash of the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association membership policies.

The NPMA, given the exclusive right to negotiate pari-mutuel contracts from the Nevada Gaming Commission, apparently did not poll all members in a vote on Salerno's latest offer that has upset many local participating casinos.

More to come

So, a Wednesday meeting in Carson City to rule on the latest twist to the simple solution will be conducted. And I'm sure it is not the last chapter.

Who would ever imagined that there would be more pending law suits filed on the simulcast issue than D. Wayne Lukas entrants in this year's Kentucky Derby?

Orleans contest: A $1,000 free handicapping contest on the final five live races on Tuesday's Hialeah race card will accompany a live seminar at the newest locals' spot by jockey Russell Baze and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. The Orleans hotel-casino race book will be the hub of racing activity, starting at noon with Northern California's kingpins. Baze and Hollendorfer will answer questions from the audience as well, and the free contest for a dime will follow. The seminar and contest are free, to be held in the race book of the Orleans hotel-casino at Tropicana and Arville on Tuesday.