(CHICAGO, IL – January 25, 2010) People of a certain age were taught to put their best face forward or risk being thought less of. But I wonder if people of a current age believe that there’s truth in this lesson.

Dan Silver, the December 2007 graduate of the Race Track Industry program at the University of Arizona who now serves as the New York Racing Association’s Director of Communications, seemed confused when I asked him about the possible negative impact on racetrack attendance caused by horse racing’s ongoing self-defacement.

Trey Ditto, in this case, an aptly-named Rubenstein Associates public relations man for the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. - another guy with nary a gray hair on his noggin - seemed to know what I was getting to but became mute in the face of its implication.

Three weeks ago, Charles Hayward, NYRA’s president and CEO, drew first blood in another pitched skirmish with the State of New York, threatening to shutter the racetracks after the Belmont Stakes was run if the State didn’t begin funneling money from the proposed Aqueduct racino to the franchise soon. Two weeks ago, NY Breeders president Jeff Cannizzo attended an OTB hearing at the Capitol with a tombstone in tow, denoting the death of horse racing in the State if horsemen didn’t get their share from the bankrupted entity.

These were two recent attempts made by horse racing’s leaders to use fiscal miseries to achieve legislative leverage. And there was more of the same acrimony in the news following that. Hayward rejected an order by Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli to hand over the books so that DiNapoli could confirm where the last batch of money New York gave the sport had gone. A subpoena came down and Hayward gave in. A week later, NYRA was found dumping manure into Jamaica Bay. How much #### can the game shovel before nobody cares?

“I’m not really sure how much the people who like coming to the track care about all the political stuff going on,” Silver said, when I asked him about the fallout of fans from these unflattering rows. “I know I didn’t pay much attention to it, when I started going to the track when I was 18,” he confessed, while attempting to credit Aqueduct for boosting its attendance above the 1000 visitors count on the day that I called him.

Unlike Silver, Cannizzo perceives that collateral damage occurs from waging open warfare. Yet, he’s willing to try just about anything to have his message heard, even claiming annihilation. Putting the horse before the sport, the breeders’ leader said, “The best way to keep horse racing is to keep horses. One of our biggest concerns is the fans. But without the horses, there won’t be fans.” The question, then, I suppose, is of what importance are fans to the horses? The paradoxical problem is not an easy one to wrestle with.

Chuck Ebeling, the former head of public relations at McDonald’s and Baxter Labs, defined Hayward’s “going out of business” pronouncement and Cannizzo’s tombstone pilgrimage as public relations stunts. In defending the practice, he said, “A stunt is something you do when you don’t think the facts will be given the attention they deserve.” He said, furthermore, “It is typically the act of some desperation.” Good public relations are about being part of a good communications strategy, Ebeling added.

Regardless, doom and gloom, not success, constitutes the signature policy in all communications for industry members when matters pertaining to legislation surface. First spoken is the sport’s incapacity to be profitable on its own, followed closely by loss of jobs, industry catastrophe, Armageddon, and so on. Of course, the PR practitioners believe that the media will react to the sensationalism, thus forcing the point to be heard.

Unfortunately, the media is prone to seizing upon weakness more than exhorting strength. The public enjoys funerals. The combustible result of this circumstance causes image erosion. When horse racing portrays itself teetering - a deathly-sick enterprise in search of life support - many people believe that it’s no longer worth caring about.

“People are not likely to spend a lot of time with those who are always down on everything,” advised Jennifer Fortney, a veteran public relations practitioner who owns the Chicago-based PR agency Cascade Communications, a small firm that focuses on lifestyle consumer products. “Consumers believe that the owner represents a credible and reliable source. If he says that his business is failing, it can make a huge impact on a consumer’s decision to support it,” she said.

Granted, both NYRA and the NY Breeders had reason to behave the way they did. But they should also be fully aware that their actions beget consequences. Despite a world class racing agenda on many weekends, attendance is abysmal at the downstate tracks and trending south at Saratoga. To this extent, Fortney’s warnings bear significance.

For the most part, the State has been hard of listening to anything said and unresponsive to every effort made to correct things gone wrong. The newspapers have been brutal. But a belly-achin' policy won’t proxy for self-determination any longer. Decades of dwindling popularity have eroded horse racing’s influence with the people who govern. Politicians pay attention to big issues, not fringe matters, which is what the sport’s become.

Impervious of this evolving scenario, someone important obviously still trusts that horse racing is managing its business successfully by playing the role of a victim. On the other hand, if fans represent a market worth cultivating, there are better ways than self-abuse to satisfy a yearning.

For more from Vic Zast go to Twitter.com/viczast and Facebook.com/viczast