JC Petition Cover Letter

[PaceAdvantage]

The thread with over 400 "signatures" and over 12,000 views will be printed and shipped to Jockey Club headquarters in NYC tomorrow via overnight mail. It's one of the many ways we are attempting to get it into as many hands as possible.

Here is the text of the cover letter that will accompany the copy of the thread (over 70 printed pages) and the Bloodhorse.com article.....

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August 16, 2007

Mr. Alan Marzelli, President & COO
The Jockey Club
40 East 52nd Street
New York, NY 10022

Dear Mr. Marzelli:

As The Jockey Club prepares for its 55th Annual Round Table Conference, which features a segment on advance deposit wagering and the economics of racing, we thought it would be useful to present to you some opinions from an often neglected but vital economic side of the industry, that being the handicappers and players themselves.

Enclosed, please find a petition that was circulated among the members of the PaceAdvantage.com website, a forum dedicated to the sport of Thoroughbred racing. This petition began on Monday, August 13, 2007, and by Thursday, August 16, it had received over 400 online signatures and almost 12,000 views. The groundswell of support behind this petition was indeed so swift that it garnered the attention of The Blood-Horse, which ran an article about the petition in its August 15 online edition, a copy of which is also included in this package.

We feel you deserve to hear directly from the people who, each and every day, pump millions of dollars into the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing via the “virtual” mutuel windows. Recently, those virtual windows have become harder to find for certain tracks, forcing players to either abandon their favorite venues altogether, or register accounts at multiple ADWs. This has led to much frustration and even anger among bettors, who understandably feel their concerns need to be heard at the highest levels of the sport. In addition, the fractured ADW landscape has led to significant amounts of handle going back to illegal bookmakers, of which the tracks don’t receive a dime.

In an era where on-track attendance declines nationwide, and online wagering continues its rapid growth, now is the perfect time for these voices to finally be heard.

Sincerely,



The Handicappers and Fans of Thoroughbred Racing at PaceAdvantage.com



Enclosures

[trying2win]

Great cover letter! Well said. Thanks. :ThmbUp:


T2W

[Tom]

Good letter......:ThmbUp::ThmbUp::ThmbUp:

[Maji]

Thanks for the great effort... :jump:

:ThmbUp: :ThmbUp: :ThmbUp:

[boomman]

Mike: Fantastic Letter! Although I was disheartened when I saw the agenda of the key "players" at the conference (Evans et all), we ARE being heard (especially with the Bloodhorse column) and I challenge everyone on the board to keep up the momentum!!!!

Boomer

[betovernetcapper]

Mike-This letter is eloquent. There is not a coma that should be changed. :)

BTW I've got pmail & emails from about a dozen or so that want to be on the petition and didn't want to post their names over the Internet.

[GoBabyGo]

meeting on august 19, at the gideon putnam resort and spa in saratoga springs. any pa folks in the area that can attend. not sure what time. im sure there will be lovely door prizes.

[JustRalph]

They will ask.............

if there are 12 thousand views, why are there not 12k signatures?

[betovernetcapper]

They will ask.............

if there are 12 thousand views, why are there not 12k signatures?

Perhaps what they should ask is if there are 450 signatures, why hasn't this mess been straightened out?

[DeanT]

Well written prose PA!

You should write books like that Shwartz character :)

[Our Boy Chuck]

im sure there will be lovely door prizes.

Give out $ in envelopes. It is a simulcast meeting. Haw-Haw.


Chuck
Now fully reformed.

[Bruddah]

Signed petitions usually represent a small sector of those actually supporting the petitioners position. Not unrealistic for 400 petitioners to represent the feelings of over 12k racing fans.

With their first posts, some of those 12k have come out of the darkness and into the light. I hope more will do the same. The disdain and arrogance, continually shown toward the "Cash Cows" (bettors) should have ended with this new century. However, the elitists (betters) want to continue with the same Marie Anoinette phrase of "Let them eat cake". What the elitists fail to realize is the Citizens revolted and chopped off a few heads. :jump: :jump:

[chickenhead]

In case you haven't seen it, Blood Horse followed up:

http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=40289

[Good4Now]

chickenhead!

Sunday evening??? Available for comment???

I can hardly wait!

[JustMissed]

Great letter Mike, just like your website.

Thanks for this and all your efforts.

JM

[PaceAdvantage]

They will ask.............

if there are 12 thousand views, why are there not 12k signatures?

I actually thought about that myself after including that sentence in the letter. Obviously, the 12,000 views don't actually represent 12,000 distinct individuals.

If I look at the thread 10x (which I've done, at least), then that counts as 10 views.

Any way you slice it, it represents quite an intense amount of interest in only 3-4 days.

[Kelso]

===============
From the follow-up article:
The National HBPA last month said it hoped to arrange a meeting among representatives of the leading ADW companies in August.
<snip>
“We have been passive for too long,” Bob Reeves, a member of the Ohio HBPA board of directors
==================

So have the guys who pay your purses, Bobby. Why haven't you invited THEM to the table?

[betovernetcapper]

I thought about this tonight and access to simulcast signals is sort of an
.
arcane subject. Why would 40 people care about this let alone 400? Yet
.
many of the people who have signed up just don't seem to have a mild
.
passing interest but a passion that rivals the emotions stirred by the war in
.
Vietnam.
.
This should be an interesting Round Table.

[Bruddah]

I actually thought about that myself after including that sentence in the letter. Obviously, the 12,000 views don't actually represent 12,000 distinct individuals.

If I look at the thread 10x (which I've done, at least), then that counts as 10 views.

Any way you slice it, it represents quite an intense amount of interest in only 3-4 days.


Mike, I am not sure how your software counts (hits or views). The software I used on my site, only counted 1 (unique) hit or view per IP# per day. So, in essence, one could visit the thread or site (ex. 20 times) in a 24 hour period but it only counted as 1 hit for the site or 1 view on a topic which was read..

As you are well aware, there are many many more Lurkers, which never come in from the dark and never will. They read for information and tips on horses. However, they are an integral part of the boards success. :jump:

At Hottalkers peak, we averaged 150k hits per day. Peak months were the Triple Crown and Breeders Cup months. Also, Oaklawn's meet. Probably small in comparison to Pace Advantage, yet, still significant when considering the above.

[JustRalph]

I am just speculating as to what these wingnuts will have to say.........

Most don't understand the net and they will try to shoot holes in the petition

Maybe they will read this thread and get the real dope ..............

[Bruddah]

Mike, I am not sure how your software counts (hits or views). The software I used on my site, only counted 1 (unique) hit or view per IP# per day. So, in essence, one could visit the thread or site (ex. 20 times) in a 24 hour period but it only counted as 1 hit for the site or 1 view on a topic which was read..

As you are well aware, there are many many more Lurkers, which never come in from the dark and never will. They read for information and tips on horses. However, they are an integral part of the boards success. :jump:

At Hottalkers peak, we averaged 150k hits per day. Peak months were the Triple Crown and Breeders Cup months. Also, Oaklawn's meet. Probably small in comparison to Pace Advantage, yet, still significant when considering the above.

I put my decimal in the wrong place, when doing the math mentally. I will claim 'Sometimers' disease and plead for forgiveness. The unique hits were 15k per day and approx 4.5 million unique hits per month (30 days). I apologize to all. :bang: :blush: :blush:

[betovernetcapper]

This afternoon Jockey Club President Alan Marzelli ddressed our petition

http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=40315

We've not been insulted or ignored. But we're not finished. Please join me in the War Room tomorrow night to discuss the boycott.

[prospector]

"After the presentations, National Thoroughbred Racing Association president and CEO Alex Waldrop said the organization has no plan to form a task force to study ADW, although the matter has been discussed. He said the NTRA believes “progress is being made behind the scenes.” "

what is that progress??
sounds like we should boycott tvg....

i'd rather see a reward go to one of PTC's tracks with increased handle one week or so..sort of support those who support us...

[betovernetcapper]

i'd rather see a reward go to one of PTC's tracks with increased handle one week or so..sort of support those who support us...

As Warren Oates said to Bill Holden in the classic, The Wild Bunch, "Why not?"
See you in the War Room Monday night.

[prospector]

i've never been able to get in from day one...all i see is a grey blank area..feel free to speak for me..

[BillW]

i've never been able to get in from day one...all i see is a grey blank area..feel free to speak for me..

Make sure you have an upgraded version of the java runtime installed.

http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp

[prospector]

thanks, but it says i have the recommended java installed..

[Indulto]

thanks, but it says i have the recommended java installed..Is Instant Messager a factor here? No expert, but I noticed an IM-like icon in the right hand window of the War Room display.

[statik27]

I think its a great idea to send the handle PTC direction, but I live in california and alas am ineligable. My two options are TVG and a my sportsbook account. I refuse to use xpressbet, I can't stomach the magna stuff.

statik

P.S. I suppose I could make a trip to the OTB, but it'd have to be at a track they carry.

[DeanT]

I think its a great idea to send the handle PTC direction, but I live in california and alas am ineligable. My two options are TVG and a my sportsbook account. I refuse to use xpressbet, I can't stomach the magna stuff.

statik

P.S. I suppose I could make a trip to the OTB, but it'd have to be at a track they carry.

Your post tells us what is wrong with the distribution side of the business in a nutshell. Even when trying to set up a boycott, or "procott" we have to jump through hoops to get around this mess :bang:

[Steve 'StatMan']

Make sure you have an upgraded version of the java runtime installed.

http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp

Thanks BillW! I missed seeing this for the Tuesday night warroom session, but it solve my War Room access problem - I either didn't have Java installed, or it was messed up.

[ezpace]

but your entirely to civil about it and should make a threat with

with some power behind it.

First , tell them the boycott will take place on a certain date.BUTT ,the power

behind it is the dope issue,, which you should include in any more correspndence

with the JC or any major traCK.
TELL them we will organize with attorneys

ande the media and will bring them to their tracks and demand OUR OWN BLOOD SAMPLES.in front of tv cameras.

DO that a couple times at NY ,CA and especially KY ...and all will get settled promptly IMO.