I went to the Percy Warner Park in Nashville, TN to watch steeplechase racing over the weekend. The card for the Grade I Iroquois consisted of six races, five over National Fences and one over Timber. There were full fields, an average of 11 starters per race. The purses added up to $385,000 despite having a handle of $0 (at least officially - there seemed to be a lot of people studying the track program to have nothing on the line). The feature race matched three-time Eclipse champion McDynamo and two-time Iroquois winner Sur La Tete (Good Night Shirt upset them both). With a pregnant wife and two little kids (4 and almost 2) in tow, expectations for the day were low. We set out late and arrived at the track just as the third race went off. We stayed for two more races, pushing our way to the front of the General Admission section (about 30 yards from the outside fence at the top of the home stretch) for the Timber race. The day was hot and the ground was soft and in places muddy, but we had an enjoyable couple of hours. I plan to come back in full force sometime in the future.

The crowd was big, probably around 20,000. Cars lined up first thing in the morning to pull into infield tailgate spots where the party went on all day. There are waiting lists for box seats and tailgating spaces. Despite Nashville's success, steeplechase racing is dying (and perhaps has been in decline or a death-like state for sometime). From what I can gather from the National Steeplechase Association (NSA), there are two seasons in racing, the Spring and Fall, with a few summer races at Saratoga and Colonial Downs. Steeplechase meets are almost exclusively in the East with Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina hosting a majority of racing. In the past, racetracks used to card the occasional jump race in the summer but no longer do so. Churchill Downs, Pimlico, and Belmont used to have a stakes series for novice jumpers corresponding to the Triple Crown, but that has also disappeared. Saratoga has slowly phased out jump races, worried that falling horses might not be good P.R. This is unfortunate, as steeplechase races are a great test of stamina and offer a nice alternative to the barrage of identical six furlong sprints that monopolize most cards.

Two things I would do if I ran the NSA would be to introduce parimutuel pools to NSA meets (selling the simulcast signal) and providing live video/archived replays for all NSA races. Nothing spurs fan interest like the ability to be an active participant -- in this case participation would be making a bet. I guess I'd also make it easier to take contributions. I have emailed them twice about becoming a member ($150) and have not received a response. I guess they don't want  or need my money.