Whats the best giveaway...

[only11]

you ever recieved from a racetrack?
The best ..i received was a Cigar with Cigar's name printed on it

[eastie]

saratoga tan coolerbag with red printing and shoulder strap. I've bought about 6 more on ebay and use them to carry my lunch in to work every day.

[illinoisbred]

Arlington umbrellas,duffle/gym bags, coffee mugs to name a few.

[samyn on the green]

36-1 on Red Giant in the 2007 Virginia Derby.

Back in communion with the thread, I really like the NYRA calender. It gets use everyday of the year.

[cj]

saratoga tan coolerbag with red printing and shoulder strap. I've bought about 6 more on ebay and use them to carry my lunch in to work every day.

Damn, how much do you eat?

[1st time lasix]

Bobbleheads are fun. I bring one in to my simulcast spot on a big day. Have Baily...Pletcher...Prado..from Toga........even Bonnie the Bugler from Arlington. Always worth a laugh!

[andymays]

The best giveaway would be to rebate everyone that comes to the track 50% of the normal take on the money they churn for the day.

The changes to high takeout would follow when they saw the increased attendance and on track handle. I'm quite sure on track handle would be at least 3 times a normal day. If they billed it as a special weekend at a place like Santa Anita the hotels and restaurants would be filled with gamblers with a lot of cash in their pockets.

That's the best giveaway that could produce big long term gains in handle and attendance.

If you do it they will come!

[Rutgers]

To go along with the thread:

Monmouth Park used to (and they still may) give out a month-long grandstand admission pass the first saturday of the month. I thought that was a pretty good deal. You could go everyday of the live meet for the price of three admissions. You just had to go and pay those three days they were giving the pass out. I think a regular season pass at the time was $50.



But, I would really prefer tracks to keep their giveaways and give free admission everyday.

[Fingal]

The radio that Santa Anita gave out for Sunshine Millions in 2009. It's now got paint spots, & some melted plastic, but I use that thing all day long. The cloisonne pins that they used to give out & of course the calandars. :)

[eastie]

Damn, how much do you eat?


local all you can eat place has *except Eastie! on the bottom of it's sign.

[tzipi]

NYRA calender. Awesome pictures :ThmbUp:

[Bettowin]

Best ALMOST giveaway was from Oaklawn last year. A new truck and boat. A couple of friends went with us for the weekend and the wife got her name drawn out of the barrel and made the final 8 drawing. Not to mention the woman immediately in front of us also got drawn into the final 8 so it was exciting to say the least. As a consolation she got $100 and a hat but it would have been a fun 6 hours back riding in her new truck:)

[onefast99]

The Haskell hat. 2nd is the Big Brown bobble head and third would be the Joe Bravo bobblehead which looks axactly like the Eddie King Jr bobblehead.

[Robert Goren]

When the Lincoln state fair track first started Simulcasting, they gave away free popcorn for 2 years. I love popcorn, but the doctors won't let me it anymore.

[Bettowin]

When the Lincoln state fair track first started Simulcasting, they gave away free popcorn for 2 years. I love popcorn, but the doctors won't let me it anymore.

Whats wrong with popcorn? Salt?

[saratoga guy]

At Saratoga I've always liked -- and used -- the caps, umbrellas and tote bags.

Worst giveaways [at least in my opinion] -- when tracks hand out pictures of some stakes winning horse. My response is, "Uh, what do I do with this?" [Actually my response is, "Keep it."]

[Robert Goren]

Whats wrong with popcorn? Salt? I have Crohn's which involves a narrowing in a part of the small intestine. I am on a low residue diet. If were eat things like corn, nuts, or lettuce, I would get a block bowel. I don't miss the lettuce much, but I do miss popcorn and Beer Nuts.

[joanied]

Damn, how much do you eat?

:lol: that's hilarious, cj:jump: I assume he uses one at a time?

[joanied]

it's been so long since I was at a track...and in 'my day' they didn't have give aways...oh, well, maybe one...the buttons for the Ruffian-Foolish Pleasure Match Race...and I didn't want one anyway...

so...my best give aways would be the ones I got from a few very nice folks:ThmbUp: right here at PA...a Curlin T-Shirt, a Zenyatta Day poster, and some photos, win ticket and button of Rachel Alexandra from Woodward day...

and this gives me the chance to say 'thank you" again...I treasure these items:jump:

Oh...maybe one more, not a give away, but I have a small bottle on my puter desk with dirt from Belmont Park's main track...yeah, you can call me crazy;)

[offtrack]

Buffalo Raceway once had a Bowling With Frozen Turkeys promotion.

I threw a strike and won two pristine frozen turkeys for the holidays.

Used a two hole grip.

[BlueShoe]

A small, very cheaply made suitcase from Hollywood Park and an awol bag from Santa Anita. Have used both for years on short 2-4 day trips out of town, mostly to Nevada destinations such as Las Vegas, Laughlin, or Lake Tahoe. Very light and handy for light packing. The total opposite of stylish luggage, have gotten a few funny looks in hotel lobbies since the track logos are displayed on my cheap beat up but very practical luggage.

[Horseplayersbet.com]

A one hundred dollar ticket voucher.
The best giveaway I got was a huge book in 1985 (The Plate, A Royal Tradition, by Louis Cauz). Still have it and sometimes still read it.

[strapper]

I wonder what item brings out the most fans. At Delta we've given out souvenir glasses and caps, think we had one bobblehead day in the past for QH Alvin Brossette all-time winningest jockey.

[joanied]

Wouldn't you think that patrons would rather get free admission and maybe a voucher for placing a bet than get a give away item??

[PaceAdvantage]

Does anyone remember when NYRA gave away a % of ownership in a horse(s)? I was just getting into racing at the time, so it had to be late '80s or very early '90s.

Although it amounted to very little money in the end (obviously), I thought it was cool at the time, and remember keeping track of this horse whenever he ran...who else remembers this? Maybe you can fill in the blanks...

[Dan H]

Del Mar has a beach towel giveaway every year.

Cheap, but practical - something for me to cry into ... while I tray to figure out their surface.

[46zilzal]

Emerald awarded owner for a day.You started by entering a horse in the AM with a barn tour and breakfast then later sat in the box seats as an owner (fed again) and if your horse won, went to the winners circle with him

[Saratoga_Mike]

Does anyone remember when NYRA gave away a % of ownership in a horse(s)? I was just getting into racing at the time, so it had to be late '80s or very early '90s.

Although it amounted to very little money in the end (obviously), I thought it was cool at the time, and remember keeping track of this horse whenever he ran...who else remembers this? Maybe you can fill in the blanks...

Funny, Saratoga Harness did the same thing back in the late 1980s. Anyone who showed up on the "giveaway" night got an "ownership" certificate, entitling them to free admission when "their" horse raced and a portion of the horse's earnings for the balance of the yr. I think 3,000 to 3,500 people ended up owning that horse, and a lot of them showed up each time he raced. This type of giveaway could be a very effective marketing tool for slots-rich racetracks.

[tzipi]

Does anyone remember when NYRA gave away a % of ownership in a horse(s)? I was just getting into racing at the time, so it had to be late '80s or very early '90s.

Although it amounted to very little money in the end (obviously), I thought it was cool at the time, and remember keeping track of this horse whenever he ran...who else remembers this? Maybe you can fill in the blanks...

I'm pretty sure they did that in the early 2000's too Pace. I think they did a horse share ownership raffle during the Belmont Stakes couple years back. I remember you could fill out a raffle ticket from the NY Post and DRF I think. Haven't seen it since.

[Stillriledup]

you ever recieved from a racetrack?
The best ..i received was a Cigar with Cigar's name printed on it

Money. They're giving it away all the time to the sharpest players.

[PaceAdvantage]

Funny, Saratoga Harness did the same thing back in the late 1980s. Anyone who showed up on the "giveaway" night got an "ownership" certificate, entitling them to free admission when "their" horse raced and a portion of the horse's earnings for the balance of the yr. I think 3,000 to 3,500 people ended up owning that horse, and a lot of them showed up each time he raced. This type of giveaway could be a very effective marketing tool for slots-rich racetracks.That's pretty much exactly how I remember NYRA doing it (and it was definitely around the same time period). I believe it happened at Aqueduct...

I think I received $1.80 or maybe even less...:lol:

[badcompany]

T-shirts are the best giveaways and invariably draw the biggest crowds.

The long-sleeve white tees at 'Toga this past summer were quite nice. What made it even nicer was getting one a day before and not even having to deal with the crowd.

Props to OTM AL