Originally Posted by
Duane Ranger
The problem with banning a driver for his views is multi-faceted.
First, while the first amendment may not apply to a private actor, the fact remains that Brennan was banished simply because he chose to exercise his free speech rights. Thus, with no racing integrity violations, Brennan was banned solely for expressing an opinion. Now, let's forget about the substance of his statement for just a moment. What Gural is trying to do is to tell horsemen that they better keep their mouths shut. Funny, but wasn't it Mr. Gural who sent a letter to the horsemen just about 2 weeks ago soliciting their opinions? Does Gural really want truthful opinions, or simply accolades? Gural says everybody loves The Meadowlands but nobody wants to race there. Maybe the solution to filling the entry box starts with him looking in a mirror.
What's next? What if a journalist dares disagree with Gural on a subject? Is that journalist to be denied entry to the press box? If Sam McKee says something not in line with "the Boss", his exclusion (termination) is fully understandable... he's an employee, But to toss independent journalists, owners, trainers and drivers based solely upon their opinions is wrong. They don't work for The Meadowlands, and don't have to adhere to the "company line".
As to the substance of Brennan's statements, some commentators are taking the words out of context. Read the statement in context. Yes, winning is everything, and the last NJ harness driver who said he really didn't like his horse in the next race was convicted of a serious crime, banished forever and begs for drives at Cal Expo. With Pena having no positives either when Gural banished him or when the New York Racing Board pulled an "Al Capone" on him, what was Brennan to say? "Hey, I told Lou to be careful and not win too much"? Yes, even folks who are ardent Pena haters recognize something is amiss with what New York did... so Brennan says Pena is being "thrown to the wolves." Sounds like fair comment. Of course, it's lock-step loyalty, not fair comments, that are the law at The Gural-Lands.
The New York Times is on a mission to destroy New York horseracing. Anything Brennan said that could have been interpreted as a negative would be pounced upon. So, he did what he knew to do... he told the truth, ' I try to win; Pena tries to win; somebody just doesn't like that.'
Maybe it's time for Gural to pick up the phone, apologize to Brennan, and stop this ego-driven nonsense.
Duane Ranger