we saw that...

Frank Sinatra given the boot at the Belmont!
June 4, 2010 at 7:21 pm by Tim Wilkin
blog.timesunion.com

ELMONT — You’ve got to be kidding me.

The New York Racing Association has laid a dinosaur egg on this one. The staple song for the Belmont Stakes, Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” has been sacked. Instead of having old Blue Eyes belting out those famous lyrics when the horses come out of the tunnel for the Belmont, we have this:

The song by rapper Jay-Z, “Empire State of Mind.” The song that will be out there will be the version by Alicia Keys, (it will be sung by teen recording artist Jasmine Villegas) which isn’t that bad but it’s not Frank at the Belmont. I will boycott it, turn on my new iPod and listen to Springsteen.

Whoever made this bonehead decision at NYRA should have to sing a duet with selected legislators from the state at next year’s Belmont. This is a stupid idea. Frank, if he were alive, would be apalled, I bet.

“New York, New York” is a staple at the Belmont, has been since 1997 when it replaced “Sidewalks of New York.” If I was a horse, I would turn around and go back into the paddock when this new song is sung.

Maybe next year, this NYRA genius can get a new song for the Kentucky Derby. Sure! Get rid of “My Old Kentucky Home.”

One last thing: this is a dumb idea. Did I say that yet? ~ source