Horse racing fan battling NYRA to the finish

[affirmedny]

Talk about a bad scratch.
A retiree from Middle Village who loves spending time at Aqueduct and Belmont has been banned from the racetracks because, he alleges, he’s a whistleblower who has called out the New York Racing Association in several areas where it has come up short.
John Stalzer, a retired law enforcement officer, is hoping to get the situation resolved in time to see the Belmont Stakes on June 8. And he’s got state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), a member of the Racing, Gaming & Wagering Committee, trying to work the inside rail to get him allowed back to the tracks.



http://www.qchron.com/editions/central/horse-racing-fan-battling-nyra-to-the-finish/article_d118a240-3e01-5599-b06d-eadd0774987a.html

[Fager Fan]

Talk about a bad scratch.
A retiree from Middle Village who loves spending time at Aqueduct and Belmont has been banned from the racetracks because, he alleges, he’s a whistleblower who has called out the New York Racing Association in several areas where it has come up short.
John Stalzer, a retired law enforcement officer, is hoping to get the situation resolved in time to see the Belmont Stakes on June 8. And he’s got state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), a member of the Racing, Gaming & Wagering Committee, trying to work the inside rail to get him allowed back to the tracks.



http://www.qchron.com/editions/central/horse-racing-fan-battling-nyra-to-the-finish/article_d118a240-3e01-5599-b06d-eadd0774987a.html

An equally plausible explanation is that he's a pain in the a**. As far as I know, they can allow or ban anyone they wish.

[VeryOldMan]

An equally plausible explanation is that he's a pain in the a**. As far as I know, they can allow or ban anyone they wish.

Agreed about the pain in the a** part. The guy sounds like a piece of work.

Raises an interesting First Amendment question with NYRA as a closely connected non-profit franchisee of the state. Not quite like privately-owned tracks (Churchill Downs, Penn National, Stronach, etc.) that don't have to worry about the 86 issue. More like the difference on the application of speech codes at public versus private colleges.

[Tom]

Pain in the a?
I don't see anything to indicate that.

They have a name for people like him.
CUSTOMER.

[thespaah]

Odd story. I will reserve judging the situation until ALL of the details are known.
I see no issue with his concerns. Perhaps there is a problem with his conduct in pressing his points.
I guess we will see.

[JustRalph]

How does a retired cop bet 150k a year?

[iceknight]

How does a retired cop bet 150k a year? The most relevant question!

[SandyW]

How does a retired cop bet 150k a year?

Real easy, I'm retired and don't get checks anywhere near what a retired cop in the New York area receives and I put over $200,000 a year thru the windows.

The answer to the question is: CHURN, BABY, CHURN.

[Hoofless_Wonder]

I wonder how he figured out the gimmicks weren't being paid out properly?

As a recent victim of a crappy Belmont pick 4 payout due to a dead heat in the last leg, I'm on this guy's side with his complaints....

[lamboguy]

if that retired cop is betting at the race track, he is paying over $10,000 a year in juice. that is a good customer for any race track. and from what i have just learned, there is no free pass to get into Belmont and buy food at the stands.

[jerry-g]

I suspect, high stakes winners are not welcome in Vegas, either.

[cj]

if that retired cop is betting at the race track, he is paying over $10,000 a year in juice. that is a good customer for any race track. and from what i have just learned, there is no free pass to get into Belmont and buy food at the stands.

NYRA Rewards is pretty good I think, which you can get betting on track.

[SandyW]

if that retired cop is betting at the race track, he is paying over $10,000 a year in juice. that is a good customer for any race track. and from what i have just learned, there is no free pass to get into Belmont and buy food at the stands.

If you go to Aqueduct on a very cold winter day, you may be able to get a free cup of ice, that is if you pay for the cup.

[cj]

If you go to Aqueduct on a very cold winter day, you may be able to get a free cup of ice, that is if you pay for the cup.

So you are saying I'm wrong about NYRA Rewards?

[cj]

http://www.nyrarewards.com/wagering/rebate_schedule.aspx

[wiffleball whizz]

If you go to Aqueduct on a very cold winter day, you may be able to get a free cup of ice, that is if you pay for the cup.

And people always wonder where I get my great 1 liners from....this site is the best.....when people tell me where I get my sayings I'll tell them pace advantage.com!!!!!!!

That is a classic line

[Saratoga_Mike]

Pain in the a?
I don't see anything to indicate that.

They have a name for people like him.
CUSTOMER.

Not every customer is worth having. You know that, of course.

[Stillriledup]

Not every customer is worth having. You know that, of course.

They're not?

[PhantomOnTour]

They're not?
No, they are not worth it sometimes.

The overwhelming majority of businesses will be just fine without one specific customer.
IMO it depends on who's right...and it isn't always the customer

[Stillriledup]

No, they are not worth it sometimes.

The overwhelming majority of businesses will be just fine without one specific customer.
IMO it depends on who's right...and it isn't always the customer

So, you're saying that the racing industry is so prosperous and they're doing so well that they can pick and choose who they let make them a profit? I know personally, if i was a horse owner and i know that purses, at least somewhat indirectly, come from betting, i wouldnt want my track to be picking and choosing which people they want to place money into the betting pools. I'd want it all.

But, maybe that's just me?

[PhantomOnTour]

So, you're saying that the racing industry is so prosperous and they're doing so well that they can pick and choose who they let make them a profit? I know personally, if i was a horse owner and i know that purses, at least somewhat indirectly, come from betting, i wouldnt want my track to be picking and choosing which people they want to place money into the betting pools. I'd want it all.

But, maybe that's just me?
No - I am not saying that at all...where did I mention the racing industry?

What I am saying is that every customer ain't as important as he/she thinks they are, and sometimes you gotta tell them to hit the road.
Maybe it doesn't apply in this case involving NYRA, but open and own a restaurant and you'll know EXACTLY where i'm coming from.

Each and every customer is eligible to get the boot, all they gotta do is ask for it.

[Stillriledup]

No - I am not saying that at all...where did I mention the racing industry?

What I am saying is that every customer ain't as important as he/she thinks they are, and sometimes you gotta tell them to hit the road.
Maybe it doesn't apply in this case involving NYRA, but open and own a restaurant and you'll know EXACTLY where i'm coming from.

Each and every customer is eligible to get the boot, all they gotta do is ask for it.

I dont know, maybe its just me, but there wouldnt be too many customers getting boots "just because" if i was running a company. Its pretty hard to run a successful business, not sure picking and choosing customers is a good idea, but then again, its the racing industry, so nothing they do surprises me.

[PhantomOnTour]

It's not like I toss somebody every week - been doing this for 17yrs or so and I've booted maybe 4-5 people, but they were asking for it :D

Who knows the real story with this NYRA thing. Sure, the article seems to favor the customer, but I can't take someone's side not knowing the full story.
Maybe he was a total pain in the ass and NYRA had had enough. By your own beliefs it would be foolish to pick and choose who to boot, so maybe they had a legit reason...I really don't know.

[Stillriledup]

It's not like I toss somebody every week - been doing this for 17yrs or so and I've booted maybe 4-5 people, but they were asking for it :D

Who knows the real story with this NYRA thing. Sure, the article seems to favor the customer, but I can't take someone's side not knowing the full story.
Maybe he was a total pain in the ass and NYRA had had enough. By your own beliefs it would be foolish to pick and choose who to boot, so maybe they had a legit reason...I really don't know.

True. Maybe more is going to come out as to the real reason he got tossed, but from what they're saying, doesnt seem like much of a reason to can him.

[Tom]

Not every customer is worth keeping, yes, and, the truth if often a pain in the arse.

Sounds like NYRA should have listened to the guy, from the article anyways.

[Stillriledup]

Not every customer is worth keeping, yes, and, the truth if often a pain in the arse.

Sounds like NYRA should have listened to the guy, from the article anyways.

There's a lot of racetracks that ought to listen to people who know more about the game than they do. That Players panel suggestions that came out about a decade ago were largely ignored by the industry, unfortunately these tracks think they know more than some of their most informed customers.

[thespaah]

How does a retired cop bet 150k a year?
Most public workers pad their overtime in the last two or three years of service to boost their pension calculations.
Heck, a guy I went to high school with worked in hometown in NJ as Cop for 29 years. He's in his early 50's and he just retired. His monthly pension allowance is $6,612..That's 80 grand per year.

[Storm Cadet]

This guy did pretty good serving only customers he allowed! :)

http://stitchesndishes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/soup-nazi.jpg

[thespaah]

This guy did pretty good serving only customers he allowed! :)

http://stitchesndishes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/soup-nazi.jpg
COME BACK ONE YEAR!