$$ Monmouth Park Condition Book $$

[Bluto Blutarsky]

is available online

[onefast99]

is available online
Race 15, if it is used, a 5k claimer with a 30k purse. The 4x aoc for 90k is a nice race also PP normally has trouble filling that one but MP won't.

[Brogan]

Its doubtful they'll have problem filling any race. Also rans are guaranteed $1500.

Last year that same Race 15 would have been $18,000 with the also rans getting $180.

[alhattab]

http://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaDownload.cfm?track=MTH&area=USA&STYLE=MTH&area=USA

[Saratoga_Mike]

Race 15, if it is used, a 5k claimer with a 30k purse. The 4x aoc for 90k is a nice race also PP normally has trouble filling that one but MP won't.

Any thoughts on whether the lower level claiming races will actually be used? I'm thinking the allowance races might be so overflowing that the low-level stuff is just repeatedly off'd?

[sonnyp]

monmouth is a perfect example that with a cutback in days, less will be more.

i know folks with businesses in saratoga and they're very worried about this summer.

[Brogan]

Any thoughts on whether the lower level claiming races will actually be used? I'm thinking the allowance races might be so overflowing that the low-level stuff is just repeatedly off'd?
Allegedly, they are going to protect the little guy...time will tell.

[onefast99]

Any thoughts on whether the lower level claiming races will actually be used? I'm thinking the allowance races might be so overflowing that the low-level stuff is just repeatedly off'd?
If Kulina feels like a 5k claimer I am sure he will tell Dempsey to squeeze one in.

[Saratoga_Mike]

If Kulina feels like a 5k claimer I am sure he will tell Dempsey to squeeze one in.

Last yr, I believe you indicated MTH had open claiming rules. But if you claimed there, you had to race there until the end of the meet. Are the claiming rules the same this yr? Thanks.

[slewis]

monmouth is a perfect example that with a cutback in days, less will be more.

i know folks with businesses in saratoga and they're very worried about this summer.


Are you sure you know the facts here Sonny???

After this year...NO MORE CASINO SUBSIDIES.

Monmouth may race just Saturdays....with purses like Finger Lakes.

PS..I know folks with businesses at Saratoga and they're worried every year..until after labor day when they tell me how much they made.

Especially when you get to charge $800 per week for the same place you cant get $600 per month for the rest of the year.

Dont cry for businesses in Saratoga....they're doing just fine.

[sonnyp]

Are you sure you know the facts here Sonny???

After this year...NO MORE CASINO SUBSIDIES.

Monmouth may race just Saturdays....with purses like Finger Lakes.

PS..I know folks with businesses at Saratoga and they're worried every year..until after labor day when they tell me how much they made.

Especially when you get to charge $800 per week for the same place you cant get $600 per month for the rest of the year.

Dont cry for businesses in Saratoga....they're doing just fine.

my point is that racing is so overexposed, so commonplace that there no longer anything special about it. it's diluted and a bad product.

do you remember when racing would stop in the winter in the north ? it created a sense of great anticipation for when it returned in the spring . with simulcasting that wouldn't happen today, but overexposure of anything lessens its appeal.

as far as saratoga, you made my point. they're trying to overexpose that too. 4 weeks to 6 weeks more and more. prices go up and up or less and less.

it's like the tracks and politicians just don't or can't understand....less racing, and lower takeout will improve the product. the golden goose is close to death. no more golden eggs,

[slewis]

my point is that racing is so overexposed, so commonplace that there no longer anything special about it. it's diluted and a bad product.

do you remember when racing would stop in the winter in the north ? it created a sense of great anticipation for when it returned in the spring . with simulcasting that wouldn't happen today, but overexposure of anything lessens its appeal.

as far as saratoga, you made my point. they're trying to overexpose that too. 4 weeks to 6 weeks more and more. prices go up and up or less and less.

it's like the tracks and politicians just don't or can't understand....less racing, and lower takeout will improve the product. the golden goose is close to death. no more golden eggs,

I also remember when NYRA raced 6 days a week with tuesday the dark day.

I agree about Saratoga...the last week of the meet this year will be a ghost town...Rachel saved that last year...

I dont know what Kulina is trying to accomplish. He's like the guy who has a net worth of 1 million bucks and his doctor tells him he has 1 month to live.
So he cashes in and goes to Vegas and bets $150,000 a day to see what it's like to be a high roller. Problem is, he's not really a high roller.

Things might be a little better this year at Monmouth, but it wont be Saratoga.
Not this year, and DEFINITELY not next year. I predict the numbers will probably be strong at first but then tail off dramatically.

I've always said 3 day a week racing will never work but maybe I'm wrong, wouldn't be the first time, especially in this game.

[onefast99]

Last yr, I believe you indicated MTH had open claiming rules. But if you claimed there, you had to race there until the end of the meet. Are the claiming rules the same this yr? Thanks.
MP's claiming rules remain the same. Once a horse is claimed at MP it will only run at MP until the meet officially ends on September 6th 2010. The meet that begins on September 11th is considered a new meet even though it is at MP. With the permission of the racing secretary a claimed horse may run in an out of town stakes race.

[Bluto Blutarsky]

It is going to be interesting to watch and see whether "Burnt Out" Bob Kulina and his young, inexperienced marketing staff can promote Monmouth effectively enough to increase on the track attendance and all sources handle.
I have serious doubts. They are now in the deep end of the pool where the only time they have had relatively decent success is Haskell Day. Haskell Day has been somewhat of a success by giving suitcases of appearance money to trainers and owners for bringing in the BIG horse.
Word is that if the meet is a failure, Kulina will be forced into retirement in the fall. Someone get Lou Raffetto on the phone!

[onefast99]

It is going to be interesting to watch and see whether "Burnt Out" Bob Kulina and his young, inexperienced marketing staff can promote Monmouth effectively enough to increase on the track attendance and all sources handle.
I have serious doubts. They are now in the deep end of the pool where the only time they have had relatively decent success is Haskell Day. Haskell Day has been somewhat of a success by giving suitcases of appearance money to trainers and owners for bringing in the BIG horse.
Word is that if the meet is a failure, Kulina will be forced into retirement in the fall. Someone get Lou Raffetto on the phone!
I have to agree with you on this one. Kulina will do whatever it takes to make this meet look a lot more successful then it really is. Haskell Day will be fine. Fathers day also offers up a solid crowd. The big issue here is what else can be done to bring the people in? No one comes for the food festival even though the area restaurants put on a great show. The bands are all local bar bands with no national presence and the food is as bad as you can get. Last year they did a dollar hot dog and dollar program day, no one even knew it as it was not even advertised!

[alhattab]

It is going to be interesting to watch and see whether "Burnt Out" Bob Kulina and his young, inexperienced marketing staff can promote Monmouth effectively enough to increase on the track attendance and all sources handle.
I have serious doubts. They are now in the deep end of the pool where the only time they have had relatively decent success is Haskell Day. Haskell Day has been somewhat of a success by giving suitcases of appearance money to trainers and owners for bringing in the BIG horse.
Word is that if the meet is a failure, Kulina will be forced into retirement in the fall. Someone get Lou Raffetto on the phone!

Funny you mention Raffetto- a buddy of mine saw him having dinner @ Charlies in Long Branch a few weeks ago. I didn't know Raffetto was hanging around these parts.

I think they key to this meet being successful is consistently having name jocks and trainers. Everyone knows bettors are creatures of habit, but I believe those habits are geared more toward trainers and jocks than to tracks. In other words, if all the big-name barns are filling Mth races every day and the name jocks are there, the simul bettors will be looking more toward Mth than anywhere else, and the on-track players won't be "watching" the Mth races with the backs of their heads (i.e., while looking at TVs showing NYRA races). That last part is really key- they need to get the per capita above $70. Sure a big part of that paltry figure is due to picnic area freeloaders but it is also due to real horseplayer money going inbound signals b/c the Mth product was so bad.

As far as increasing the on-track crowd is concerned, there is some buzz right now but it's mainly among the horseplaying set that I typically see at the local watering holes. The general populace (Kulina's words- "lapsed fans") really needs to be engaged to come back to Mth. As I've said elsewhere, these are people with a lot of recreational options, some of whom pay serious money for the priviledge of going to the beach for the summer. They will be a tough draw. The weather is the biggest factor, and Mth would be well served by 12 weekends of cloudy, 75 degree days.

[point given]

I really cannot see any significant increase of ontrack attendance for fridays for the meet. Saturday and sundays wiil pickup July 4th til Labor day as usual. The key offtrack handle should improve though, but to what degree is tough to call. If the big fields materialize and payouts are juicy, the players will switch over from the short Belmont fields. Saratoga should not worry as they are a destination track and folks love it and are conditioned to play the meet.on track and off track.

[Saratoga_Mike]

It is going to be interesting to watch and see whether "Burnt Out" Bob Kulina and his young, inexperienced marketing staff can promote Monmouth effectively enough to increase on the track attendance and all sources handle.
I have serious doubts. They are now in the deep end of the pool where the only time they have had relatively decent success is Haskell Day. Haskell Day has been somewhat of a success by giving suitcases of appearance money to trainers and owners for bringing in the BIG horse.
Word is that if the meet is a failure, Kulina will be forced into retirement in the fall. Someone get Lou Raffetto on the phone!

I know Lou Raffetto was very well liked in MD. But what happened to MD attendance and handle under his tenure? I suspect both went down? Why would he be an improvement over Kulina (who I don't know from Adam)? I suspect Raffetto was dealt a bad hand in MD, but is there something on his resume that indicates he can generate interest in racing that would cause you to recommend him? Was he highly successful somewhere before MD? I honestly don't know, so I'm not trying to put him down in anyway.

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Raffetto, who in the 1990s helped revive Suffolk Downs and reinstate the running of the Massachusetts Handicap, he became vulnerable in Maryland when De Francis and his sister, Karin De Francis, sold their remaining shares in Laurel Park and Pimlico for a combined $18.3-million plus interest.

"One of the very best things that I did in 18 years as CEO of the Maryland Jockey Club was hire Lou Raffetto," De Francis said. "Words cannot really express what an outstanding job he did. The facts speak for themselves: The 15-year peace agreement with Rosecroft after more than ten years of fighting; the success the company enjoyed, not withstanding vicious competition from West Virginia and Delaware and now Pennsylvania; and the passage of slots legislation after 13 years of effort.

"Never has the Maryland Jockey Club enjoyed such good relations with the Maryland horsemen's association, the Maryland breeders, and the Maryland Racing Commission as they did under Lou's leadership."

Yes- Raffetto was dealt a bad hand in Maryland.
I believe Lou would be a refreshing change from Kulina who should have been fired years ago. But instead NJ cherishes and rewards political hacks.

[Saratoga_Mike]

Raffetto, who in the 1990s helped revive Suffolk Downs and reinstate the running of the Massachusetts Handicap, he became vulnerable in Maryland when De Francis and his sister, Karin De Francis, sold their remaining shares in Laurel Park and Pimlico for a combined $18.3-million plus interest.

"One of the very best things that I did in 18 years as CEO of the Maryland Jockey Club was hire Lou Raffetto," De Francis said. "Words cannot really express what an outstanding job he did. The facts speak for themselves: The 15-year peace agreement with Rosecroft after more than ten years of fighting; the success the company enjoyed, not withstanding vicious competition from West Virginia and Delaware and now Pennsylvania; and the passage of slots legislation after 13 years of effort.

"Never has the Maryland Jockey Club enjoyed such good relations with the Maryland horsemen's association, the Maryland breeders, and the Maryland Racing Commission as they did under Lou's leadership."

Yes- Raffetto was dealt a bad hand in Maryland.
I believe Lou would be a refreshing change from Kulina who should have been fired years ago. But instead NJ cherishes and rewards political hacks.

Good info. What has Kulina done wrong?

[Bluto Blutarsky]

I'll ask you, what is Kulina doing right?

[Saratoga_Mike]

I'll ask you, what is Kulina doing right?

As I said, I don't know him from Adam, so I don't know. I thought you could shed some light on it. I honestly know nothing about him or his past decisions, but you seem to know a lot about him.