CBedo
08-18-2009, 10:45 PM
I had to drive to Detroit to pick up some furniture (the things you'll do for a girl...), and decided to take in a day at Pinnacle on Saturday, which happened to be the Michigan Breeders Cup Day with a whopping 20k stakes race, lol.
First off, at least it was free parking and free admission. They actually have built a first class simulcast facility with a never-ending double bank of flatscreens plus individual tvs at each station. The number of tellers/machines seemed lacking, but it seemed that most of the patrons wanted to stand in line to use the tellers so I never had to wait to use a machine.
As far as the live racing, it appears that they never got anywhere close to finishing the original design. In fact, the facility isn't even near the finish line. I think they were supposed to build a grandstand down near the finish line, but haven't, so for now, when the horses pass you, they still have a 1/16th or so to the finish line. The "temp" tote board in the infield is the smallest I've ever seen and some of the odds are blocked depending on where you are viewing it from. It contains no pool data, and doesn't even show the payoffs. If you want any of that information, you have to go inside to see it on a tv hopefully. Also, you can't hear the announcer outside, so watching the races outside in the sunshine is almost impossible. The good news was that the concession stand was one girl working a bbq grill and a beer tap which happened to be cold and cheap.
Overall, I had a few winners a good day with friends, and am glad that I got to cross this off my tracks I haven't been to list, but still left wondering why they built this facility in the first place. Building a new track is questionable enough, but building one in Detroit seems insane.
P.S. I know jockeys are small men (or women), but I swear one of the jockeys there (didn't catch the name) was a "little person," or whatever we are supposed to call midgets these days.
First off, at least it was free parking and free admission. They actually have built a first class simulcast facility with a never-ending double bank of flatscreens plus individual tvs at each station. The number of tellers/machines seemed lacking, but it seemed that most of the patrons wanted to stand in line to use the tellers so I never had to wait to use a machine.
As far as the live racing, it appears that they never got anywhere close to finishing the original design. In fact, the facility isn't even near the finish line. I think they were supposed to build a grandstand down near the finish line, but haven't, so for now, when the horses pass you, they still have a 1/16th or so to the finish line. The "temp" tote board in the infield is the smallest I've ever seen and some of the odds are blocked depending on where you are viewing it from. It contains no pool data, and doesn't even show the payoffs. If you want any of that information, you have to go inside to see it on a tv hopefully. Also, you can't hear the announcer outside, so watching the races outside in the sunshine is almost impossible. The good news was that the concession stand was one girl working a bbq grill and a beer tap which happened to be cold and cheap.
Overall, I had a few winners a good day with friends, and am glad that I got to cross this off my tracks I haven't been to list, but still left wondering why they built this facility in the first place. Building a new track is questionable enough, but building one in Detroit seems insane.
P.S. I know jockeys are small men (or women), but I swear one of the jockeys there (didn't catch the name) was a "little person," or whatever we are supposed to call midgets these days.