About six months until TOGA any predictions?
 

Here are a few of mine :

Limited capacity and not business as usual. I will say at this time 50% capacity but maybe 75% . In any event people will still be afraid to be around crowds at that time so attendance will naturally be way down.

Masks must be worn unless sitting down somewhere.

Less attendance means less people working at the track so certain areas will be closed off including food service and betting stations. They will heavily promote NYRA bets and betting from phone while at track.

Picnic tables and seating areas will be changed to accommodate social distancing.

Drive thru wagering should be available.

2022 back to business as usual

Hard to know without being able to figure out where we will be on vaccines.

I know POTUS said yesterday that we will have enough vaccine to vaccinate everyone by July. If that's the case, and the logistics are implemented for mass vaccinations, you could see a full attendance Saratoga meeting (and other full attendance events in the summer).

On the other hand, if that's over-optimistic, and we are in a summer of social distancing, then it will be similar to the decisions other sports are making, i.e., "how many people do we want to potentially kill in order to have spectators at our events?". You just saw with the Super Bowl that there are folks in the sports-business world who are willing to take quite a lot of risk in that regard. Who knows what NYRA is thinking?

i think they are going to break their all time record for handle as long as the weather permits and not that many races come off the turf.

I find it hard enough, and far more rewarding, to make my horse-racing predictions five minutes in advance.

I don’t think they can break handle records without the infusion of on track wagering. NYRA is already planning for a decline in attendance even if covid restrictions are lifted by July. Also tracks that have allowed patrons in have seen a decrease of amount wagered per person. In any event covid has caused permanent damage to on track attendance. I know of at least 2 people who were regulars at TOGA that will never go back.

As to wagering..Limiting wagering to NYRA Bets account holders won't work because in order to have a NYRA Bets account, one must have proof of NY residency.
So, people from neighboring states who want to come for the day to attend the races, would not be able to wager. That's not logical.
Closing off certain areas of the facility also lacks logic because such an idea limits the ability to distance from one another.

I'd like to see "never go back" put into context.
What are their reasons?
And, I think for every person who has vowed to never return, there are 10 who would leap at the chance to attend. In general, people are sick and tired of Covid lockdowns and the news media hammering away every week with another doom and gloom Covid story.
People are tired fatigued and pissed off. They want their ability to live their lives put back in order.

The Super Bowl LV date of play was 2/7. People wanting to be a part of the event started showing up a week before the game. So we are at 3 weeks from the start of people gathering in the Tampa area and two weeks since the game itself was played.
Give it about a week and let's see if there is a spike in cases.
After all, the news media in Florida( I was there on business 5 times between Jan 10th and last week) could talk about is how the Super Bowl was a "super spreader event in the making"...

why can't they open up their pools to other countries throughout the world?

there are plenty of people that stay up to bet on Hong Kong from our continent. why won't people from other places stay up to bet on a much better racing product with Saratoga?

Never go back never be back....they both died prematurely of covid and neither had underlying conditions. They loved Toga and visited the track a few weeks during the meet. I also know 3 people who took a bath financially this past year( covid related) and have put any kind of gambling on pause this year. They will not be visiting Toga this year as well. Like I said covid has crushed on track attendance permanently.

In regards to NYRA bets I’m not sure where you are coming from. I live in Massachusetts have a NYRA bets account and have wagered on and collected at the track. Touchless is the wave of the future and covid sped that up so you will see less tellers at the tracks from this point on.

NYRA Bets went National years ago. Most States allow you to be a member.

His notion of people not coming anymore is obviously silly. That spoke for itself:-)

OK. I did not know the rules governing NYRA Bets eligibility had changed.
That's cool.
IMO, there are lots of people( Count ME) just itching to be able to attend the Spa meet. Or racing anywhere for that matter.
Your thoughts?

Me? I like being in Saratoga too.

At the rate the virus is declining since the beginning of January and with vaccinations just starting to ramp up, by August we could be looking at much more relaxed rules than are being discussed now. That goes double for a racetrack that's mostly wide open and outdoors. Let's just hope the good news continues and the governor understands the difference between Madison Square Garden and the paddock/grandstand at Saratoga.

[QUOTE=classhandicapper;2702747]At the rate the virus is declining since the beginning of January and with vaccinations just starting to ramp up, by August we could be looking at much more relaxed rules than are being discussed now. That goes double for a racetrack that's mostly wide open and outdoors. Let's just hope the good news continues and the governor understands the difference between Madison Square Garden and the paddock/grandstand at Saratoga.[/QUOTE

I honestly hope that by the Saratoga meet that there will be zero restrictions and the track can be open to full capacity. Unfortunately because of covid track attendance will be naturally down. It’s silly to believe otherwise.