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Stevie Belmont
10-14-2006, 11:06 PM
Thats how many people attended the races at Laurel today for Maryland Million Day. They say racing might be dead in the great racing state of Maryland, today it was the place to be. Good to see.
Zaf
10-14-2006, 11:09 PM
:jump: :jump:

Z
The Hawk
10-15-2006, 08:51 AM
They no doubt had a big crowd but that attendance figure is bogus, as are the figures from all tracks when they have a giveaway. In this case it was a free hat, which causes a good number of otherwise sane people to buy multiple admissions in order to have a lifetime supply of caps. Same thing happens at Monmouth on Haskell Day, and at Saratoga for their giveaway days.

That said, the day was a rousing success, fueled in large part by a good betting card.
cj
10-15-2006, 09:37 AM
How many were playing the horse wizards? :rolleyes:
JimG
10-15-2006, 09:45 AM
With all the racing on tv these days it is kinda interesting to note that ESPN used to televise Maryland Million day. In fact, I have an old broadcast from the late 80's on VHS tape. Same with the WVA Breeders Cup which ran last night at CT. It used to be broadcast on ESPN. It was broadcast on ESPN News at 10:15 pm last night. I would not have known about it had Randy Moss not mentioned it on Wire to Wire.

I am glad it was a good day for Maryland Racing although I rarely play there any more.

Jim
the little guy
10-15-2006, 02:02 PM
How many were playing the horse wizards? :rolleyes:

I heard it was mayhem!

Never overestimate the intelligence of that Baltimore crowd.
cj
10-15-2006, 02:04 PM
I heard it was mayhem!

Never overestimate the intelligence of that Baltimore crowd.

It has to beat watching the Orioles any day of the week.
the little guy
10-15-2006, 02:34 PM
It has to beat watching the Orioles any day of the week.


Well, unlike the Horse Wizards aren't those outcomes inevitable?
46zilzal
10-15-2006, 03:40 PM
Gald to hear that.
JustRalph
10-15-2006, 04:11 PM
at keeneland last week, they gave out those portable "golf chairs" with the Darley logo. Must have given out 5k of them. I saw an old man pulling his oxygen cart, barely able to walk, with two on each shoulder. Give something away and they will come out of the woodwork.........
The Hawk
10-15-2006, 08:58 PM
Saratoga and Monmouth are the best. I love how people routinely quote 40,000 at these places on Haskell and "Stadium Blanket Day" as if it's real, but the everyday figures are also ridiculous. A co-worker of mine was on the phone with a friend of his who was at Belmont on Wednesday of last week and he counted 7 people in the grandstand seats with 3 minutes to post for the first race.

With the advent of at-home betting, attendance figures are virtually useless and only serve to provide fodder for those who like to talk about the doom of racing. Meanwhile, we're betting more money than ever.
Stevie Belmont
10-15-2006, 10:17 PM
What was the giveaway at Laurel yesterday? That would explain the high number to an extent for sure.
Dave Schwartz
10-15-2006, 11:11 PM
CJ,

It has to beat watching the Orioles any day of the week.

WIth my Yankees in the crapper (again), I feel your pain.

Better luck with the birds next year.


Dave
The Hawk
10-16-2006, 08:18 AM
Baseball caps.
Stevie Belmont
10-16-2006, 04:38 PM
The Caps will do it.
justin
10-17-2006, 07:16 AM
What was the giveaway at Laurel yesterday? That would explain the high number to an extent for sure.

The MD lottery also gave away 1 million dollars Saturday at Laurel. I had no idea they were doing a giveaway until I tuned into local coverage of the races and saw them playing some goofy game between two contestants to determine the winner. The runner-up received 20k or something close to that. I'm guessing it was heavily promoted but I don't watch much commercial TV so I can't say for sure. I would think that would bring a lot more people out than a baseball cap :)