Frustrated

[Charlie]

I live 5 minutes from Rockingham Park in Salem NH. Firstly, live racing is cancelled thanks to the state of NH. They removed from their budget the money needed to support a racing commission and now the only other track I enjoy betting, (Yonkers) has decided not to allow the Rock to acquire their signal, because they don't have live racing. No live racing and now no Yonkers. I am frustrated.

On another note, is anyone familiar with Bud Smith's handicapping software, Ultrapix? Any feedback would be appreciated.

[sonnyp]

charlie,

gotta love the politicians ! they legislate, and legislate ...... they control everything.... but they don't know their ass from a hole in the ground .

really ridiculous.

[Charlie]

Yes, they are the ones responsible for the mess at Rockingham. For 7 years now, the Rock has been trying to get expanded gambling approved. Just this year, it finally passed through the senate, but once again it was voted down in the House. It's now on the table once again, but I am not holding my breath on its approval. I have seen the architectural drawings of what Rockingham could look like. It would be beautiful and include a new modern track for both harness and thoroughbred. They are ready to put 450 million into the rennovation, but need NH to approve it. I can't understand their resistance as the revenue produced by the new Rockingham would be a huge boost to their state. But in the meantime, things at the Rock are getting worse. The palce is falling apart, no live racing and no Yonkers. I just wonder what other tracks may pull the plug on their signal. I have been going to Rock for some 50 years and am hopeful the State will wake up and approve the new plans.

[lamboguy]

Yes, they are the ones responsible for the mess at Rockingham. For 7 years now, the Rock has been trying to get expanded gambling approved. Just this year, it finally passed through the senate, but once again it was voted down in the House. It's now on the table once again, but I am not holding my breath on its approval. I have seen the architectural drawings of what Rockingham could look like. It would be beautiful and include a new modern track for both harness and thoroughbred. They are ready to put 450 million into the rennovation, but need NH to approve it. I can't understand their resistance as the revenue produced by the new Rockingham would be a huge boost to their state. But in the meantime, things at the Rock are getting worse. The palce is falling apart, no live racing and no Yonkers. I just wonder what other tracks may pull the plug on their signal. I have been going to Rock for some 50 years and am hopeful the State will wake up and approve the new plans.
this one can't be blamed on the politions. try the carney and kneeland family's for no interest in the place at all. poor lou smith is rolling over in his grave today looking down from horseowner heaven and seeing what became of his pride and joy for so many years. before meadowlands, rockingham park had 20,000 people on a wednesday night watching and betting on harness racing. when lou smith had the place horseracing there was the august place to be, saratoga took over from there.

[Robert Goren]

Anybody who thinks expanded gambling is going to save racing needs to have their head examined. Expanded gambling is one of major reasons that horse racing is in the shape it is in today.

[lamboguy]

Anybody who thinks expanded gambling is going to save racing needs to have their head examined. Expanded gambling is one of major reasons that horse racing is in the shape it is in today.
that's all true, but the machines were definately a shot in the arm that racetrack owners refused to take advantage of. racetrack owners along with horsemen have ignored the game due to the easy money that slots do bring to the table. the people that run yonkers seem like they are commited to improving their sport and realise that there is going to come a time when they don't keep all that slot money due to the states that they are in being broke, so they will reach in harder.

i see some very disapointing race track pools every day now. they seem to be getting smaller and smaller for whatever reason they claim.

rockingham park had 20,000 people there on a wed. night in february with the temperatures below zero 35 years ago. they charged $3.00 to get into the clubhouse and $3.00 to park your car, and $1.00 for a program. they had lines at the beer stand paying $2.50 for a beer and saugy hot dogs were going for $1.00. the place made lots of money. they had people in line in the summer time paying $25 for a box in the clubhouse. those days are all but gone now.

[Charlie]

You can't blame the owners. There the ones hanging in there as long as possible. Why should they put any money into fixing the place? One of 2 things will be happening. There either going to rennovate if the politicians okay their plans or sell if they don't. There is so much land at Rock and a bundle can be made for them if they sold. I credit them for hanging in there. And hasn't expanded gambling hepled other tracks, why not the Rock???? So its not the owners, but rather the politicians. Why should people in Mass and NH be supporting Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun? Let the money stay around our own area.

[lamboguy]

You can't blame the owners. There the ones hanging in there as long as possible. Why should they put any money into fixing the place? One of 2 things will be happening. There either going to rennovate if the politicians okay their plans or sell if they don't. There is so much land at Rock and a bundle can be made for them if they sold. I credit them for hanging in there. And hasn't expanded gambling hepled other tracks, why not the Rock???? So its not the owners, but rather the politicians. Why should people in Mass and NH be supporting Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun? Let the money stay around our own area.
please, wake up and smell the coffee. those guys have dismantledthat place for the last 25 years. they took great picnic grounds an turned it into the rockingham mall, they have been pushing bingo instead of racing for quite some time now. they wanted to close the whole place down and sell the land to developers right after they took the place over, the only thing that stopped them were the politions otherwise this conversation would have been dead right there and then.

they also claimed that they wanted to run a harness meet, but when the state decided that the proceeds from the harness meet made no sense in a racing comission they gave into rockingham like they did with seabrook.

those guys deserve nothing, yet it looks like massachusetts is getting slots so it will happen there too.

[Pacingguy]

Actually, I don't blame Yonkers horsemen for withholding the okay to export to Rockingham. When there was racing at Rockingham, horsemen got a percentage of the handle there. With no racing, who pockets that money?

If tracks can get simulcasting without conducting live racing, wouldn't more of them just drop live racing? I am all for contracting race dates; not eliminating racetracks.

[Charlie]

Pacing Guy.... I agree with you 100%. I am just afraid other tracks will follow and not allow their signal to be acquired by Rockingham. But still, I don't blame Rockingham Park for the mess. NH wanted Rock to sustain the complete cost of the needed racing commission. I doubt other states expect there tracks to sustain the WHOLE cost. The state received more than 2.5 million each year from the Rock in fees and taxes. Like I said, I do understand the Yonkers decision, but I don't understand the States decision to pull the plug on live racing.

[markgoldie]

I don't understand any of the reasoning here. Why in the world would Yonkers management or the Yonkers horsemen decide to deny the signal to Rockingham? This makes absolutely zero sense and while I am certainly aware that humans do things that make no sense all the time, this amounts to blowing your foot off just because you own a gun.

There are ADW's all over the place that are taking the Yonkers signal, allowing wagering on their races and none of them "run race meets" and never have. Additionally, I have never heard of out-of-state protection for ADW use of a signal. Most, if not all, states do not allow ADW's to accept wagers from in-state patrons and the reason for that is that in-system wagering is much more profitable than the small percentage points which they charge for out-of-system access to their wagering pools. And so they want to keep at least in-state players using their system, rather than a foreign wagering portal. But The Rock is in NH and it seems implausible that Yonkers would expect these people to travel to Yonkers to make their wagers. So any business lost at Rock would simply go to other ADW's or be totally lost. Where's the sense in that?

In short, there must be either legal or other issues that went into this decision.

[Charlie]

MarkGoldie... I was told by someone at Rockingham that the reason Yonkers pulled their signal was because of no live racing. I have e.mailed the Yonkers
racing department and if I do get their explanation, I will certainly post it here. But really, I won't be holding my breath waiting for their response.

[Charlie]

Now the Meadowlands and Saratoga have pulled their signal from the Rock, and yes, it's because of NO LIVE RACING. Smaller tracks signal may remain, but the bigger ones evidentally will not. Hopefully, once they understand it wasn't Rock's fault for no live racing, but rather the state of NH's, the signal may be restored. But until then, there's always Plainridge and Harrington.

[LottaKash]

Now the Meadowlands and Saratoga have pulled their signal from the Rock, But until then, there's always Plainridge and Harrington.

Yuck....:eek: ...stagnant & boring...

I feel for you Charlie, I really do...Hopefully that will change for you...& soon I hope...:jump:

best,

[Charlie]

LottaKash... your right, but what can I do? I am very hopeful that things will revert back to the way they were. Like I said before, Rockingham is trying to explain there side of the story and hopefully Saratoga, Yonkers and the Meadowlands will eventually understand. But until then, my playing time will be much less. And by the way, Good Luck with your Book.

[LottaKash]

LottaKash... your right, but what can I do? I am very hopeful that things will revert back to the way they were. Like I said before, Rockingham is trying to explain there side of the story and hopefully Saratoga, Yonkers and the Meadowlands will eventually understand. But until then, my playing time will be much less. And by the way, Good Luck with your Book.

Thx Charlie for the kind words.....As for playing, patience will help you with those tracks, be watchful, as there is always a time or two, when you catch the crowd looking the other way, and you can capitalize on those mistakes at those tracks....GL with that, it will make a man out of you....:jump:...I feel for you tho...

PS...I fondly remember the early days at the Rock, when I was a groom for a time....Had a lot of fun and good times back then...

best,

[Pacingguy]

For the record, it needs to be pointed out that it is most likely not the track pulling the signals but the horsemen who have the right to approve or pull the plug on the exporting of their signal to tracks.

It should be pointed out that in NJ, the tracks pay the expenses of having the NJRC (but the state doesn't get any of the takeout). So, if New Hampshire wasn't taking any revenue from the takeout, it wouldn't be unfair to ask Rockingham to pay for the racing commission IF the state didn't take any other revnue from the takeout. I assume the state is wanting to double dip.

[Charlie]

I am pretty sure that is exactly what happened. The State (NH) hasn't done anything positive for Rockingham in recent times. The Rock definitely wanted to bring live racing back, but NH wanted them to pay the complete cost of funding the needed racing commission. I was told the cost was huge and Rock worked with the state since last September in an attempt to reach an agreement. Rock just couldn't hold out any longer as the horseman had to be allowed to make other plans. Totally unbelievable.

Yes LottaKash, I too remember the good old days when the place was packed and the leading drivers were Jo Hogan, Day, Copeland, Doherty, and Wing. I lover those days and maybe if expanded gambling is passed, those days could possibly return with the advent of huge purses. Rock plans to put in a modern track and bring back both thoroughbreds and harness, like they did had the old days. I for one can only hope. And maybe your book and Pandy's will be available by then.

[Charlie]

For those interested, here is the story behind no live racing. Last year, when the budget was finalized, the politicians decided to cut funding for a racing commission. The commission is a state run department and is needed to host
live racing. This commission is made up of state workers not associated with Rockingham Park. When funding was cut, the state expected Rockingham to pay the total cost, estimated at $600,000 dollars. Rockingham could ot afford to do this and therefore, live racing was canceled. This was soley the fault of the politicians in NH, but now tracks such as Yonkers, the Meadowlands and Saratoga are punishing Rockingham and its customers. This synopsis is something I have read and heard many times since racing was canceled. I just hope things improve and the signals are allowed back. And then in 2011, live racing will return.

[LottaKash]

Yes LottaKash, I too remember the good old days when the place was packed and the leading drivers were Jo Hogan, Day, Copeland, Doherty, and Wing.

Charlie, Ted Wing, remains, even unto this day, one of my all time favorites....He was as good a Trainer as a Driver....A real gentleman and a darned good horseman....Wish there were more like him these days....Steady as they came...:jump:...I always followed, almost religiously, any horse that he claimed or purchased for himself... I would just sit & wait for the right spot, and he would give it his all, in those spots...

No knock against the others either....Good Racers, all...:jump:

best,

[Charlie]

LK.... Wing was great, but my favorite was Jo Hogan. In fact, when Rock hosted a few turf races last year, Hogan was the first driver to win on the turf surface. And I was lucky to have him at I believe 9-1. He is now 67, but still does okay. Today at Plainridge he has Southwind Night, morning line of 4-1 and I think he has an excellent chance to win. He showed alot of improvement in his last race going to the 1/4 in 27.1. Well anyway, once again good luck with your book.