1905 people at Hollywood Park on Weds.

[Stillriledup]

That's it, 1905.

Less than 2,000 people showed up on a beautiful Wednesday June 16th, 2010.

What a shame.

[Java Gold@TFT]

They only got 12,000 to watch Zenyatta make history and get a bobblehead. Pretty pathetic.

[lamboguy]

the racing game reminds me of a place i knew south of boston called the "roseland ballroom". when ballroom dancing was popular the place had lines to get in the joint and you had to wait for hours to walk in on a good night, ballroom dancing became less and less popular and eventually the place only had a handful of people show up on a friday night. so the place stopped functioning as a ballroom for dancing, the lady that owned and ran the place was in her 80's back in the mid 80's when i met her. i worked out a deal and brought rock groups there on the weekends and i would up getting lines of people to pay and walk in the place. she died a few years latter and the place closed for good.

now i see this television show DANCING WITH THE STARS and all of a sudden ballroom dancing is revived due to ingenous people who figured out that people will like it if it is presented right. they put together teams of professional dancers and amateurs who had no experience with dancing. i watched every show last year with EMMETT SMITH in it, and boy did it look like he was having a great time. he and others love it because they are participants in it. what i am trying to bring up is that horseracing needs to focus on being a participant sport like it was for so many years in the past when it did very well. someone has to change their ways to get the ball rolling. otherwise next year hollywood will only have 1500 people there on a beautiful wednesday afternoon.

[onefast99]

the racing game reminds me of a place i knew south of boston called the "roseland ballroom". when ballroom dancing was popular the place had lines to get in the joint and you had to wait for hours to walk in on a good night, ballroom dancing became less and less popular and eventually the place only had a handful of people show up on a friday night. so the place stopped functioning as a ballroom for dancing, the lady that owned and ran the place was in her 80's back in the mid 80's when i met her. i worked out a deal and brought rock groups there on the weekends and i would up getting lines of people to pay and walk in the place. she died a few years latter and the place closed for good.

now i see this television show DANCING WITH THE STARS and all of a sudden ballroom dancing is revived due to ingenous people who figured out that people will like it if it is presented right. they put together teams of professional dancers and amateurs who had no experience with dancing. i watched every show last year with EMMETT SMITH in it, and boy did it look like he was having a great time. he and others love it because they are participants in it. what i am trying to bring up is that horseracing needs to focus on being a participant sport like it was for so many years in the past when it did very well. someone has to change their ways to get the ball rolling. otherwise next year hollywood will only have 1500 people there on a beautiful wednesday afternoon.
The fact is Americans are fixated on reality shows. Add in talented dancers who work with contestants like Emmitt Smith and spice it up with T&A and you have a winner.

[rgustafson]

That's it, 1905.

Less than 2,000 people showed up on a beautiful Wednesday June 16th, 2010.

What a shame.

Hey, at last they finally outdid Belmont where a throng of 2,700 packed the house.:D

[kenwoodall2]

the racing game reminds me of a place i knew south of boston called the "roseland ballroom". when ballroom dancing was popular the place had lines to get in the joint and you had to wait for hours to walk in on a good night, ballroom dancing became less and less popular and eventually the place only had a handful of people show up on a friday night. so the place stopped functioning as a ballroom for dancing, the lady that owned and ran the place was in her 80's back in the mid 80's when i met her. i worked out a deal and brought rock groups there on the weekends and i would up getting lines of people to pay and walk in the place. she died a few years latter and the place closed for good.

now i see this television show DANCING WITH THE STARS and all of a sudden ballroom dancing is revived due to ingenous people who figured out that people will like it if it is presented right. they put together teams of professional dancers and amateurs who had no experience with dancing. i watched every show last year with EMMETT SMITH in it, and boy did it look like he was having a great time. he and others love it because they are participants in it. what i am trying to bring up is that horseracing needs to focus on being a participant sport like it was for so many years in the past when it did very well. someone has to change their ways to get the ball rolling. otherwise next year hollywood will only have 1500 people there on a beautiful wednesday afternoon.
Maybe racing can do 2 things new- as you suggested have handicapping contest with teams of 1 expert and 1 clebrity. But Stronach at GP I beleive is already doing the other thing that TV shows do- arrange the venue so regardless of how few show up it always looks packed!

[GlenninOhio]

When all is said and done, Las Vegas hotels pay for their casino traffic.

Forget about the whales and all their perks - meat and potatoes players benefit from below market room rates, cheap meals, top notch entertainment at a very reasonable price and so on. This is nothing more than a subsidy to get traffic flowing through the casino.

Why wouldn't race tracks offer a free program and, say, a free $5 (or even $10) bet to all who show up? (And, of course, no admission charge - can you imagine a LV hotel charging admission to their casino?)

Are they afraid that everyone would show up for their free bet and leave? I guarantee you that anyone who makes decent money from the free mutuel ticket will run it back through the windows. Are they afraid of giving away money to their regulars who would be there anyway (all 2,000 of them)?

Maybe the Zenyatta bobblehead indicates this wouldn't work, but it sure seems worth a try. They could turn this deal off in a heartbeat if it didn't pop attendance.

[freehouse2002]

I was expecting them to have about 20,000 for the bobblehead, but then again, HP was being very tough on spinners. Not only that, if you had two tickets for the giveaway, they would only give you one....one per person! It was frustrating letting them know the other one was my mothers. I guess they didn't make enough bobbleheads.

As for Wednesday's attendance, I'm not surprised. People are at work, HP is a bitch to get home from if you have to come anywhere near the 110 and go thru downtown.

freehouse2002

[46zilzal]

Offer the product in your living room and what do you expect?

[Stillriledup]

Really good stuff guys.

To Glenn, i think racetracks don't offer stuff because they don't understand they are not a monopoly anymore. They are acting like they did in the 1960s. "we are the only game in town, take us or leave us"

I believe that Hollywood charges 8 dollars for grandstand admission? (Which means paying 8 bucks to 'stand' shoulder to shoulder with the riff raff)

Santa Anita, i believe, charges 4 dollars to PARK for SIMO and its probably another 5 to get in.

SA is charging 9 dollars to let you watch television.

[jamey1977]

Offer the product in your living room and what do you expect?
What you Race Track marketers need to do is lower the concession prices. You clowns are like old Video Store owners milking their only customers for late fees. Offer 1 dollar everything. Sodas. Popcorn, Beers. you can make them smaller. Free admission. 1 dollar everything. Bring in some bands. Hollywood Park is full of low-lifes in a bad area. My dad tells me every time he went there to Hollywood Park . Some low-lifes would say " Lend me 10 dollars. Hey man. You lend me 10 dollars ". And he had to say. " Look does it look like I hit, I don't have any money. " Where is the security ? . Taking the bus there. We would be mugged and stripped by the time we got on the bus. There has to be promo marketing for all of the tracks and the satellite ones who are not racing too. Give them a reason to go there. Bring in some Playmates or something. Playmates signing autographs. Do something. I am sick of seeing 1700 chain smokers smoking their frickin brains out plus we are treated like crap and milked for every penny we have. Start thinking smart. Marketing departments

[Stillriledup]

What you Race Track marketers need to do is lower the concession prices. You clowns are like old Video Store owners milking their only customers for late fees. Offer 1 dollar everything. Sodas. Popcorn, Beers. you can make them smaller. Free admission. 1 dollar everything. Bring in some bands. Hollywood Park is full of low-lifes in a bad area. My dad tells me every time he went there to Hollywood Park . Some low-lifes would say " Lend me 10 dollars. Hey man. You lend me 10 dollars ". And he had to say. " Look does it look like I hit, I don't have any money. " Where is the security ? . Taking the bus there. We would be mugged and stripped by the time we got on the bus. There has to be promo marketing for all of the tracks and the satellite ones who are not racing too. Give them a reason to go there. Bring in some Playmates or something. Playmates signing autographs. Do something. I am sick of seeing 1700 chain smokers smoking their frickin brains out plus we are treated like crap and milked for every penny we have. Start thinking smart. Marketing departments


Amazing post, Hollywood are YOU LISTENING

[JustRalph]

You gotta remember all the options you have in SoCal for recreation. Hell, there fifty different things a day you can do. And most don't make you wait 20 minutes between 2 minute twinges of excitement.

Sam Houston does almost everything suggested in this thread, or at least they did a few years back...........but the racing sucked.........and it showed.

Sam Houston had good food at a reasonable price. Nice places to sit and eat etc....... you only had to walk 50 feet to a teller............ who was polite and very very nice etc......... the buffet was great etc.......but the racing sucked. This was on Friday night.

On Saturday for 5 bucks you could get in the jockey club where you were treated with a Better Buffet Sweetheart tellers and a nice wait staff who filled your drink every ten minutes. There were about 10-15 of us playing. Btw, It was all simulcast until Saturday night. Again, there were 10-15 of us who I believe most stayed until the late night card. We moved from the Jockey Club to the Simulcast downstairs.........where it was clean and nice and we were treated well. But the place still had empty tables.

I think the crowds at the track are a thing of the past. That dang ole Internet put an end to it..........just like tons of other stuff.

[Stillriledup]

You gotta remember all the options you have in SoCal for recreation. Hell, there fifty different things a day you can do. And most don't make you wait 20 minutes between 2 minute twinges of excitement.

Sam Houston does almost everything suggested in this thread, or at least they did a few years back...........but the racing sucked.........and it showed.

Sam Houston had good food at a reasonable price. Nice places to sit and eat etc....... you only had to walk 50 feet to a teller............ who was polite and very very nice etc......... the buffet was great etc.......but the racing sucked. This was on Friday night.

On Saturday for 5 bucks you could get in the jockey club where you were treated with a Better Buffet Sweetheart tellers and a nice wait staff who filled your drink every ten minutes. There were about 10-15 of us playing. Btw, It was all simulcast until Saturday night. Again, there were 10-15 of us who I believe most stayed until the late night card. We moved from the Jockey Club to the Simulcast downstairs.........where it was clean and nice and we were treated well. But the place still had empty tables.

I think the crowds at the track are a thing of the past. That dang ole Internet put an end to it..........just like tons of other stuff.

90 % of all the tellers these days in racing seem to be outdated relics who give you a sneer when you dare make a wager with them. Lets hire some young, reasonably attractive men and women to take bets, i'm sure those bet takers would work for less money than the current tellers at Hollywood. If you are going to try and 'recruit' young people to racing, they need to see other young people at the track, even if those young people are employees.

[cosmo96]

So what if there arn't that many people at the track. Don't they make alot of money from online betting, simulcast, off track betting facilities, etc? Can someone please tell me how much profit comes from these sources? The tracks must do all right or they would not have there signal everywhere.

[andymays]

So what if there arn't that many people at the track. Don't they make alot of money from online betting, simulcast, off track betting facilities, etc? Can someone please tell me how much profit comes from these sources? The tracks must do all right or they would not have there signal everywhere.

They get a very small percentage of most of the online handle.

Simulcast facilities only get something like 2%.

The tracks made a very bad deal for themeselves years ago when they still thought people would come to the track instead of betting online.

[lamboguy]

They get a very small percentage of most of the online handle.

Simulcast facilities only get something like 2%.

The tracks made a very bad deal for themeselves years ago when they still thought people would come to the track instead of betting online.its different deals for different tracks, and different deals for casino's. casino's pay next to nothing for the new york signal, something like 3 1/2%. a racetrack would pay over 5%. and an adw will pay 8% for new york signals. i know of some tracks that don't charge a penny, and some that are only getting 1%. but those are very small guys with hardly any handle

adw's pay the most out of all of them for signals

[andymays]

its different deals for different tracks, and different deals for casino's. casino's pay next to nothing for the new york signal, something like 3 1/2%. a racetrack would pay over 5%. and an adw will pay 8% for new york signals. i know of some tracks that don't charge a penny, and some that are only getting 1%. but those are very small guys with hardly any handle

adw's pay the most out of all of them for signals

I was referring to California. I should have said that.

Horseplayerbet will know all this stuff.

[lamboguy]

the casino's in nevada are the largest volume wise for racetracks as far as i know. years ago they were even bigger. before parimutual, churchill downs in vegas would do over $500,000 in one day on new york racing. and more on california racing.

i can't fathom what has happened to cally racing lately. it is very frustrating for me to watch this game go down the tubes and knowing that it would be real easy to get it back up on its feet. andy, racing has done everything wrong, and they go out of their way to scare people away from this game, and they are doing a great job at that.

[andymays]

the casino's in nevada are the largest volume wise for racetracks as far as i know. years ago they were even bigger. before parimutual, churchill downs in vegas would do over $500,000 in one day on new york racing. and more on california racing.

i can't fathom what has happened to cally racing lately. it is very frustrating for me to watch this game go down the tubes and knowing that it would be real easy to get it back up on its feet. andy, racing has done everything wrong, and they go out of their way to scare people away from this game, and they are doing a great job at that.

On the 22nd all hell is going to break loose at this meeting. I think it will be a food fight and a fiasco but you never know. Maybe they'll get stuff straightened out. On the good side it looks like Santa Anita is committed to dirt. :ThmbUp:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get ready for an off-track horse racing showdown at Hollywood Park

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2010/06/get-ready-for-an-off-track-horse-racing-showdown-at-hollywood-park.html

Excerpt:

But don't look for the CHRB commissioners to be intimidated or receptive to Stronach's demands. They've had enough of his antics, based on comments at the last CHRB meeting. So it could be quite entertaining, with trainers and owners in attendance.

Excerpt:

As for Santa Anita's surface, track President George Haines said MI Developments has sent representatives to Argentina and Spain to look at dirt tracks. Santa Anita currently has a synthetic surface.

"It's going to be a dirt track," Haines said.

[Stillriledup]

On the 22nd all hell is going to break loose at this meeting. I think it will be a food fight and a fiasco but you never know. Maybe they'll get stuff straightened out. On the good side it looks like Santa Anita is committed to dirt. :ThmbUp:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get ready for an off-track horse racing showdown at Hollywood Park

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2010/06/get-ready-for-an-off-track-horse-racing-showdown-at-hollywood-park.html

Excerpt:

But don't look for the CHRB commissioners to be intimidated or receptive to Stronach's demands. They've had enough of his antics, based on comments at the last CHRB meeting. So it could be quite entertaining, with trainers and owners in attendance.

Excerpt:

As for Santa Anita's surface, track President George Haines said MI Developments has sent representatives to Argentina and Spain to look at dirt tracks. Santa Anita currently has a synthetic surface.

"It's going to be a dirt track," Haines said.


Wow that's the greatest news i've heard in a while. SA going to dirt would be awesome....that way, i can seriously bet for 4 months before taking off a bunch of months. I'm glad DMR is going to stay with Poly, i can enjoy my summers now like a real human being instead of staying up till 5am handicapping DMR and burning up my precious summers.

[ronsmac]

I hate to say it, but Racing is a dying if not allready dead sport. At my home track, Pimlico / Laurel. There are about 5 people under 40 that ever go there.

[takeout]

As for Santa Anita's surface, track President George Haines said MI Developments has sent representatives to Argentina and Spain to look at dirt tracks. Santa Anita currently has a synthetic surface.
Going to Argentina and Spain to look at dirt? What’s THAT all about?

[takeout]

On the 22nd all hell is going to break loose at this meeting. I think it will be a food fight and a fiasco but you never know. I want video!!

[takeout]

I hate to say it, but Racing is a dying if not allready dead sport.I agree. Worse case of suicide I ever saw.

[andymays]

Going to Argentina and Spain to look at dirt? What’s THAT all about?


That's what they do in California. What can I say. :eek:

[BlueShoe]

When all is said and done, Las Vegas hotels pay for their casino traffic.

Forget about the whales and all their perks - meat and potatoes players benefit from below market room rates, cheap meals, top notch entertainment at a very reasonable price and so on. This is nothing more than a subsidy to get traffic flowing through the casino.
Wish that this were true, but the above is the way LV was decades ago, not the way it is today. Back when the mob was running things, the casino was expected to pick up the tab for all the other departments, and bargains were common. Today, with corporate MBA's running things, all branches are expected to show a profit. The problem is that this type of thinking and management has spread to the racing world. The creative marketing suggested in other posts would force these men to think beyond just the bottom line, ie, outside the box, and many would not be willing to do so.