Do you Support the Extension of the Saratoga Meet?
 

:3x:

I love Saratoga. From a business perspective it is most likely a better money maker then dates at Belmont, however, the window is closing for a maximum amount of dates that would take away from this special meet.

the one thing i have learned about the racing industry is that every time they try to change something they put a fork in the game. the saratoga meet is not broke yet, i would leave the baby alone!

Agreed
 

while i support the longer meet, they should scale back to a 5 day week and be dark Tuesday andd Wednesday.

I think it's a mistake. NYRA is simply spreading the same number of people over more dates. Since the meet went from 30 to 36 now 40 dates, attendance on Mon, Weds and Thurs has not been what it was. And Typically Saratoga attendance almost is dismal the week after the Travers.
Not only that, the facility takes a pounding over a longer meet. I think a month long meet is plenty. Either than or the week should go to 5 days.
Oh, I think the Travers Stakes should be run on Labor Day weekend. In the northeast, that is the traditional end of the summer season. Why not go out with a bang.
I realize that it is Saratoga traditon to run the Schuylerville on openoing day and the Hopeful on closing weekend. Sometimes things have to be adjusted. I see no harm in running the Travers on closing weekend. This would place the Jim Dandy 5 or 6 weeks out front of the Travers. Hmmmm.

Does it matter?

Hey stranger,back for spa,huh. ;)
You got a point. :ThmbUp:

I support a 24 day meet upstate.

And a 24 day Fall Championship Meet downstate
with the return of The Marlboro Cup, Woodward Stakes etc.

5 days a week is plentiful. http://i27.tinypic.com/548tom.jpg
6 days a week is going to be a grind. I want to see the Saratoga of old.

Synopsis......


1. Less Saratoga is better for Monmouth

2. Can't figure this one out given it is so far removed from reality.

3. 5 days a week is the " Saratoga of old? "


Translation.....Monmouth=Good, NYRA=Bad.

We got it a long time ago.

I support the extension of the Saratoga meet. I actually believe the best thing for NY racing would be 8 weeks at Saratoga with 5 days of racing each week. The meet could start around the July 2nd and run till Aug 29 and come back to Belmont for Labor Day weekend. Just my opinion.

I think NYRA has to calculate for itself how to maximize the money it can make, but personally I think the meet has been in free fall for years.

The thing that always made Saratoga special for me (aside from the beauty of the place and my annual vacation there) was the steady supply of high quality racing. I used to look forward to all the stakes and other high quality races being carded on such a regular basis.

Now, with the meet extended so much, it has been watered down so badly it has lost much of its appeal to me as a fan. I used to anxiously buy the DRF every day. Now the meet reminds me more of another version of the Belmont fall meet. You could get away with buying the weekend cards and not miss much.

I agree with what you said. To take it a step further,if you look at the horses running at Belmont,it has become an extension of winter racing. With that said,I still believe racing 8 weeks,5days a week would be good for NY racing. I also believe if you are going to add races to the card,it would be better to have an earlier post time,especially at Belmont. At Saratoga,I would like a earlier post time,but I understand that people are there on vacation and they probably don't mind staying later. At Belmont,most of the regular customers would prefer an earlier post time when there are 10 or more races.
Another thing,I would like to see is less time in between races. A large percentage of the handle is bet in the last 3 minutes,so there really is no need to have 35 minutes between races. If the game was sped up,it might attract some new fans.

Agreed.

But actually it is more like 40 to 45 minutes between races.
Especially on the weekends.

That includes factoring in the obligatory scratch(es) at the gate
and the re-load process.

Does your nose grow when you post?

I voted no because I think the meet is probably just fine as is...if they want to extend it, I think they need to wait and see how the industry does over the next year...adding days just might dilute the incredible appeal of the meet by way of 'too much of a good thing'.