CD, FG, & OP

[Bobby]

CD CEO Meeker not sure racing will return to New Orleans next year . . .
Wonder what CD is thinking? They sell off Hollywood. Now they act like they might not run at FG next year. They have a slot license too.


http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/todaysnews/newsview.asp?recno=59139&subsec=1




The word at OP - rumors of course - was that CD has approached the Cella family (OP owners) trying to buy Oaklawn.
But the Cella family wouldn't sell it.
I know why. Its a real cash cow. They got slots machines that, well at least with my money and others that I know, give back pennies on the dollar. And the thing is Arkansas was stupid enough to give the Cella family and the dog track otners a monopoly on Video Poker.

[Toss_DeLoser]

I was told $200m for OP from CDI. Figure the boy will sell it when Charlie kicks the bucket.

Hope you don't frequent the south side of the paddock, it's almost gone now to make room for the vp machines. :ThmbDown:

[Bobby]

I would vomit if I saw that twin spires logo crap on an Oaklawn simulcast.

I don't think OP sells. They got a monopoly now. Only them and southland can have VP machines in the whole state.

[Valuist]

I hope they don't sell. Arlington and Ellis have both gone downhill since being taken over by CDI.

[Bobby]

FG soon to follow the same path as Arlington and Ellis. And to cap it off, they put that twin spires stuff on the simulcast . . .it really pisses me off. I hate it.

No way OP sells. CD would love to have it though. the boy can't be that stupid

President Cella, however, does look like he might be heading towards Alzheimers. I saw him last meet, wandering aimlessly through the lower level. just Acting and looking confused about where he was. Really weird.

[midnight]

I doubt the Cella family will ever sell Oaklawn, especially with the added revenue from the slots. I'd rate it about equally probable as Del Mar selling to one of the corporations. It's just not something I see happening.

[Toss_DeLoser]

I hope they don't sell either. But with the added money the new goodies will bring in, Charles is probably fighting off the offers.

[Bobby]

Your right about that. Magna now gonna include some of OP's stakes races in its Magna pick 5, per Ark Dem Gaz

[kev]

I don't know about CD making ARL and ELL go down hill, but one thing is for sure is CD is starting to kick some butt with on-crowd attendance and wagering for their own. Maybe they should keep focusing on improving their home and stop buying up tracks, then again they almost have to with Magna buying up as much as they are. Sit back and wacth the BC record be broke once again when CD host it in 2006. CD has higher attendance than the NY tracks ( I don't know about Sar. ) alot of the times and Louisville is the 16th largest city and NY 1st. Large part of that is them (CD) fixing their track up and making look alot better. Also horse racing is bred into the people of KY. Also how has ELL and ARL has gone downhill??

[kenwoodallpromos]

"forget the racegoers- love the slot players.

[Bobby]

I don't know about CD making ARL and ELL go down hill, but one thing is for sure is CD is starting to kick some butt with on-crowd attendance and wagering for their own. Maybe they should keep focusing on improving their home and stop buying up tracks, then again they almost have to with Magna buying up as much as they are. Sit back and wacth the BC record be broke once again when CD host it in 2006. CD has higher attendance than the NY tracks ( I don't know about Sar. ) alot of the times and Louisville is the 16th largest city and NY 1st. Large part of that is them (CD) fixing their track up and making look alot better. Also horse racing is bred into the people of KY. Also how has ELL and ARL has gone downhill??


Its really just CD hiking their leg on this game with that Twin Spries BS. Its ashame. Why can't Ellis, calder, Hol ,etc have their own logos?

[kev]

Looks like Ellis is the one track that had a bad year, ARL-HOO and CD had a great year. Why is ARL going downhill??

Arlington Concludes 2005 Season With Increases In Total Handle & Average Daily Attendance
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (September 21, 2005) --
The 94-day, 2005 Arlington Park race meet – run from Friday, May 13 through Sunday, Sept. 18, 2005 – concluded with a 0.8-percent increase in total handle and a 0.5-percent increase in average daily attendance compared to the corresponding totals from the track’s 96-day meet in 2004. On track, average daily handle decreased by 0.8-percent while total attendance, over two less racing dates, slipped by 1.6-percent compared to a year ago.
Total handle from all sources for the 94-day meet was $405,396,420, a 0.8-percent increase from last year’s total of $402,308,299 wagered over 96 days in 2004. In 2005, the average daily total handle of $4,312,728 surpassed last year’s average of $4,190,711 by $122,017 per day, an increase of 2.9-percent.
On track, a total of $54,070,047 was wagered at Arlington Park during the 94-day meet, $1,582,411 and 2.8-percent less than the 96-day total of $55,652,458 during 2004. Average daily wagering decreased by 0.8-percent from $579,713 in 2004 to $575,213 this year, a daily decrease of $4,500.
In 2005, total attendance during the 94-day meet was 715,023, a 1.6-percent decrease from the 2004 total of 726,923 over two more days. Average daily attendance for the 2005 season rose to 7,607 compared with 7,572 in 2004. This is the fourth consecutive year that Arlington Park has shown an increase in average daily attendance.

Hoosier Park concluded its 11th season of Thoroughbred racing Friday, Nov. 25, with a 30.8 percent increase in total wagering. The meet offered 57 full days of action, beginning Sept. 3. Hoosier Park was scheduled to offer 60 live racing dates, but was forced to cancel two race cards prior to their completion due to inclement weather. A third race card was cancelled prior to the evening’s first post, also due to weather conditions.
Total wagering for the 57-day meet reached $100.6 million, an increase of 30.8 percent over the $76.9 million wagered during the 59-day meet in 2004. Average daily handle from all sources increased by 35.4 percent, as $1,764,065 was wagered nightly on Hoosier Park’s race card compared to an average of $1,303,110 in 2004.

Total wagering on the Churchill Downs meet, which includes both on-track and off-track betting, rose to $182,214,993, an increase of 11.3 percent over the $163,776,217 wagered during the 21-day Fall Meet in 2004. Total wagering averaged a record $8,676,904 per day, which marked the first time that daily average Fall Meet betting from all sources surpassed the $8 million mark. The daily average in 2004 was $7,798,867 and the previous record was the daily average of $7,995,667 established in 2003.
On-track wagering and attendance displayed gains from the 2004 session in which only portions of three floors in the renovated six-floor clubhouse were available and operations were split between the track and its Trackside simulcast wagering center, which remained open to accommodate Fall Meet patrons. On-track wagering totaled $24,483,358 during the meet, an increase of six percent over last fall’s total of $23,105,268. Attendance, which was buoyed by generally favorable weather and the track’s high-quality daily racing and stakes program, totaled 164,214, an increase of 4.7 percent from last year’s total of 156,805. Daily attendance at the meet averaged 7,820, a gain of 4.7 percent from 2004 of 7,467 and the highest average attendance figure for a Churchill Downs Fall Meet since 2001.

[rrbauer]

I doubt the Cella family will ever sell Oaklawn, especially with the added revenue from the slots. I'd rate it about equally probable as Del Mar selling to one of the corporations. It's just not something I see happening.

Comment:
Del Mar has nothing to sell. It's owned by the state and as such is easily the most profitable racing venue that the state has.