SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. -- There is a lot going on for the racing fan and bettor this weekend. California Chrome, Horse of the Year in 2014, makes his first U.S. start since his powerful victory in the Dubai World Cup last March in Saturdays San Diego Handicap at Del Mar. This is also the first weekend of racing of the year at Saratoga, the biggest annual race meet in North America, and where the brilliant and undefeated Songbird, the leader of a terrific crop of 3-year-old fillies, makes her first East coast start in Sundays Coaching Club American Oaks.And thats just for starters.Yes, there is a lot of big racing stuff going on this weekend. But no matter how busy the game might make you over the next few days, it would be only right if you carved out a moment at some point and said a quiet thank you in appreciation for Steve Crist.Heres why: Crist, who retired Wednesday as an executive and columnist for Daily Racing Form, did much during a 35-year career in racing to improve various aspects of the game. But where Crist really left an indelible mark was in matters concerning the horseplayer, enriching our experiences in ways you might not be aware of, or have imagined. And this holds true no matter which way you engage in racing this weekend, whether it be at the track, or at a simulcast facility, or betting in your underwear from your living room.Consider the DRF past performances you use to handicap. Significant aspects of the pps everyone is now so familiar with were fashioned by a small group of people led by Crist in an office on Hudson St. in Manhattan in early 1991, weeks before these remade past performances were to debut in The Racing Times, for which Crist was founding editor-in-chief.The Beyer Speed Figures, which have become such an indispensible handicapping tool, were first made available to the public in the past performances in Crists Racing Times.You know that career box in the upper right hand corner of the past performance cut, the little area that packs a wealth of extremely useful information? The foundation of the career box was born under Crists supervision at The Racing Times.We now almost take for granted the italicized horse name in the past performance company line denoting a next out winner, which might suggest a given race was unusually productive. That innovation came after Crist took over stewardship of Daily Racing Form in 1998.Are you a user of Formulator, DRFs criminally underappreciated and incredibly rich past performance program? Formulator came to life (under a different name) way back in 1992 under the nurturing of Crist, the late Dave Ward, and one other character currently typing this, and was introduced for public consumption after Crists group took control of DRF.Do you like to buy your DRF past performances, Formulator or the classic version, online? Do you recognize the tremendous convenience that option offers? Steve Crist also made that happen for you.How about that simulcast signal you watch? Nothing resembling it existed until Crist, in his stint as Vice President of the New York Racing Association in the mid 1990s, introduced full card simulcasting, in-home race feed, and all day, race-to-race handicapping analysis. Really. Its hard to remember because the video presentation of racing that now feels like it has been around forever did not exist B. C. (before Crist). And his template has since been copied by every other racetrack on the continent.Steve Crist retired this week, and while those of us lucky enough to know him are happy hes happy, we also know this game we love now has a large void that cannot be replaced. It is astonishing how much better thoroughbred racing is for Steve Crists contributions, and the fear is it will take a long time for racing to unearth a forward thinker anywhere near his league.So that is why it is only right to say, Thank you, Steve. For everything. A.J. Pollock Jersey . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. Cheap MLB Jerseys . 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LOS ANGELES -- Former champions Georges St. Pierre, Cain Velasquez and T.J. Dillashaw are taking on the UFC in an attempt to form a mixed martial arts fighters association.Current UFC fighters Donald Cowboy Cerrone and Tim Kennedy also announced their participation Wednesday in an organizing effort led by the five fighters and advised by Bjorn Rebney, the former CEO of Bellator.The fighters hope to persuade the rest of the UFCs talent to join them in unified negotiation for a greater percentage of revenue from the UFC. The promotion was sold to the WME-IMG entertainment conglomerate earlier this year for roughly $4 billion, an unprecedented price for a sports property.This is a different kind of fight, St. Pierre said. Even though youre afraid, its time to step up and do the right thing. Its a fight (between) what is right and what is wrong, and we should never be afraid to stand for the virtues, to stand for what is right.The Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association is the latest attempt to organize fighters in a famously individualistic sport into a collective bargaining unit. Kennedy, St. Pierre and Rebney all spoke passionately about the need to level the playing field between the UFC and its fighters, who are independent contractors.These athletes are risking more for less than any professional athletes on earth, Rebney said. They are paid pennies on the dollar.Rebney also described the UFC as an egregious, predatory monopoly and vowed to secure an unspecified set of benefits for former UFC fighters as part of a settlement for the promotions past revenue-shaaring practices, in addition to improved conditions for current fighters.ddddddddddddOther attempts at a fighters organization in recent years have made little headway or are only in their initial stages, but St. Pierre and Velasquez are the biggest stars to join an effort. St. Pierre reigned as the UFCs welterweight champion and one of its top pay-per-view draws from 2007-13, while Velasquez has won the UFC heavyweight belt twice during an injury-plagued career.St. Pierre hasnt fought in three years, but has publicly claimed he is considering a comeback. He has become increasingly antagonistic toward the UFC during his retirement, even claiming to be a free agent earlier this year when he announced tentative plans to fight again.I know agents will be threatened by UFC, and theyll try to convince their fighters that its a bad idea to join us, St. Pierre said. I know, because Ive been there before. I dont have to work another day in my life, but I want to change things for the right.Four of the involved fighters are represented by Creative Artists Agency, a rival of WME-IMG. Rebney repeatedly declined to identify the financiers of the fighters associations efforts, but claimed CAA isnt financially involved.Rebney indicated the fighters dont intend to form a union, but instead intend to persuade the UFC to listen to them through their unity. Rebney indicated labor strikes could be a possible last resort if the UFC declines to negotiate. ' ' '