Mountaineer

[Buddha]

It is looking like Mountaineer's 2004 schedule might be in for a delay. There are talks of not racing until January 19 unless there is an agreement between horsemen and management about the number of racing days, and probably other little things.

[Zaf]

I noticed that they cut the Friday Night Card. I liked playing the MNR/HOU Daily Double on Friday Nights.

ZAFONIC

[Buddha]

The Fridays are/were only to be cut until May, then they would race 5 days through the summer, and back to four around October

[BillW]

Another reminder ... HOU switches over to a Th -> Su schedule after the first of the year.

Bill

[garyoz]

Just curious, why would they cut back to 4 racing days? There doesn't appear to be any shortage of horses. The races almost always have 10 starters with plenty of AE's waiting to get in. I was under the impression that the purse structure was in good shapes because of the slots.

[Zaf]

They give a lot of purse money away and the on track handle is very poor. That extra night of racing costs them in excess of 100K in purses.

ZAFONIC

[Buddha]

Originally posted by garyoz
Just curious, why would they cut back to 4 racing days? There doesn't appear to be any shortage of horses. The races almost always have 10 starters with plenty of AE's waiting to get in. I was under the impression that the purse structure was in good shapes because of the slots.

During the winter it was fairly normal for them to cut back to 4 race nights. I think part of it has to do with the worse weather and less of a chance to get a cancellation. Also, management has to run a minimum of 210 days, and that is all they applied for next year. I heard the horsemen wanted 230, and I think 10 races a night. When they were going to go to 4 nights, they were actually going to go with 9 races.

As for the handle, they get close to $2 million a night wiht the simulcast. The sad thing is the on track handle. Last night they had a whopping 2% of handle on track. Like 51,000 of 1.9 mill was ontrack.

Basically the whole thing is management trying to skimp costs (seems like they always try to) and horsemen wanting what is really right for them.

For the difference of 20 racing days, it would be about 2-3 million in purses. I don't think that it would really hurt MNR too much with the slots. I mean the machines (slots) especially on the weekends are packed.

[Zaf]

What percent of the off - track handle do they get ???

ZAFONIC

[Buddha]

I believe I heard somewhere in the neighborhood of 3%. Not much, but better than nothing.

I was also talking to an owner earlier today, and he said there is a lot more than just the number of days.

One of the things I know he mentioned had to do with the dorm they are building on the backside for the grooms. I heard originally it was going to be $100 a month for them, and that was what they were told, and now the track wants to charge $250 a month.

Another complaint they have is to do with the track conditions and the way they are taken care of.

Something that I have often wondered about is I have heard they race at night because they are one of the few and that it will increase their handle. I think that they could get the 1-2 mill a day if they raced in the afternoon as most of the "big" players play in the day. I know they would have to compete with the likes of NYRA, Kentucky, etc, but do you guys think that htey would lose a lot of handle by doing so? At least during the winter when the temps can be cold at night, at least they would be about 10 or so degrees warmer in the day and less of a chance of the freezing tracks while they are racing.

[garyoz]

I love playing the Mountain. But, I think if they raced during the day they would get killed. Too much competition. I don't think that I would play them. I don't play all the tracks I would like to now during the day. I think the big bettors would also be too distracted. They have a great niche and regular fan base carved out now. I was disappointed when they moved the W.Va. Derby card to the day. I'm not sure what their handle was that day. Plus, they would lose TVG coverage if they ran during the day (at least on weekends). As I recall, Meadowlands tried to move to daytime racing during weekdays about 6 or 8 years ago because their horsemen insisted. That one season experiment was a disaster. But then again the Meadowlands has been on a 10 year slide.

[BillW]

Originally posted by Buddha

Something that I have often wondered about is I have heard they race at night because they are one of the few and that it will increase their handle. I think that they could get the 1-2 mill a day if they raced in the afternoon as most of the "big" players play in the day. I know they would have to compete with the likes of NYRA, Kentucky, etc, but do you guys think that htey would lose a lot of handle by doing so? At least during the winter when the temps can be cold at night, at least they would be about 10 or so degrees warmer in the day and less of a chance of the freezing tracks while they are racing.

Buddha,

I know HOU gets killed in the day.

Bill

[Buddha]

Originally posted by garyoz
I love playing the Mountain. But, I think if they raced during the day they would get killed. Too much competition. I don't think that I would play them. I don't play all the tracks I would like to now during the day. I think the big bettors would also be too distracted. They have a great niche and regular fan base carved out now. I was disappointed when they moved the W.Va. Derby card to the day. I'm not sure what their handle was that day. Plus, they would lose TVG coverage if they ran during the day (at least on weekends). As I recall, Meadowlands tried to move to daytime racing during weekdays about 6 or 8 years ago because their horsemen insisted. That one season experiment was a disaster. But then again the Meadowlands has been on a 10 year slide.

Never thought about the TVG coverage. As for WV derby Day, here it is.

Track Attendance: 16204 Handle $306,601
Off Track Wagering Attendance: Handle $2,207,310

I think I heard tehy were hoping for 4-5 mill, but the first 2 or 3 races were not on simulcast because espn knocked something outta the satellite when they tried to tie in. Not sure how much more that would have added to the pool.

[Buddha]

It is now official. Here is an article from a local paper.

http://www.reviewonline.com/news/story/12312003_new01racing.asp

A few snipets.

Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort reportedly is cancelling live racing for four days beginning Saturday after it was unable to come to terms on a new annual contract with its horsemen.


The reason given to the racing commission for the cancellations was that the track had not reached agreement on a new contract with the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. The existing contract expires after Dec. 31.


The cancellations would "allow more time to negotiate" with the HBPA, Mountaineer told the commission, according to Sidiropolis.

Chuck Bailey, president of the Mountaineer Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, said HBPA attorney Harry Buch notified him Thursday afternoon they had lost their bid for an injunction in U.S. District Court in Wheeling. They had sought to use a simulcasting agreement between the track and horsemen to force the track to add more days of racing.