To quote the English author Charles Dickens, from his 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”I choose to believe we are currently living in the golden age of American racing. The purse structure we are currently experiencing is at an all-time high. The quality of racing that we have witnessed in the last decade surpasses anything we have seen in the history of our sport. If you have followed racing over the last 10 years, you have witnessed American Pharoah, Justify, and Flightline. In just the last two years, we have seen world-class performances from Sovereignty, Nitrogen, Magnitude, Knightsbridge, and Golden Tempo. Yes, we no longer have Charlie Whittingham, Laz Barrera, Woody Stephens, or Wayne Lukas. However, today we have Bob Baffert, Bill Mott, Brad Cox, Mark Casse, and Chad Brown holding trainers to an exceptionally high standard.At no other time in the history of our sport have we seen the emergence of top female trainers more than we have now. Just this year, we have gotten to witness Cherie DeVaux taking the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes with Golden Tempo. In doing so, she put racing back on top of every newspaper and television station in the country, and might I add, for all the right reasons. Cherie is not alone. Linda Rice has won seven of the last 10 training titles on the NYRA circuit. We watched Jena Antonucci win the Belmont and GI Travers Stakes with Arcangelo, and Lindsay Schultz won this year's GI Haskell Stakes. These women have shown that there are no barriers in our industry that cannot be broken with the application of hard work and great horsemanship.Racehorse ownership has never been more affordable. The sport is available today to all people who may wish to participate. The advancement of racing syndicates has made a major contribution to the growth and accessibility of our sport.Thanks to the efforts of HISA, horse racing is conducted at a much safer and higher level of scrutiny than ever before. Chemically enhanced racehorses and trainers with 42% win ratios have all but disappeared. Through a lot of collaboration between trainers and veterinarians, the fatality rate on racecourses has seen a significant drop. Though any fatality is considered unacceptable, statistics will show the protection of the racehorse has become much more effective.Is our sport perfect? No, not by a long way. We are a work in progress, with much work still to be done. I would not be naïve enough to believe that we do not still have significant problems in our industry. But what everyone in our industry should agree on is this: our sport is in a much better place than we were in 10 years ago. In closing, I would like to quote the renowned Lexington farm manager, Mr. Henry White (Plum Lane Farm). His great advice was: “Speak well of our industry, for it affords us all a good living.”The post Letter to the Editor: The Worst of Times? or the Best? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.