Quote:
Originally Posted by dilanesp
And a major point here-- we sustained this even for years after other markets declined. I remember the first time I went to see a race in New York, the 1986 Marlboro Cup. And I was shocked at the tiny crowd at Belmont Park-- because that sort of race would easily draw 50,000 at Santa Anita. NYRA's attendance for everything but the Belmont and Travers was terrible at that point (and even their Belmont crowds were much lower than what they draw now). California was flying high.
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No - it wasn't 50K, and the comment after the attendance speaks somewhat to your point, but from a Russ Harris article in the Blood-Horse about 1986 Marlboro Cup day:
"Bettors in a crowd of 29,183, the largest of the meeting so far, had trouble deciding on a favorite."
I would hesitate to call 29K "tiny" - you could hide a lot of people in those cavernous stands and ample grounds!
More gleanings from the Harris article:
1986's Marlboro, which wound up with 7 entrants but scratched down to 5, didn't really feature any "big time" NY based horse that might have drawn more of a crowd. Turkoman was West Coast, Precisionist had shipped in for the Woodward and stayed on. One of the East Coast "big name" entrants, Ogygian - at that point 8-7-1-0 lifetime with 3 Gr Is - went in the $300K Pegasus at the Meadowlands the night before the Marlboro. (Santa Anita didn't deal with that kind of "local" competition for horses.
) Lady's Secret wasn't going to run if Precisionist did (and she didn't).
