Oaktree Racing & Santa Anita lives in Dream Land

[Igeteven]

In my opinion, Track management lives on another planet, the walls are coming down all around them and they still deny that racing in California is falling apart.

What will it take, Trainers going on strike, as of now there is almost a complete civil war in the State and our beloved Governor, who knows NOTHING about horse racing, says it great, “Now there is a true politician, lie and blame someone else”.

After the Breeders Cup, one will see the worse Breeders Cup in history, I hope this will send a message to the CHRB, who are real dummies and do some thing. Our Governor will still say, how nice, it's great!

No one in this State can come forward to take command of the situation; everyone is powerless to do something about the situation except the Governor.


If the trainers were smart, they would all strike and refused to run their horses on opening day at Santa Anita. However, again, they have no guts to do so.


I see California Racing by the end of this year in total dis-array by opening day of Santa Anita on the 26th of Dec.

I hope there is one trainer out there that can lead a revolt, show some guts to get all the trainers to strike against Santa Anita.


Just think about it, no horses at opening day, Santa Anita will have dirt track installed with five days, no question about it and have full fields.


Any opinions on what I wrote.

[Show Me the Wire]

Dirt tracks won't translate to full fields, not enough horses. Dreaming on your part.

[bisket]

the real answer is to not have racing all year. at some point in time during the year there needs to be a 1-2 month break. that would solve the not enough horses issue.

[andymays]

Santa Anita to cut purses by 10 percent

http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13610403?nclick_check=1

Excerpt:

ARCADIA, Calif.—A downturn in wagering as a result of the sluggish economy is forcing Santa Anita to slash its overnight purses by 10 percent at the Oak Tree meeting.

The reductions take effect Saturday.

Track officials said Wednesday that through the first 16 days of racing, Oak Tree's overall pari-mutuel wagering was down 12 percent compared to last year.

[bisket]

Santa Anita to cut purses by 10 percent

http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13610403?nclick_check=1

Excerpt:

ARCADIA, Calif.—A downturn in wagering as a result of the sluggish economy is forcing Santa Anita to slash its overnight purses by 10 percent at the Oak Tree meeting.

The reductions take effect Saturday.

Track officials said Wednesday that through the first 16 days of racing, Oak Tree's overall pari-mutuel wagering was down 12 percent compared to last year.
less races higher purses. i hate to say it we had to deal with this in maryland. it also takes alot of pressure off the horses

[Imriledup]

Awesome, slashing purses that aren't even slots fueled to begin with.

I have to imagine that there are owners in calif who are so into the social interaction of owning horses, that they would rather run in Calif with slotless purses than ship elsewhere.

If you are an owner in california, why not ship to a slots track and watch your horse race on simulcasting? You can get your cushy table in Frontrunner restaurant with all your friends, and watch your investment on television. Let the other guy own horses in So cal, no reason for you to do it.

[Robert Fischer]

lets be honest. California racing has been Ass for a while.
The carpet didn't really help except to show that amid an average to below-average BC that there is a market for a high purse race on synthetic(Classic and now Dubai World Cup).

Someone needs to broadcast the gambling game in prime time with television. The wagering format can be manipulated to a tournament structure. Racing's strength is real-time participation from home players playing along with experts on the free to all state channels. Cheap $5andup buy-ins, and as low as $20max bankrolls. Playing should be as easy as using an accepted credit card (and we need to recruit and sell vouchers at a corner market/liquor wherever lotto tickets are sold).

re-do Del Mar with a half-decent design and make it a leader:bang:
Del mar is too damn small to begin with. = lengthen the stretch!
California in general is really begging for a 9-10furlong DIRT OVAL with an asymmetrical turf course. Woodbine's Turf-outside the main track is something to emulate, then put about a mile synthetic oval as the inner-track. :eek:

[owlet]

The sport has been heinously mismanaged for years; all you are seeing now is the manifestation of what has festered for decades:

--short fields
--suspcious and deceptive entries gutted by "late scratches"
--wink wink nod nod at the cheaters
--a grievous amount of overracing, uncontrollable due to the thirsty politicians and corporate management types who just want the immediate buck and don't understand the sport or the industry
--consistently raising take outs with no corresponding benefit to players
--turning many areas of their tracks into shi*tholes by allowing rampant drug use, loan sharking, etc. Don't believe me? Go to HP's Clubhouse any weekend.
--a failure to market the sport properly and understand its niche vis-a-vis casino gambling and youth entertainment

In 1991, I was at Hollywood Park and watched as Jack Nicholson presented the trophy to the winner of the feature in the old paddock. Can you even imagine that happening now?

[Imriledup]

The sport has been heinously mismanaged for years; all you are seeing now is the manifestation of what has festered for decades:

--short fields
--suspcious and deceptive entries gutted by "late scratches"
--wink wink nod nod at the cheaters
--a grievous amount of overracing, uncontrollable due to the thirsty politicians and corporate management types who just want the immediate buck and don't understand the sport or the industry
--consistently raising take outs with no corresponding benefit to players
--turning many areas of their tracks into shi*tholes by allowing rampant drug use, loan sharking, etc. Don't believe me? Go to HP's Clubhouse any weekend.
--a failure to market the sport properly and understand its niche vis-a-vis casino gambling and youth entertainment

In 1991, I was at Hollywood Park and watched as Jack Nicholson presented the trophy to the winner of the feature in the old paddock. Can you even imagine that happening now?


Great post, all true.

Its just a money grab. Too many people just wanting to get their fist in there and scrape every last dollar they can get. Horse racing is all about 'what's in it for me'.

[owlet]

Let's try this:

Santa Anita, Del Mar and Hollywood race only for six weeks total: three weeks on, two off, then three on. Racing is conducted only on Friday's Saturdays and Sundays. Maybe one or two special Wed. and Thurs. cards.

Overnights are cancelled unless there are 12 hours entered, stakes unless there are 10 entered. If a race is cancelled there is no "substitute" race in condition book. Eight races that day, seven, six, whatever it takes.

You scratch a horse after entering, he doesn't run for a month. Yeah yeah I know it was tried in Kentucky, but they didn't have the balls to enforce it. As with a lot of this crap, you start defining boundaries and people learned to live with them.

Medication violations--the first is a year suspension, the second a lifetime suspension. After a suspension, the owner must completely remove the horse from that trainer and all who ever worked for him. No assistants, no "lessess" etc.

The list of possible promotions is endless but here's one: instead of juicing the purses on "big days" inject that money into a pool (chosen at random) for one straight bet a day (W-P-S) to juice the payoffs. Watch what happens to the novice bettor if he hits the lotto.

[rrbauer]

In 1991, I was at Hollywood Park and watched as Jack Nicholson presented the trophy to the winner of the feature in the old paddock. Can you even imagine that happening now?

What? Jack leave a Laker game. When they played at the Forum, Hollywood Park might be in play. Now? Different zip code. And, different (way different) part of town.

[fmolf]

What? Jack leave a Laker game. When they played at the Forum, Hollywood Park might be in play. Now? Different zip code. And, different (way different) part of town.
California is on the cutting edge of racetrack deterioriation,but i fear my beloved NYRA circuit is following closely behind!

[Zman179]

Dirt tracks won't translate to full fields, not enough horses. Dreaming on your part.

Got that right. They were running 5-6 horse fields when they had the real stuff.