LINGERING BC ISSUES AND SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

[trigger]

Steve Davidowitz :
http://www.trackmaster.com/retail/steved/sd1107.htm

[rrbauer]

Like most other aspects of the racing game there's very little about the BC that is player friendly. Owners' benefit. Breeders' benefit. Trainers' benefit. Jocks benefit. Players' pay exorbitant prices to sit in the rain and catch pneumonia. If they're going to hold the BC at a "northern" venue then they should hold it earlier to mitigate the potential for cold/wet weather.

But, postone it on Saturday in hopes of good weather on Sunday? Not going to happen if for no other reason than the logistical nightmare that would create for everybody involved. Dumb idea.

[ghostyapper]

I prefer having the 3 new races the day before and see no reason why they should run all 11 the same day. The telecast is long enough as it is now.

[alysheba88]

Like most other aspects of the racing game there's very little about the BC that is player friendly. Owners' benefit. Breeders' benefit. Trainers' benefit. Jocks benefit. Players' pay exorbitant prices to sit in the rain and catch pneumonia. If they're going to hold the BC at a "northern" venue then they should hold it earlier to mitigate the potential for cold/wet weather.

But, postone it on Saturday in hopes of good weather on Sunday? Not going to happen if for no other reason than the logistical nightmare that would create for everybody involved. Dumb idea.

How are you going to rule out rain at any time of year? The temperature by the way was fine this year.

[onefast99]

Like most other aspects of the racing game there's very little about the BC that is player friendly. Owners' benefit. Breeders' benefit. Trainers' benefit. Jocks benefit. Players' pay exorbitant prices to sit in the rain and catch pneumonia. If they're going to hold the BC at a "northern" venue then they should hold it earlier to mitigate the potential for cold/wet weather.

But, postone it on Saturday in hopes of good weather on Sunday? Not going to happen if for no other reason than the logistical nightmare that would create for everybody involved. Dumb idea.
The temps were in the low 70's and prior to Weds 10-24 the weather was perfect. I believe several years ago Arlington experienced some bad weather. The racing dates are fine but I do agree that if the weather is downright nasty they should seriously think about Sunday as an alternate day. Sunday was a cool dry day!

[Cratos]

Steve Davidowitz :
http://www.trackmaster.com/retail/steved/sd1107.htm

Steve gave some excellent suggestions in his article on the BC, but like many other good suggestions/recommendations they will fall on deaf ears by the powers of racing and we the fans will not be better off.

[Kelso]

I agree with making it an 1 day, 11-championship, card. Hell, maybe even add a 12th championship race. I think one really packed day a year is something to which many would look forward. Don't see any advantage to anyone in splitting it between days, though.
As to worring about "competing" with Japan and Dubai ..... fork 'em!! If the out-of-towners want to compete for a WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, let 'em pay for it. (No problem if shipping coverage is made available - on even terms - to all star livestock.)

Oh, and that American arrogance thing ... I'm all for it! :cool:

[kenwoodallpromos]

Can someone tell me why almost all big races are on Saturdays instead of Sundays?

[onefast99]

Can someone tell me why almost all big races are on Saturdays instead of Sundays?
The Haskell is run on Sunday.

[cj]

The Haskell is run on Sunday.

So was the Jockey Club Gold Cup this year. Many places didn't even have Sunday racing fairly recently, so I'm sure part of it is tradition. Also, Saturdays have just always been the big day for racing. I would imagine bigger handle always occurs on these days.

[jma]

Can someone tell me why almost all big races are on Saturdays instead of Sundays?

This is a guess, but it could go back to a time when Sunday was the day for church and family, so going somewhere and gambling after church would have been frowned upon. Since most big races have been run for many years, when they were first scheduled perhaps Sunday was not seen as a time for gambling.

My other theory would be that people used to get paid on Fridays (now it's sometimes earlier in the week with electronic deposits, etc.). So, the tracks wisely scheduled big gambling events on people's first day off rather than give them both Friday and Saturday night to spend the money elsewhere.

[1st time lasix]

my local simulcast outlet is closed on Sunday now. Probably saves me money! ha!

[stu]

Can someone tell me why almost all big races are on Saturdays instead of Sundays?

Better calendar fit.

Why would you want to go up against any of the following?

NFL
Nascar
4th and final day of PGA event
Tennis Tournament Finals

Saturdays are a better for horseracing as long as the races are done before 'fight night.'

[alhattab]

I think the most interesting suggestion Davidowitz had was the track configuration minimum standards of 1 1/8 dirt oval and 7 1/2 furlong turf course. These minimums eliminate all but, I believe, 4 possible venues considering climate and accomodation: Belmont, Laurel, Arlington and Hollywood. Laurel is a stretch and Hollywood is going to close, so we are left with a two-track rotation of Belmont and Arlington.

I really believe the BC should consider building its own venue and having the event in the same place every year. Las Vegas would be an obvious choice for the location. In terms of the supposed benefits the sport sees from rotating the venues, we could achieve this by holding mini BC days across the country. These days would be based on existing big events similar to the "win and your in" format- just expanded to days like Haskell Day, Del Cap Day, Foster Day, Summit of Speed, etc. Couple this with mandatory 2 or more graded-eligible stakes in order to receive G1 status for any race with higher minimum purses for G1-G3 and you've got a winning formula provided, of course, the sport can do something that it hasn't been able to do for say 65 post-war years.

[dylbert]

From the Nick Saban School of Bad Analogies, Methaphors, and Stupidity: "It's like beating a dead horse" but, can Breeders' Cup retire purple saddlecloths in favor of post position color-coded ones. Please! I just spent third consecutive year at OTB with no audio. Ouch... Inclimate Monmouth Park weather only compounded identification difficulties on both Friday and Saturday. End of rant. :bang: