View Full Version : Update on LS "service"
ranchwest
04-03-2002, 12:07 AM
After the rude treatment I received at Lone Star a couple of weeks ago, I was promised complimentary food and beverage coupons. To date, no coupons. Neither of the two people who were supposed to return my phone call ever called.
None of this is surprising. When the track first opened, they had a "How to Horse Play" seminar. They were supposed to send everyone who attended a free video. Guess what? The video was never produced and there was never any replacement offer.
And, of course, there's always the deal of the tellers not having nickles, even though NYRA pays in nickles. They expect the bettor to eat the nickle. So, if you do go to Lone Star, be sure to bring nickles so you can give change to their dimes.
And, the other update is that I am in the process of setting up online accounts. I know, this is probably going to be a great thing, but it probably would have never come about had Lone Star not have consistently treated me poorly.
On Monday I emailed LS a question about live racing.
No reply so far.
:rolleyes:
The only recourse is to avoid their track, and windows. Last year I wagered a lot of $$ on the live meet. I've found better tracks with better racing to wager on now.
Observer
04-03-2002, 01:13 AM
As consumers, we generally tend to shop around to get the best deal or bang for our buck, or stick with a provider that offers great service, even if the price is a bit more. Why isn't this done when it comes to racing? Why don't most serious players shop around for the best deals for their plays? Maybe if the players showed tracks just who deserves their wagering dollars, like smf has done, the tracks would be more willing to compete for those wagering dollars, as in lowering takeouts, as opposed to raising them, or offering deals for their high-rollers, or really trying to make every effort to put on a solid, daily card.
ranchwest
04-03-2002, 07:23 AM
My post above probably has left some of you thinking, "Hey, this guy is a complainer, he's even worried about whether he gets a nickle or not." I'm a computer programmer, I can certainly survive without the nickle.
If any of you have ever run a cash to the public business, you know that the first thing you do is get the proper change. When you've got competitors next to you, invariably one of the newbies will ask you to make change for them. It is unprofessional, they didn't come prepared. When I sold baseball cards at shows, I would bring about $200 in one's. That's just the way you do business.
So, the nickle thing is just one more example of how Lone Star is unprofessional.
GR1@HTR
04-03-2002, 08:45 AM
RW,
On a side note...I also sold baseball cards for a living while in college...At 19 I got a $2200 sigature loan for around 21% plus just about all of my student loan money and turned that money over so many times it got me through 2 years of a nice income. Then the market went to cr*p so I had to get a real job...So much for all that...
ranchwest
04-03-2002, 11:32 AM
Ha! Yeah, notice I said "sold" baseball cards. I've still got a lot, but I don't bother trying to sell them anymore.
RW,
From today's paper........
"We're just trying to give people a reason to come out and try us," Mr. Hail said. "We know from our own research that there are only 50,000 core racing fans in D-FW.
"It's not going on up; if anything it's going down. But there are more than 500,000 casual fans here. They are our focus." .......
This is the same crap from 1997. No surprise tho, since my "serious" inquiry to him from Monday is still unanswered.
If Hail, and the boots he licks on a daily basis would understand that if they would "focus" on serious fans, the number of serious fans would not go down. Sounds simple to me.
If you go out there thurs nite have fun (if possible) with the $2 bettors. I'll be handicapping Woodbine for Friday's card.
][/QUOTE]
>>>If you go out there thurs nite have fun (if possible) with the $2 bettors. I'll be handicapping Woodbine for Friday's card.<<<<<
RW,
A more appropriate and fitting term w/b "rookie bettor", not "$2 bettor". But, you know what I meant.
ranchwest
04-04-2002, 07:20 AM
Originally posted by smf
RW,
From today's paper........
"We're just trying to give people a reason to come out and try us," Mr. Hail said. "We know from our own research that there are only 50,000 core racing fans in D-FW.
"It's not going on up; if anything it's going down. But there are more than 500,000 casual fans here. They are our focus." .......
If you were running the place, wouldn't you find it distressing that there are 50,000 core racing fans, but the largest crowd is about 17,000 except for the crowds for the Fourth of July, almost none of whom bet? The Fourth of July is really odd, you can't move, you've got people like the guy who was playing "Free Bird" on the accordian, and yet there is no line at the betting window.
If there are 50,000 core racing fans, why are there not 100,000 people at Lone Star on the first Saturday in May instead of 17,000?
The 3rd of July fireworks show is something else. Two years ago about a half dozen (or more) people were taken to hospitals for heat stroke. Zero shade, wall to wall people and there are only 3 water fountains in the entire grandstand's first floor, which btw if you notice has the water pressure turned down on purpose. They want you to buy bottled water for $2.
On a racing related note, notice in the set of articles today that the leading trainers are sending even more of their best runners to Keeneland this year. Asmussen, Stidham's best won't be stabled here. Ronny Werner's 2 yo killers went 5 of 7 last year at KEE and he's back there again.
Werner's primary owner (Tom Durant) lives about 10 minutes from Lone Star, yet he takes his prized runners elsewhere. That has to smoke Corey Johnsen's cigar to no end. Kinda like Joe De Frances watching Delaware stealing his Md breds. But since they're after "casual fans" at LS, maybe they don't mind having "casual horses", and losing the serious runners.
If LaD's slots does for them what the LaD ownership believes (doubtful), it reduces LS to Evd level of racing. It s/ get interesting next year.
ranchwest
04-04-2002, 03:45 PM
One time I stepped out of the post time pavillion to escape the smoke. The fire marshall declared there to be too many people inside. So, as people would leave, they'd allow more paying customers to enter, but those of us who went out the back door couldn't get back in. It was one of those 100+ degree days. It made no difference if you had a paid seat inside or friends inside, you were stuck outside, no exceptions.
Longshot
04-04-2002, 03:51 PM
Ranchwest and GR1
There must be an unwritten law in Texas if you live in Texas and handicap horse you must have at some time also have been a dealer in baseball cards. I did that from 1987 until 1994 two to three weekends a month. It did put a strain on my horse playing
but it was also profitable. I still have a room full of cards but I now play the horses two to three weekends a month.
May the Best Horse Win,
Longshot
Observer
04-04-2002, 04:12 PM
Originally posted by smf
Ronny Werner's 2 yo killers went 5 of 7 last year at KEE and he's back there again.
Werner's primary owner (Tom Durant) lives about 10 minutes from Lone Star, yet he takes his prized runners elsewhere. That has to smoke Corey Johnsen's cigar to no end.
Not to make an excuse for Lone Star, but, Keeneland is an awful prestigious meet, and I would think any trainer who is successful with his runners, whether they're debuting 2yos or anything else, would prefer to be at Keeneland rather than Lone Star, or just about any other track in the country at that time.
I understand the point that Lone Star should be making some kind of effort, but Werner also sent horses to Saratoga last year with success, so why not continue to play in the big leagues?
Even if Lone Star were doing all the right things, it would still take time for the track to develop the same prestige a place like Keeneland or Saratoga has earned. History is on their side.
Observer,
Yes, KEE is the premier meet when it's running. But when LS opened they made it a goal to be THE premier 2yo meet in North America during the spring and early summer. A lot of nice purses are (or were) out there for 2yos at LS and he used to run some very nice 2yos here. He'll ship one or 2 in LS later in the meet, maybe.
The fact that Werner is personally away from the grounds of LS all meet long sez a lot. The Durant/ Werner connections "grew up" here and left at the first opprotunity with their A Team. He was at AP last summer when LS was running as well.
Ronny is a very smart fellow that knows how to train young horses, and LS will miss his best runners.
Longshot,
I never got into the beisbol card bidness, but when I was in the 6th grade I had at least a half dozen Nolan Ryan rookie cards...the ones that sold for about 5k a pop a few years ago. It was one of those double-player cards and I think the Great Jerry Koosman (better pitcher) was the other half if I'm not mistaken.
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