Meadowlands - It's A Wrap

[Pacingguy]

http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/041511_Bidder_for_Meadowlands_says_reopening_is_do ubtful.html

[Postime]

Turn out the lights the partys over...Dandy Don

[funnsss1]

thats the start of racing as we know it ending.

[bigeastbeast]

Doesn't the state have an obligation to host the Hambletonian for the next 2 years?

[lamboguy]

i have no idea if the state has an obligation or not, but i don't blame christie on this one, he is doing what he is supposed to do for the citizen's of his state. this shutdown is a problem of the racing game itself not the state. meadowlands should not have been allowed to run a business the way they did for the last 6 years and neither should any other racetrack. they were handed the purse money by the casino's to make something of their sport and racing allowed the product to deteriorate to the point where the union got the upper hand and had the place shut down. this is just step one to other places closing their doors. the sad fact is that even with fewer race tracks in existance, it will not make the ones left standing structurally sound either unless they completely revamp the industry.

[Ray2000]

Still trying..?

http://www.harnessracingupdate.com/?CFID=51945029&CFTOKEN=11562010


the union representing the members of the
track's closed circuit TV department agreed to accept
Gural's cuts. The union representing security guards did
the same Thursday. Besides the teller's union, Gural must
still reach an agreement with the parking department
workers and a building trades union, but said he was mak-
ing progress with both.

[Ray2000]

1. Gural still says the odds are "even money" they will reach agreement

2. Hambo week will still be at BigM

3. I know I've been out of touch with the real working world for 5 years, but $24/hour to stand behind a window and do what the customer is doing at the wall machine, seems unreasonable....


.

[Sea Biscuit]

1. Gural still says the odds are "even money" they will reach agreement

2. Hambo week will still be at BigM

3. I know I've been out of touch with the real working world for 5 years, but $24/hour to stand behind a window and do what the customer is doing at the wall machine, seems unreasonable....


.

Even though I am not speaking from any personal experience but I heard that those Meds tellers were real nasty to customers and in no way helped promote harness racing.

[mirror Image]

I used to go to Big M anywhere from 3-5 days a week when I live in N.Y. and found no difference in the tellers from any other tracks that I've been to.
There was some bad apples but thats the same as any other place.

Big M is/was 99.9% of my bets and would hate to see them close.

[Canarsie]

Even though I am not speaking from any personal experience but I heard that those Meds tellers were real nasty to customers and in no way helped promote harness racing.

I'm not defending the tellers but believe it or not there was more money bet on site for the night flat tracks than the Meadowlands.

It was the NJSEA's job to promote harness racing though I would admit a bad teller experience would drive someone away. When I used to frequent Yonkers and hang at the bar the teller would always give us a heads up when he was closing. Always threw him a few bucks he was a nice guy who tried to take care of us. Always let us know what was the last race they were taking at Balmoral and Northfield.

[mirror Image]

Would it be possible to have the races at big M without any tellers and just atm's ? Years ago I remember I think it was Yonker's tellers were on strike and they held the races without them, but OTB was open then.

[Robert Goren]

The tellers could work for nothing and that place wouldn't show a profit.

[Canarsie]

The tellers could work for nothing and that place wouldn't show a profit.

Have you ever been there and saw with your own eyes how many people are there for simulcasting? I'll tell you one thing on a average weekend there are at least 3 times the population of Hampton there when there's not live racing.

[GregReinhart]

By volume, the Meadowlands is the largest simulcast parlor in the United States. The loss of the Meadowlands would have an effect on handles at every track in the nation.

[Robert Goren]

Simulcasting is gold mine when done right. It is the cost of live racing that is putting the hurt on profits. If you got rid of the live racing and just ran an OTW site there, the place would make money even at current teller wages. I don't think anybody is denying that.

[Canarsie]

Simulcasting is gold mine when done right. It is the cost of live racing that is putting the hurt on profits. If you got rid of the live racing and just ran an OTW site there, the place would make money even at current teller wages. I don't think anybody is denying that.

That's not what you said look at your quote.

"The tellers could work for nothing and that place wouldn't show a profit".

You redboarding now?