So Finger Lakes has canceled tomorrow's program due to a shortage of available horses. Now, we all can understand having a shortage of horses as being a viable reason for a cancellation, it's why there's a shortage that comes into question.

    The answer, no doubt, lies in the purse structure at the upstate New York track. Last Saturday, for eight races, the total purses offered came to a miniscule $84,300. There was one starter allowance and seven claimers, mostly of the $5,000 variety, and those races each had a purse of $9,000. Horsemen cannot exist on purses of $9,000 a race. Anywhere. Not at today's prices for vets, farriers, feed, vanning, etc.

    How can a track with a successful racino possibly be paying out the way Finger Lakes does, one might ask? I can't explain it, not knowing the deal Finger Lakes has with the state. I have always assumed it's the same as the Aqueduct casino - 7.5% of the "net win" goes for purses. For the 2105-2016 fiscal year, which ended the last week of March, Finger Lakes Gaming and Race Track had a "credits played" of $1.78 billion. The net win was $131.5 million. Taking 7.5% for purses, that's just under $10 million.

    Since Finger Lakes runs for 155 days, let's take nine races a day times 155; that's 1,395 races for the meeting. Allowing $7,000 per race and the almost-$10 million is accounted for. In these calculations, each race could be enhanced by an average of $7,000, leading to the question the great Dick Young used to ask in his New York Daily News column, "What's going on here?"  

    MUSICAL ANNOUNCERS - Pete Aiello's first announcing job in Florida came at Hialeah Park for the quarter horses a few years back, when he was also the track's marketing director. Pete is now at Gulfstream Park and he has become very good at what he does. The announcing booths at major venues around the country have taken on a new look what with the retirement of Tom Durkin and the semi-retirement of Trevor Denman. Larry Collmus, now full-time in New York, is the premier race-caller in the country and deservedly so. (He knows how to pronounce Leparoux).

    Frank Mirahmadi has hooked up with Monmouth Park and he does a superior job, too. Vic Stauffer is the newbie at Oaklawn Park and Vic is good as long as he doesn't let his ego get in the way. I'm not thrilled with Michael Wrona at Santa Anita - he sounds like a Denman imitation, but not quite as good. I thought Mirahmadi was a better fit.    

      

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