Tracks

[matthewsiv]

How many of you go to the track?

How many of you could go,if the track was within in a 30 minute drive and do not?

Do you prefer to bet on computer and watch the race on TV or computer?

I personally believe that people not going to the track is the problem.We will soon just be watching races and tracks will not exist for spectators.

That is why CD bought Youbet.

Another nail in the coffin of the game.

[Robert Goren]

I very seldom go to the track even though I live about 10 min away. Every time I do I remember why I stopped going. They treat me like dirt. The only good thing about going out there is comparing notes with other horseplayers.

[gheuks]

I live within 30 minutes of pimlico, laurel, and timinonium. For the past 5 years or so, I go to pimlico once or twice, and bet at home the rest of the year. This past summer, I started going back to the track-timinonium, laurel and deleware park. In spite of some of these facilities being less than ideal, there is still nothing like being at the track. Fortunately for me, the midatlantic has so many tracks within a couple hours drive.

[illinoisbred]

I no longer attend even though Arlington is only 25 miles away and Hawthorne approx 50. The hassle with traffic,parking,and other costs just isn't worth it.

[MickJ26]

I still love going to the racetrack. I try and make it to Belmont as much as time and budget permits, even the urban blight that is Aqueduct. I can watch a ball game on TV and get just as much enjoyment, but, there's nothing like being there.

[schweitz]

I live about 45 min from Lone Star and go about once a year. I don't much care for the wagering opportunities at Lone Star. If I lived close to any of the tracks that I do most of my wagering I would attend more frequently but would still do most of my wagering from home.

[fmolf]

I still love going to the racetrack. I try and make it to Belmont as much as time and budget permits, even the urban blight that is Aqueduct. I can watch a ball game on TV and get just as much enjoyment, but, there's nothing like being there.
I grew up 2 miles from belmont andthere is nothing like "big sandy" they never even asked for id to buy a beer when i was there as a teenager in the early 70's!I still love the atmosphere of the track bel. aqu. mon. med. pim. del. I try to visit all of these at least once every two years or so....philly...laur....would like to make it to colonial downs i hear its a nice track to spend a day at

[CBedo]

I don't live close to any track (Arapahoe is about 35 min, but calling it a track is questionable), and maybe that's part of why I always am excited to see some live racing when I travel. I love the social aspect of being at the track, but every time I go to the track, I leave somewhat disappointed and understanding even more why it's such a better deal to bet from home, watching the races on tv or internet.

[joanied]

Like Cbedo...no tracks are near to me...Yellowstone Downs in Montana...is close enough, but after going there for a few years during thier weekend meets...the place is so run down and the racing so poor...it just depressed me...sitting in the grandstand and 'seeing' the Belmont oval isn't fun:faint:
We have another track in Rock Springs...and I can't even think of it's name:) ...would be the same thing anyway...depressing...plus it's a 3 hour drive.
if there was a major track within 2 hrs drive...I would go...a lot...because I think being there to take in the sights, sounds and smells, to hear the hoof beats, the jocks chirping and yelling, to watch the track characters...it's what racing is all about...being there.
I so miss my old Belmont...and sometinmes, even Aqueduct:D ...and Saratoga and Hialeah!!

[wisconsin]

Like Cbedo...no tracks are near to me...Yellowstone Downs in Montana...is close enough, but after going there for a few years during thier weekend meets...the place is so run down and the racing so poor...it just depressed me...sitting in the grandstand and 'seeing' the Belmont oval isn't fun:faint:
We have another track in Rock Springs...and I can't even think of it's name:) ...would be the same thing anyway...depressing...plus it's a 3 hour drive.
if there was a major track within 2 hrs drive...I would go...a lot...because I think being there to take in the sights, sounds and smells, to hear the hoof beats, the jocks chirping and yelling, to watch the track characters...it's what racing is all about...being there.
I so miss my old Belmont...and sometinmes, even Aqueduct:D ...and Saratoga and Hialeah!!

I have been meaning to inquire. how in the world did you wind up where you now reside?

I grew up in suburban Chicago, and when we moved to Wisconsin, our trips were far less frequent. Now, it's Arlington once or twice per year, and Hawthorne once maybe every other year. I also collect tracks, so if we are near one on a trip, I go. Arapahoe is a small track for sure, but Craig Braddick welcomed my wife and I last June, and we had a great time doing the Handicapping Show together.

[jballscalls]

I very seldom go to the track even though I live about 10 min away. Every time I do I remember why I stopped going. They treat me like dirt. The only good thing about going out there is comparing notes with other horseplayers.

as a track employee who is in charge of guest services, i'm curious to know how you were treated like dirt. I'd like to know what would cause someone not to attend a day's races so that we can avoid having that happen to our customers.

thanks in advance for your reply.

[fmolf]

as a track employee who is in charge of guest services, i'm curious to know how you were treated like dirt. I'd like to know what would cause someone not to attend a day's races so that we can avoid having that happen to our customers.

thanks in advance for your reply.I think nyra has been trying to be customer but their is only so much they can do unless they want to start giving away free drinks and food to their loyal customers the smaller bettors.The casinos do it why not the tracks.Rebates are only for the largest players.Food and drink comps along the lines of how most racebooks in atlantic city do it would be nice.there you need to bet $50 or so to get a voucher for a free drink.The track gets a minimum %15 of that $50 to give out a draft beer which perhaps costs them 50 cents or a mixed drink or glass of wine maybe 75 cents would go a long way towards customer relations.not to mention maybe softening up some of the tighter bankrolls...lol...a strategy used by the casinos since the beginning of casinos.

[jballscalls]

I think nyra has been trying to be customer but their is only so much they can do unless they want to start giving away free drinks and food to their loyal customers the smaller bettors.The casinos do it why not the tracks.Rebates are only for the largest players.Food and drink comps along the lines of how most racebooks in atlantic city do it would be nice.there you need to bet $50 or so to get a voucher for a free drink.The track gets a minimum %15 of that $50 to give out a draft beer which perhaps costs them 50 cents or a mixed drink or glass of wine maybe 75 cents would go a long way towards customer relations.not to mention maybe softening up some of the tighter bankrolls...lol...a strategy used by the casinos since the beginning of casinos.

i get what your saying, i was looking more for how he was treated badly, not what he wasn't given as perks.

[joanied]

I have been meaning to inquire. how in the world did you wind up where you now reside?

I grew up in suburban Chicago, and when we moved to Wisconsin, our trips were far less frequent. Now, it's Arlington once or twice per year, and Hawthorne once maybe every other year. I also collect tracks, so if we are near one on a trip, I go. Arapahoe is a small track for sure, but Craig Braddick welcomed my wife and I last June, and we had a great time doing the Handicapping Show together.

Long story short...divorced my at the time husband and since we were both at Belmont...one of us had to go:faint: ...small world there...decided to head to CA, get another job rubbing horses and eventually, try getting either a trainers lic., or move myself up as an assistant or barn foreman...didn't have much $$, so managed to get a job on a women's ranch in CO. (Silt), save my $$ and head to CA.
Meantime, my dad died, and after a while my mom wanted to sell the house in NY and come live with me...what could I do? Once with me in CO., I couldn't see going to CA with her in tow...so I stayed at the ranch and when the folks I worked for moved to WY., we went with them...I actually did get to CA. I left the ranch (didn't pay diddly) and worked for Burlington-Northern RR...laying new track...and after being laid off for the winter, I went to CA, but wound up in SF...so went to work at Bay Meadows for a while...after 5 yrs in CA. I had enough and moved back to WY...been here ever since...re married and the whole nine yards...and have been farmming all this time (my husband started farming when the oil boom went flat here, he was a roughneck in the oil fields)

And that IS the short version:D

Someday we'll have enough $$ to take a vacation...and I am going to be sure it's somewhere that will get us to one of the major tracks...husband has never been to a major track...we'd planned on this for this winter, but since our crop was frozen early Oct., and we'll never get the rest of it harvested...we won't have the $$ this year:(

I never have been to Arapahoe, but bet it's nicer than Yellowstone Downs.
I can never stop missing being at the track...

[Robert Goren]

as a track employee who is in charge of guest services, i'm curious to know how you were treated like dirt. I'd like to know what would cause someone not to attend a day's races so that we can avoid having that happen to our customers.

thanks in advance for your reply. Start with the Restrooms. They are nasty and have water on the floor. Half the stool stalls don't work. This is in the club house.
You can forget about getting a waiter. You have to go the counter to get a $3 coke. The food is a step below McDonald's.
About half the teller stalls are not manned. The few auto tellers always have a long line because most of the exotic players think they have had a teller screw up a ticket.
Racing Forms are only available at the track. If you stay around after the local races you have to buy the late track form.

[Track Collector]

I live within 30 minutes of pimlico, laurel, and timinonium. For the past 5 years or so, I go to pimlico once or twice, and bet at home the rest of the year. This past summer, I started going back to the track-timinonium, laurel and deleware park. In spite of some of these facilities being less than ideal, there is still nothing like being at the track. Fortunately for me, the midatlantic has so many tracks within a couple hours drive.

Timonium!! :ThmbUp: :ThmbUp: :ThmbUp:

Not as interesting as some of the neat little racing fairs in OR, WA, or AZ, but still very nice and only an 80-mile drive (one-way) for me. (I'm still in mourning with the permanent end of racing at the Northampton Fair after 2005. :(:( ) It was and continues to be my all-time favorite race meet.

[macguy]

This summer I made it out to Hst park I would say 10-15 times.
I also made it out to Kamloops twice and got out to Sunflower downs in Princeton for their one day meet. Missed out on Kin park in Vernon, but perhaps next summer.

I also made it to NP in Edmonton twice in September for the live racing, it was my first time there, and though the pools and crowds are small, they have a beautiful simulcast facility inside the grandstand.

I really don't bet much, but I always enjoy going out on a nice day to see the horses run. Rarely, if ever, do I watch racing on TV or the computer. If I can't make it out to the races, I settle for reading the charts.

[CryingForTheHorses]

I very seldom go to the track even though I live about 10 min away. Every time I do I remember why I stopped going. They treat me like dirt. The only good thing about going out there is comparing notes with other horseplayers.



Just wondering me being a horseman...WHO treats you like dirt...Ive been going to different tracks for years and never had anyone treat me like dirt...Please explain your comment and who treats you like dirt!!

[raybo]

I don't go to the track much anymore, and when I do, it's as a spectator only, no betting. All my wagering is done in the comfort and quiet of my home, on the internet. The main reason is obvious, it is harder to concentrate and get your business done at the track. It's too noisy, too many distractions, too expensive, too hard to find somewhere comfortable and convenient to the windows, etc., etc., etc.

Then you have the mentality of most of the patrons to deal with. The best example I can give is that I can't stand to be around drunks and BS, so, I don't go to bars. Likewise, I can't stand to be around gambling addicts and BS, so, I don't go to the track.

99% of my interest in horse racing revolves around making money, so, 99% of the time I give to horse racing is at my home.

[jballscalls]

Start with the Restrooms. They are nasty and have water on the floor. Half the stool stalls don't work. This is in the club house.
You can forget about getting a waiter. You have to go the counter to get a $3 coke. The food is a step below McDonald's.
About half the teller stalls are not manned. The few auto tellers always have a long line because most of the exotic players think they have had a teller screw up a ticket.
Racing Forms are only available at the track. If you stay around after the local races you have to buy the late track form.

thank you for the feedback!! all that stuff is unexcusable and I can understand your frustration. thanks again!

[cosmo96]

Nothing can take the place of live racing. I love the atmosphere and the crazyness. I live near Dayton. I go whatever track in my area that is running, River Downs, Turfway, Beulah. About once a month I go to either Churchill, Keenland, Mountaineer, Hoosier, Indiana. During the Summer I go to Saratoga and Arlington. I love it.

[Niko]

I'm probably lucky as the local track is very well maintained, customer service is great (for the most part), nice specials on Thurs and Fri bring in a younger crowd, Sundays bring in a lot of families.

There's nothing like the smell of the track, watching the post parade and seeing the jocks and trainers in person, a real live drive down the stretch, hearing people cheering, watching them have a good time. And it's fun to have a handful of bills stacked in your pocket on the way home for a change.

Name me one sporting event where you don't have a few drunk a-holes running around, the food is cheap and all the restrooms are clean? And yes super high track takes should provide free admission, parking and past performances for everyone.

But 98% of my betting has been done via the internet because it's a lot easier and cheaper. With a family I can't make it out there as much.

But I'll always be a live horse racing fan. I'll probably always go back for a couple days....

[Niko]

Just wondering me being a horseman...WHO treats you like dirt...Ive been going to different tracks for years and never had anyone treat me like dirt...Please explain your comment and who treats you like dirt!!

The tellers at Arlington Park. Don't try to interrupt one of their personal conversations or get a bet in quick. The worst I've ever experienced by a landslide....

Maybe they don't treat you like dirt, you just seem like an inconvenience to them.

[cj's dad]

I went to Laurel Park yesterday and they finally seem to be wising up.

They had beer specials, the race call volume was actually audible inside the clubhouse, the tellers are courteous, and in honor of the military (it was armed services appreciation day) all past and present military were given a wristband to wear which entitled them to 25% off all purchases.

Way to go LP.

[cj]

I prefer to bet from home, but I've been to Remington a few times and it is very nice. The racing actually is center stage and you have to search to find the slots.

[BillW]

I prefer to bet from home, but I've been to Remington a few times and it is very nice. The racing actually is center stage and you have to search to find the slots.

That's a pleasant (and totally opposite) contrast to CT, the racino that I am familiar with.

[toetoe]

they never even asked for id to buy a beer when i was there as a teenager



Maybe that should be the thrust of a marketing campaign aimed at the younger demographic group. :D .

[cj]

That's a pleasant (and totally opposite) contrast to CT, the racino that I am familiar with.

I have been lost in the slots parlor there.

[gheuks]

I've been lost in the slots parlor as well. Racing is defintely a second thought at Charlestown.

[miesque]

I love spending time at the track, however since the two tracks closest to me (Colonial Downs & Charles Town - yes you do need a compass and map or a lot of experience to find your way through the maze to the track at CT) are two hours each away, I spend a good chunk of my four weeks of vacation each year traveling around to different tracks around the country. For example, so far this year I have been to Santa Anita, Charles Town, Colonial Downs, Keeneland, Penn National, Belmont Park, Aqueduct, Arlington Park and Hollywood Park (some have joked that I should have a racing travel show). Actually on the racing travel front, I have spent several hours today trying to figure out how to reschedule my December Hollywood Park trip which was originally Cashcall Futurity/Hollywood Starlet Weekend to the Hollywood Turf Festival weekend since Nov 29th is now Zenyatta Day.



I would like to take the opportunity to elaborate on a few points that have been brought up so far on this thread. First, bathroom conditions and overall cleanliness of facilities, and in fact just basic general facility maintenance are important, especially if you actually do want a few women to show up (we really do not take kindly to filthy bathrooms or things like the toilets not working). It feels silly to have to point this out, but if the facility is noticeably dirty, paint peeling off rusty beams and lot of things around that are broken/barely work, how can anyone be surprised that attendance is low/falling or that women really are not that interested in showing up? Second, the concept of value needs to be addressed in terms of not just parking, admission and concession prices, but also in terms of wagering (aka takeout). Value does not necessarily just mean cheap, it means getting an item for a fair prices considering the quality of said item. Pretty much every time I am at the track I am up in the dining room and I have paid for a lot of buffets and a few were a decent value (Charles Town comes to mind, that is one thing they do right, wide selection of food that is at least partially edible for a reasonable cost) and some were most definitely not (the Buffets at Belmont and Aqueduct come to mind and it is not a surprise that those dining rooms are not very full). I am someone who does not mind paying a premium if it is indeed worth it (aka am I getting really good food and service). Lastly there is what I call the “Overall Customer Service Element” which is set by the very top of management and flows down throughout the organization aka how well run is the organization, how attentive are they to their customers, how do they treat their customers and how is the customer’s experience as a result. In general, tracks that are run well tend to have decent customer service, tracks that are not tend to have poor customer service.

[affirmedny]

as a track employee who is in charge of guest services, i'm curious to know how you were treated like dirt. I'd like to know what would cause someone not to attend a day's races so that we can avoid having that happen to our customers.

thanks in advance for your reply.

Here's how Meadowlands does it:

If there's live racing you can't get anything to eat or drink after live racing is over even if there are 4 hours of simulcasting left.

Last night the program stand closed 1/2 hour before the track did. If you wanted tomorrow's programs or forms on the way out you are SOL. Sometimes they just don't have them and tell you "the guy didn't bring any up" as if that's an acceptable answer.

On their simulcasting programs some races have 0 or 1 line for every horse even though they have run 10 or 12 times. If you complain they tell u they "needed room" even though some races with 7 horses will have 6 on 1 page and a WHOLE PAGE for one horse on the next page.

The machines are not up to date on which tracks take 50 cent triples, 10 cent superfectas, etc. In some cases it will state right on their own simulcasting program "50 cent minimum" but the machines still are not programmed to take 50 cent bets.

I could go on and on.......

[Scanman]

How many of you go to the track?
As a fan first and a gambler second, I try to take in as much live racing as possible. Being stuck in Orlando does present its difficulties. Usually, I get to Tampa Bay Downs once or twice during their season. But being in Orlando doesn't stop me from getting out for some live racing. It just cost a little more to do it.

Like a lot of folks on this board, I'm a track collector. When I "go racing" at Palm Beach Steeplechase in Wellington two Saturday from now, it'll be track number 268 for me. This year I made it to or will make it to 18 new tracks; some good Rosehill and Eagle Farm (Australia) and some not so good Eureka Downs and Kin Park. But either way, live racing is live racing. I watch a lot of racing through my AWD, but still, there is now better feeling than being "at the track".

[proximity]

I have been lost in the slots parlor there.

and i have lost in the slots parlor there. :(

[aharon5741]

I used to go to Calder on my weekday off. But since my work schedule was changed I haven't been in a while. I like Tropical's early post time of 12:25. It's nice to get outdoors and spend the day at the track, especially in the middle of the week when the weather gets cooler in the Florida fall.

The main problem for most people seems to be that the tracks run in the middle of the day when most normal people are at work.

Calder is mostly running during the Florida summer. Its too hot in the middle of the day anyway to sit outside for even 10 minutes. Why not have a twilight card that starts at 5pm? Its still light out side till 8:30pm in the middle of the summer?

I know that T-Bred racing is daytime only in many places because the harness people have the night time slots. But in the case of South Florida there is only one harness track in Pompano Beach but it is 45 min away from Calder and Gulfstream.

[fmhealth]

I attend live racing on the average of 150 times/year. In years passed it's always been AP & Haw, now I'm a regular at beautiful Turf Paradise. Friendly staff, virtually free admission & parking. Winners are dominated by a few trainers with the rest picking-up the scraps.20.2 miles right down scenic h'way 101.

I've never bet on the computer.I actually feel that since I enjoy the sport it's worth the extra cost to support the track.

[takeout]

I've been lost in the slots parlor as well. Racing is defintely a second thought at Charlestown.If that!