by Bob Carson

Editor’s Note: The USTA website is pleased to present freelance writer Bob Carson and his popular “Outside the Box” features. This monthly series is a menu of outlandish proposals presented with a wink — but the purpose behind them is serious. The views contained in this column are that of the author alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions or views of the United States Trotting Association.

Bob Carson

The first pitch was a curveball that did not curve. The batter spun out of the way, but the ball deflected off the bat handle. The batter shook his hand wildly and grabbed his pinky finger as if stung by a wasp. The umpire signaled for the batter to head to first base.

The opposing team manager waddled toward home plate to lodge a challenge, he believed the pitch ricocheted off the wooden nub of the bat handle and the batter should return to home plate with one strike against him.

The umpire went to the video tape.

Fifty-five seconds later came the final decision; the headphones came off, the verdict announced to the ballpark — batter hit by pitch. An unknown panel, in an obscure building in New York City, made that final decision. The action continued. There was no recourse for the challenger.

Video evidence is not perfect. It is possible the ultimate decision was incorrect. Who knows? Some calls are subject to interpretation. Still, the vast majority of fans and competitors in other sports are becoming comfortable with the quick, impartial decisions that come from the booth that is often in another city. In fact, the short delay while the replay is under consideration has become a mini sport, a part of the show — “What would you rule?”

Harness racing has a form of video replay in place, certainly an improvement over the old days when a person sat in a tower with binoculars, but there is room for progress.

The suggestion here is to remove the decision from the racetrack premises. Outsourcing would be economical, uniform, and anonymous. Let us examine these, one at a time.

Jobs are disappearing fast enough, but racetracks could downsize and require that only one judge be physically present. This “on duty” judge would act as a failsafe should the video feed fail, but this person’s main task would be as a link between the racetrack and the panel that will now make the call.

Should harness racing outsource judgment calls as other sports are doing, ruling of our races would become uniform. “Inside the pylons” in New York will be the same as “Inside the pylons” in Minnesota or Michigan. “Interference” would apply to Joe Smith and to the top drivers equally. “Excessive whipping” in Kentucky would be the same as in Ohio, etc.

Anonymity can be a real blessing when it comes to rendering judgment. Those baseball judges who work in obscurity behind monitors know the rules. They also know that they do not need to worry about managers and players screaming into their faces. These faceless judges also do not need to worry about scowling players or riled fans when they head to the parking lot.

You are subject to your emotions when you work on the premises and you know drivers and trainers, when you like some participants and loathe others. We all are. If you sense that the management of the racetrack does not like rocking the boat, you will tend to rock as little as possible. When you are part of a panel hundreds of miles away, you just need to do your job the best you can.

In baseball, the vast majority of baseball fans have accepted the quick and final decisions from off premises. Thirty Major League baseball teams agreed on the technological innovation. Harness horse racing could follow this same track. Perhaps every racetrack could agree on centralized judging. Hey, anything is possible.

Anyway, you get the drift of this idea. Take a look at other sports where outsourcing judgments and using video replay is no longer exotic, it is routine. This process will never be perfect but it is an improvement and minimizes second guessing each time it is used.

Let’s go to the tape, go quickly and get on with other issues that can improve our picture.