Andy Beyer on Churchill Downs and their intrest in Live Racing

[Derbyman32]

Andy Beyer makes some good points in his comments about how much Churchill Downs cares about live racing and its fans:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/26/AR2009042602253.html

A Quote from Beyers article:
But if the major player in the industry has decided that it cares mostly about making money from ADW operations and slot machines, and if it doesn't take any responsibility for the health of the sport, there may not be much of an industry left. :eek:

[Imriledup]

Churchill is the big dog now that Magna is 6 feet under.

CD, inc is going about this the wrong way. They want a dollar today as opposed to two tomorrow.

They also want a dollar by ripping it out of the hands of the customers as opposed to having the customers hand them the dollar gladly.

Churchill tipped their hand by purchasing Hollywood Park and then selling it to someone who would not continue using it as a racetrack.

I can't say that i feel in my bones that Churchill will ever do the right thing for the industry, for the fans or for the horsemen. I could be wrong, time will tell.

[kenwoodallpromos]

Why can't racetracks figure out other income-producing uses for the track compound the othert 200+ dark periods? I know some stable racers there, but that still leaves muich zero income footage.

[Easy Goer]

Churchill Downs or CDI as they are known on Wall Street does not have to apologize for having their "Financial House in Order" as that is the sole responsibility of CDI Mngt. is to "Maximize Return to Investors" & thats what they've done.

Yes its true CDI Mngt. has also operated & owned Hollywood Park until the political climate in So. Cal signaled to them that Slots would not be forthcoming to Hollywood. CDI then wisely decided to "Sell Hollywood Park for a Profit" rather than to sit back & watch one of its Key Assets decline in Value.

The fact that they sold it to a Land Developer Corporation that most likely has no plans to continue T-bred Racing did not matter, rather what did matter was their responsibility to "Maximize Return to their Investors' which they have done by realizing which tracks to hold on to (FG, Arl Park & Calder) & which ones to discard (Hollywood Park).

[fmolf]

Churchill Downs or CDI as they are known on Wall Street does not have to apologize for having their "Financial House in Order" as that is the sole responsibility of CDI Mngt. is to "Maximize Return to Investors" & thats what they've done.

Yes its true CDI Mngt. has also operated & owned Hollywood Park until the political climate in So. Cal signaled to them that Slots would not be forthcoming to Hollywood. CDI then wisely decided to "Sell Hollywood Park for a Profit" rather than to sit back & watch one of its Key Assets decline in Value.

The fact that they sold it to a Land Developer Corporation that most likely has no plans to continue T-bred Racing did not matter, rather what did matter was their responsibility to "Maximize Return to their Investors' which they have done by realizing which tracks to hold on to (FG, Arl Park & Calder) & which ones to discard (Hollywood Park).we have all been moaning on a different thread about how cal. racing has been bad since the synthetics came in...they have obviously agreed with us seeing no way to turn a profit running thorouhgbreds there so they sold it..purley an economic business decision with nothing to do with whether they care for their customers or not

[bdownes]

Kenwoodallpromos...

Beulah Park in Ohio does try and make use of the property in their off season. It has nothing to do with simulcasting either since they are closed for simulcasting in the summer.

Beulah Park hosted a motorcycle race for the first time last year. It was a big success. Beulah Park will also host a bunch of Mixed Martial Arts events during the summer too. The Grove City fireworks are hosted at Beulah Park every year. There is going to be a Grove City Hot Air Balloon Festival in August. Every year... Beulah Park is the site for a massive Mud Volleyball tournament. Last year there were a few concerts too.

Sorry if I sounded like a marketing person.

Beulah does have the advantage of being closed in the summer so they can host these outside events.

[Hank]

The loyal lifelong facing fan is spat upon by CDI,But the red carpet is rolled out for the penny slot player setting foot on the property for the first time.:rolleyes:

[JustRalph]

Kenwoodallpromos...

Beulah Park in Ohio does try and make use of the property in their off season. It has nothing to do with simulcasting either since they are closed for simulcasting in the summer.

Beulah Park hosted a motorcycle race for the first time last year. It was a big success. Beulah Park will also host a bunch of Mixed Martial Arts events during the summer too. The Grove City fireworks are hosted at Beulah Park every year. There is going to be a Grove City Hot Air Balloon Festival in August. Every year... Beulah Park is the site for a massive Mud Volleyball tournament. Last year there were a few concerts too.

Sorry if I sounded like a marketing person.

Beulah does have the advantage of being closed in the summer so they can host these outside events.

I saw Ricky Van Shelton and KT Oslin at Beulah park in the late 80's or early 90's...... big stage right on the finish line........ it was a great time........

[Derbyman32]

A trip back in time.

Before simulcasting became the in thing Churchill Downs was taking another approach.

Louisville Downs (Which latter became Sports Spectrum-owned by Churchill) was the first to start simulcasting in Louisville. Tom Meeker(then CEO of Churchill) was know to be firmly against any type of simulcasting and in company meetings he made the statement that simulcasting would fail and would ruin the industry.

His thinking came to an immediate reversal when Louisville Downs opened with simulcasting and the attendance was massive. You could not find a place to park in the parking lot. Churchill Downs Execs were out there walking around and looking disturbed.
.

Tom Meeker then went to the employees and told them that the solution had been found and that simulcasting was going to be the future of thoroughbred racing..

It was not to long after that Churchill Downs bought out Louisville Downs(The owner of Louisville Downs had family problems and had to sell the track to pay off some obligations plus his health was not good) and harness racing was dead in the Louisville area.

Churchill then set it sights on Turfway Park and it was rumored several times that the deal had been completed but that never came to pass and Keenland ended up purchasing Turfway.

The buying spree had begun with Churchill's new interest in simulcasting as they began to buy the tracks that we all know about.

The old Louisville Downs Harness Race Track was ran by William H King who was really a way ahead of his time. Beside starting the simulcasting he had what was called Call A Bet and you could watch and wager on the races from your home watching them on a local cable channel ( this was in the 70's)

I will always wonder how this would have turned out has Mr King been able to hold onto Louisville Downs and really have put some pressure on Churchill Downs in the Louisville Market.

I will always believe that William H King was a visionary and his forward thinking was way ahead of what Tom Meeker had to offer at that time.

[46zilzal]

Nothing has changed: you are there for them to make money from. If you leave another two or three will take your place.

The disdain for the customer is palpable around the entire racing community.

That is why old Longacres was so very different. It was a family oriented place where they WANTED you to come back.

I really miss Do-Dah as Emerald has none of the old track's charm and warmth.
Right before the Aldaheff's sold out the Pacific Northwest, The BloodHorse had just given them an award for the largest average fields in North America.

[sandpit]

Churchill Downs or CDI as they are known on Wall Street does not have to apologize for having their "Financial House in Order" as that is the sole responsibility of CDI Mngt. is to "Maximize Return to Investors" & thats what they've done.

Yes its true CDI Mngt. has also operated & owned Hollywood Park until the political climate in So. Cal signaled to them that Slots would not be forthcoming to Hollywood. CDI then wisely decided to "Sell Hollywood Park for a Profit" rather than to sit back & watch one of its Key Assets decline in Value.

The fact that they sold it to a Land Developer Corporation that most likely has no plans to continue T-bred Racing did not matter, rather what did matter was their responsibility to "Maximize Return to their Investors' which they have done by realizing which tracks to hold on to (FG, Arl Park & Calder) & which ones to discard (Hollywood Park).

As was alluded to earlier, CDI execs were steadfastly opposed to simulcasting, but then saw the light only after someone else proved it to be successful...hardly a ringing endorsement as to their foresight. in that vein, their purchase/sell of their stable of racetracks hardly took a rocket scientist to come up with:

They bought the old Louisville Downs harness track, now their Trackside training center, for several times more than they could when Mr. King was open to the sale.
Arlington Park: CDI essentially gave Mr. D control of their entire corporation in hopes of slot machines...corrupt Illinois politics will keep this from every happening.
Hollywood: Anybody with enough money, even a complete moron, could have bought land in southern California during the time period CDI owned it and made a huge profit...
Hoosier Park: built from the ground up in hopes of slots, they sold it after years of struggles, only to see the Indiana legislature legalize track slots after they sold the track for a loss...
Ellis Park: a complete disaster; it lost money every year but one that CDI owned it; they gave it away for a ham sandwich...this deal cost many CDI lower level employees their jobs, but not anyone that was involved with the deal itself...
Calder: only purchased the place after a deal for Gulfstream couldn't be reached; much like the Hollywood purchase after losing Santa Anita; slots may save this place, but it has been severely damaged...
Fair Grounds: probably their best buy, but they had to submarine Mike Pegram at the last minute to seal the deal. If the place wasn't up on the auction block, odds are they never would have ended up with it...
Throw in unsuccessful attempts to purchase Oaklawn and NYRA, and I don't see the "genius at work" sign flashing in the front office window.

Now, their focus has changed from on-track to ADW revenue, a seemingly much more sensible avenue in today's market. And for the stockholders (i.e., the Board of Directors and top brass), they look to be headed in the right direction.