Time for Contraction

[Tom]

I can't help thinking that if they did preliminary vet inspections the morning of... rather than wait until the horses approach the gate:

There would have been 396 scratches.

[Jeff P]

I didn't think of that.



-jp

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[Jeff P]

In case anyone in the industry is wondering what I'm talking about:

There were only two tracks running when I posted that there were 395 scratches in the XML: ASD and FPK.

Now (as I type this) there are 398 scratches in the XML.

I hung around this late because I had a play in the last race at FPK (or so I thought.)

But two horses scratched out of the last race at FPK. And that caused the pace complexion of the race to change.

As a result I no longer have a play.

Yet here it is -- about one minute before midnight eastern -- and I hung around watching.

I definitely feel like there's bait and switch going on.


-jp

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[acorn54]

i am sorry if my ignorance shows, but i am not at all familiar with the money structure in horseracing. does horse racing need the money that they get from horse bettors to keep on running their enterprise. also the downward trend in horse racing must have an effect on the other businesses related to horse racing. if i may be so bold cj, has the poor environment in horse betting affected your business of selling racing info?

[cj]

Originally Posted by acorn54

i am sorry if my ignorance shows, but i am not at all familiar with the money structure in horseracing. does horse racing need the money that they get from horse bettors to keep on running their enterprise. also the downward trend in horse racing must have an effect on the other businesses related to horse racing. if i may be so bold cj, has the poor environment in horse betting affected your business of selling racing info?

I really have no idea on the business side. I just make the figures and do some webcasts and such and I'm still getting paid.

[ReplayRandall]

Originally Posted by cj

I really have no idea on the business side. I just make the figures and do some webcasts and such and I'm still getting paid.

A nice humble statement from a working man, but I've got something to add CJ, and it's this; You are now in the shoes of a man who, at the time, revolutionized horse racing with creating a "number", the Beyer figure. I know you don't have the ego to ever say this, so I'll say it....You Craig, are horse racing's new version of "the numbers" creator. Bettors, trainers and jockeys look at YOUR figures now, as it's a huge responsibility to produce those accurate figures day in and day out with little or no fanfare.

In closing, I know you've personally had a tough year with your father's passing and different health issues with you and your family members. This site, Paceadvantage, gave you your break as you've acknowledged to Mike and the rest of us....It's an honor to have met you here, and I hope to see you face-to-face in the near future.

Much Respect,

Randall

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by ReplayRandall

A nice humble statement from a working man, but I've got something to add CJ, and it's this; You are now in the shoes of a man who, at the time, revolutionized horse racing with creating a "number", the Beyer figure. I know you don't have the ego to ever say this, so I'll say it....You Craig, are horse racing's new version of "the numbers" creator. Bettors, trainers and jockeys look at YOUR figures now, as it's a huge responsibility to produce those accurate figures day in and day out with little or no fanfare.

In closing, I know you've personally had a tough year with your father's passing and different health issues with you and your family members. This site, Paceadvantage, gave you your break as you've acknowledged to Mike and the rest of us....It's an honor to have met you here, and I hope to see you face-to-face in the near future.

Much Respect,

Randall

It sounds like you are buttering him up for a loan. I TOLD you not to be so quick in shorting the market.

Just joking, Randall. Cj is all class...and definitely an invaluable asset to this game. Alas...his timing leaves something to be desired, seeing that his breakthrough occurred during our game's steady decline...whereas Beyer made his appearance during the hey-days of the game. Nevertheless...I too wish him nothing but the best in all his future endeavors. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

[stuball]

Why not penalize the trainers that scratch by taking away part of their purse the next race the horse runs or the next race the trainer runs a horse..Let them pay for their misdeeds..Let them cry and scream this is ridiculous. And if you don't run a horse and board them at the track then penalize them for that..but they try nothing nothing nothing as rome burns

Stuball

[burnsy]

Monday at Saratoga they could not fill the feature race....canceled. There was an earlier stakes race in the meet that drew 3 horses. Had to be the first race. They are offering people 10k just to run and cant fill em. Then I hear this guy on TV that's sick of hearing about the "State of the game", its great he claims........

Just rattling off handle and attendance on Whitney Day is not a true prognosis of this game. Its freaking Whitney Day, the track is a vacation destination there are always a boat load of younger people that day. It was no different than any other busy day here. I've been going here for 40 something years. There are not even enough horses to fill stakes races at Saratoga! When they are giving money away!

Get out of your bubble, maybe you might see that there's a problem. What world are these people living in? Denial will never fix what's happening, that just makes it worse and I had more than one guy approach me laughing out loud at those statements. Plus, it was on Capital OTB, what are they down to, 3 guys and shows only during the Saratoga meet.........yeah, its just peachy.

[Tom]

There is nothing special about the racing at Toga anymore.
Used to be, but not anymore.

Nice place, I used to love to go there, but it was a vacation and time to meet up with great guys from here.

I would never go back.

[Lemon Drop Husker]

Originally Posted by Tom

There is nothing special about the racing at Toga anymore.
Used to be, but not anymore.

Nice place, I used to love to go there, but it was a vacation and time to meet up with great guys from here.

I would never go back.

Is there any happiness in your life?

[ReplayRandall]

We now have contraction in horse racing, due to the CV pandemic, nevertheless look at the handle at the 5 tracks that are currently running. We have Oaklawn, Gulfstream, Tampa, Will Rogers Downs and Fonner Park, they all have unbelievable numbers, as they are the only game in town.

Who knows how long this situation will last, but it should be self evident to everyone, the less tracks the better the fields and the game itself for horseplayers.

What tracks do you believe will open next, what should be the max number open at the same time, and do you see a way for our sport to right it's ship, without screwing up this golden opportunity? What say YOU?

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by ReplayRandall

We now have contraction in horse racing, due to the CV pandemic, nevertheless look at the handle at the 5 tracks that are currently running. We have Oaklawn, Gulfstream, Tampa, Will Rogers Downs and Fonner Park, they all have unbelievable numbers, as they are the only game in town.

Who knows how long this situation will last, but it should be self evident to everyone, the less tracks the better the fields and the game itself for horseplayers.

What tracks do you believe will open next, what should be the max number open at the same time, and do you see a way for our sport to right it's ship, without screwing up this golden opportunity? What say YOU?

I haven't been checking the handle numbers, but if that's true it verifies what I've been saying all along.

If only a handful of major tracks were operating, a lot of the total handle would remain and just be divided into fewer slices. That would allow each of the survivors to generate way more free cash flow for investment, purses, advertising, and even a lowering of the take. And lets face it, this isn't even a great test because Fonner and WRD are not exactly household names and we are in the middle of a crisis that's distracting people and causing a massive loss of income.

[biggestal99]

Originally Posted by ReplayRandall

How bad is racing, when on Sept 1st, an average run-of-the-mill horse wins by 50 lengths at Mountaineer? It's so bad that contraction of all t-bred tracks is now a MUST. Mountaineer has one of the worst racing products and should be closed, letting the casino finally have its way. PID is not far behind, along with currently shelved Colonial Downs and sadly, Turfway park. Say goodbye to Calder, what's left of Laurel and a few more just barely hanging on. The economic conditions are by far the worst I've seen in the last 35 years with NO hope of a change in any direction but down. Greyhound racing has already seen its almost extinction and casinos across the US are beginning to close down due to over-saturation and an overall poor economic outlook for years to come. I look at major tracks like Arlington and just shake my head at the product they now serve the racing public.........My friends and I just miss the FUN and the way horse racing used to be............. You can never go back.

Sad to say, Arlington no longer a major track.

Allan

[biggestal99]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

I haven't been checking the handle numbers, but if that's true it verifies what I've been saying all along.

If only a handful of major tracks were operating, a lot of the total handle would remain and just be divided into fewer slices. That would allow each of the survivors to generate way more free cash flow for investment, purses, advertising, and even a lowering of the take. And lets face it, this isn't even a great test because Fonner and WRD are not exactly household names and we are in the middle of a crisis that's distracting people and causing a massive loss of income.

uS handle was down 22% in March.

https://www.paulickreport.com/news/t...unge-in-march/

Allan