Dein erstes Forum » Victorian racehorse trainers want a level playing

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- The congratulatory messages started rolling in long before Jimmie Johnson had finished his obligatory championship photos. Larry Bird. Mia Hamm. Michael Phelps. Mario Andretti. Drew Brees. The Chicago Cubs.The list of dignitaries -- and the friends and neighbors who toilet-papered his North Carolina home overnight -- shows just how significant this latest milestone is for Johnson.Greatest of all time? Maybe. He certainly deserves to be in the conversation.Johnson joined Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as the only drivers in NASCAR to win seven titles with a race-winning run Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His record-tying championship came in a bizarre year for Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team, and on a day that did not belong to the iconic No. 48 Chevrolet until the final lap of the race.Hendrick Motorsports was not good this year, and never found the speed to match Joe Gibbs Racing and its fleet of Toyotas. Johnson, for most of the season, was never even mentioned as a title contender.The organization buckled down, improved its cars and got Johnson in position to race for his seventh title.Then he did the rest.When Carl Edwards wrecked Sunday night to essentially lose the championship, Johnson charged through the melee and found himself suddenly leading the two remaining title contenders. On a night when hed started last -- his team was found to have manipulated the body of his car after it had passed inspection -- and clearly wasnt as good as the other three contenders, he had somehow lucked into the lead.He still had to earn the win, though, and did it with the restart of his life to hold off Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. He led one lap and it was the one that mattered.He is probably the most underrated champion in this sport, said his crew chief, Chad Knaus. He is a fantastic, fantastic individual, an amazing race car driver. Most people in the situation we were in just in would crumble. He didnt even waver. He knew what he needed to do. He knew what the demands were on him at that point in time, and he made it happen.Weve got a great team. Weve got a great owner. Weve got a great everything at Hendrick Motorsports. But the fact of the matter is the real spark in this whole thing is Jimmie.A fatigue perhaps set in when Johnson reeled off five consecutive titles. Fans didnt seem to appreciate his dominance, certainly not the way they revered Petty or Earnhardt.Almost each Johnson championship was met with a collective yawn, when they should have been celebrated for their unique achievement.Johnson, at 41, is the youngest driver to win seven. Petty was 42 when he did it in 1979, while Earnhardt was 43 in 1994. He also collected his seven titles in a 10-year span. Earnhardt needed 14 years to do it, while Petty did it in 15 seasons.Johnsons 80 career victories rank seventh all time, one spot ahead of Earnhardt.I think the five in a row was pretty phenomenal, and I think winning seven and tying seven is pretty special, said team owner Rick Hendrick. Its special to see him tie those guys. I think its good for the sport, and I think it draws a lot of attention to our sport. We had Gatorade, had a lot of guys like Peyton Manning telling him how neat it was, and Serena Williams. I think its going to be a big shot in the arm for not only Jimmie but our sport.Johnson will likely add to his totals. With retirement still a ways off, he has a chance to win eight titles, and as he drank a beer and ate a slice of cold pizza in a champagne-soaked firesuit, he was already being asked about the possibility of eight.I dont know what the chances are, but lets go, he said. Im so excited to put that in front of myself and the team has a hurdle to get over and an accomplishment to achieve. I had a lot of fun racing for the sixth. This one and the calm nature and the way we went about business and got it done only gives me more confidence for the future.I honestly feel like Im playing with house money. I never aspired to be famous. I never aspired to be a champion. I just wanted to race. I think it makes us really dangerous, and I look forward to the challenge of trying to get number eight.---More AP auto racing: www.racing.ap.org . Delino DeShields Jr. Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Prince Fielder Rangers Jersey . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/1102h-frank-howard-jersey-rangers.html . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. Whitey Herzog Jersey . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. Nick Solak Rangers Jersey . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. Victorian racehorse trainers want a level playing field with their NSW counterparts, fearing they will lose owners across the border unless there is an increase in prize money.On October 1, races in the Sydney metropolitan area were increased to $100,000 which is $20,000 more than the average Saturday race in Melbourne.Robbie Griffiths, president of the Victorian arm of the Australian Trainers Association has asked Racing Victoria to look at its finances to see whether extra money can be found.He said the ATA, along with the Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners Association, the Victorian Jockeys Association and Thoroughbred Breeders Victoria wanted prize money increases to stop the potential loss of horses to NSW.Were all singing the same song and we want equal prize money with Sydney so theres no point of difference where owners and buyers could want to head to Sydney, Griffiths told RSN927.Griffiths said the ATA had outlined its concerns at a meeting with RV on October 4.Theres a lot off breeders in Sydney, especially around the Hunter Valley, and when it comes time to allocate their yearlings that they retain there could be a deciding factor which way they go, Griffiths said.ddddddddddddWhether that eventuates, were not sure, but we dont want to take that risk.We think the ownership group should be choosing a trainer on choice, not letting prize money determine which direction they head.Griffiths said leading trainers Mick Price and Troy Corstens had lost business interstate as a result of the prize money difference.We want to know an answer ASAP because the yearling sales are just around the corner, Griffiths said.Horses might kick off their careers at the age of two or three but the purchasing is done from the first week of January onwards.Everyone needs to know what theyre doing so they can move forward with some sort of certainty. 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