Tioga Up With Lower Take; Vernon Down

[DeanT]

Handle Numbers On The Rise At Tioga
Aug 4 Tioga Downs lowered its takeout rates to state minimums for the 2010 race season, and the numbers have shown promise as they continue to rise. In July Tioga Downs was up in its live racing handle by eight per cent, and watched its export number grow for the second straight month by 21 per cent. For the year Tioga Downs is down one per cent on live handle, but is up in export by 13 per cent compared to 2009. The import number at Tioga in July picked up by 25 per cent, and for the year is up by four and a half per cent.

“These are the types of numbers we were hoping for when we took on the lower takeout rate initiative this year. It is encouraging to see numbers grow at this rate, and we hope to keep it up through our 2010 race meet. With all of the bad news in our industry as of late it is good to see that with hard work and just a few changes we can make a positive impact here at Tioga,” said Jason Settlemoir, VP of Racing and Simulcast.

Conversely, at Vernon Downs, the HHA of CNY refused an agreement with management for lower takeout rates, and the Vernon Downs export numbers for 2010 are down more than 13 per cent in 2010.

[harness2008]

I have been a long time upstate NY resident and Vernon Downs has been my home racetrack now for about 40 years. I remember the days of the old Grand Circuit week and the jam packed grandstand that was commonplace back in the day. I am not at all surprised that an agreement could not be reached for lowering the take at this track.

Vernon Downs ran into some hard financial times due to mismanagement in the late 90's and actually closed its doors for a while. New management in the 2000's instilled some confidence to the return of the glory days with the addition of a racino built on the property of the racetrack. This is the only reason there is still racing on these grounds.

Vernon promotes its sister track on a continuing basis and I am sure that it is reciprocal with Tioga Downs also, however I do believe that there are different managing partners for both tracks. It struck me as rather odd that Tioga Downs would initiate the lower track take which through speculation by the powers that be, all considered a step in the right direction however Vernon Downs did not follow suit. This will inevitably lead to their demise.

An on track racino can go only so far in sustaining a racetrack and if management cannot come to some form of agreement to lower the take as Tioga has done, I don't see Vernon keeping afloat in the coming years. On track attendance is still dwindling here as well as handle regardless of the promotions that have been implemented. I am not putting the kiss of death on this or any other racetrack but there needs to be more of an effort the likes of Tioga Downs to save this dying industry or a friend that I have had for some 40 years now will be long forgotten in the coming years.

I will be there on the August 14th weekend which is part of the Back to the Track promotion to see if more people are interested in attending the races here in person. I admire the racetracks in general for promotions such as these and they need to do these sorts of things on a continuing basis to help promote their business and to infuse new blood into this game. I am just hoping that in the future the powers that be who run this racetrack and others follow in the footsteps of Tioga Downs, a track which seems to comprehend which side their bread is buttered on.