I had a great time at the BC at DMR, but let's not do this again

[Saratoga_Mike]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

They make their money serving rich people. That is well known.

But never in my life did I think I would see a major racetrack executive advocate strictly limiting attendance at a major racing event to produce a half empty racetrack.

That is new, and horrible.

The track was not half empty. Stop.

[Saratoga_Mike]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

In other words, Harper thinks it is better as an exclusive event for 35,000 rich people and with casual fans basically priced out completely and ZERO feeling of a big event with people crowding the rail.

I think that is awful and I hope the BC folks see that too and tell Harper to shove it.

Here you are on 10/17/16 (completely different, I'm sure ):

"It isn't "overcharging" or a ripoff to charge more money so that big spenders attend and people who think the market price is a ripoff- i.e., cheap people who refuse to spend money- stay home.

And cheap people are actually awful. They are why we can't have nice things. A market full of people who spend money gets you Del Mar. A market full of cheap people gets you a dumpy racetrack, or worse, an out of business one.

Cheap people are terrible parasites. You want something good? Spend some darned money, or stay home and let those of us who want to spend money and buy nice things do it."

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/s...es#post2061794

[chiguy]

I worked on track Saturday till about 1PM. It was not crowded but there were plenty of people there. Nothing like opening day or PC day but a healthy number of people and more coming in, a lot more in fact when I was leaving at 1PM. I also worked at Pechanga casino later that day and they sold seats to their OTB with lunch. They charged $35 or $30. They also had a couple of areas that were no charge. They did this to ensure everyone had a great experience. I think Del Mar was thinking the same thing. I don't if anybody has a great time if you cram 40-45 k in there.

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Saratoga_Mike

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/s...es#post2061794

So...dilanesp thinks that the cheap people are "awful parasites"...because their thriftiness doesn't create enough opportunities for him to showcase his "squandering". In contrast...I enjoy being in the company of cheap people. It makes me feel like a "sport".

[thaskalos]

Dilanesp stated that: "Cheap people are actually awful. They are why we can't have nice things."

I consider this to be such a profound thought...that I am actually thinking of using it as a tagline here. Do I need dilanesp's permission in order to do that? I promise to give him full credit for the quote.

[cj]

Further argument for the Del Mar model:

Per-Capita Betting
2017 Del Mar $375.59 (on-track handle $25,181,317, attendance 70,420)
2016 Santa Anita $175.07 (on-track handle $20,742,847, attendance 118,484)
2015 Keeneland $218.31 (on-track handle $20,663,054, attendance 94,652)

http://horseracingbusiness.com/

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by cj

Further argument for the Del Mar model:



http://horseracingbusiness.com/

Were the Mongolians there in 2015 and 2016?

[VigorsTheGrey]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

Dilanesp stated that: "Cheap people are actually awful. They are why we can't have nice things."

I consider this to be such a profound thought...that I am actually thinking of using it as a tagline here. Do I need dilanesp's permission in order to do that? I promise to give him full credit for the quote.

Nice...!

[Jeff P]

Originally Posted by cj

Further argument for the Del Mar model:



http://horseracingbusiness.com/

Although this model can work for major special event days such as BC, Derby, etc. --

The opposite is also true.

This model does not work for the other 360 days of the year.




-jp

.

[VigorsTheGrey]

Face it....racetracks need lots of people that lose lots of money on a regular basis in order to support their pseudo-professions...I guess they are seeking a higher class of regular losers, albeit at lower numbers, so they don't have to gaze upon or otherwise deal with all those "cheap, regular people" and other miscreants who in the past frequented racetracks...They only want rich trendies now, strutting about in their undersized partial "suits" adorned with women sporting elaborate head pieces, no doubt costing several hundred dollars each...oh vey...!

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by VigorsTheGrey

Face it....racetracks need lots of people that lose lots of money on a regular basis in order to support their pseudo-professions...I guess they are seeking a higher class of regular losers, albeit at lower numbers, so they don't have to gaze upon or otherwise deal with all those "cheap, regular people" and other miscreants who in the past frequented racetracks...They only want rich trendies now, strutting about in their undersized partial "suits" adorned with women sporting elaborate head pieces, no doubt costing several hundred dollars each...oh vey...!

The rich aren't dumb enough to "lose lots of money on a regular basis". If they were...then they wouldn't be RICH.

[VigorsTheGrey]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

The rich aren't dumb enough to "lose lots of money on a regular basis". If they were...then they wouldn't be RICH.

Ok, point taken...but still the over-price of admission is rather irksome for regular players who essentially are priced out, along with lots of others...I would have liked to go but I read that general admission was SOLD OUT (even though it turned out there was plenty of room for more people to attend)...it should be a massive opportunity to create new fans to the sport and that's the main reason Santa Anita is way better for this purpose...

Have to agree with original poster...once at Del Mar is enough...TOO boutique and elite for the good of the sport here...

American racing emerged as a popular mass activity, unlike racing elsewhere (across the pond, for example, that is way, way more highbrow).

Not saying a shift in class of patrons wouldn't work, it very well could...and will probably move in this direction regardless because the middle and lower-middle classes have less disposable income available on a regular basis than their wealthier counterparts...

[rastajenk]

So much hand-wringing and consternation...Paraphrasing a Newsweek cover headline from the previous decade: "We are All Sociologists Now."

A couple of thoughts: San Diego is reputed to have the best weather on the continent. That alone should keep it in the rotation. The facility seems nice, no reason to deduct points for that.

And secondly, I could not care less about what the on-site attendance is, for any of these Big Days. It's a made-for-tv event in the first place, and evolved into a simulcasting behemoth, and now a stay-at-home wagering AND tv experience; it's never been an outreach to new fans to come and have fun standing in long lines for food & drink, bathrooms, and wagering. I think the notion of a smaller, more manageable crowd is more the 33-year distillation of several aspects, but running out the riffraff from an otherwise tony affair is not one of them.

Question I had while typing the previous paragraph (and it's easier to ask here than lookitup )Has there always been full-card simulcasting of the Breeders Cup? Seems to me that back in the mid-80's we were still just getting individual (Triple Crown) races, and so we might have just got the Classic, or maybe the Classic and Turf...I forget.

[AndyC]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

The rich aren't dumb enough to "lose lots of money on a regular basis". If they were...then they wouldn't be RICH.

Many people are rich enough to lose plenty of money and still be rich. Sometimes being rich isn't a function of being smart.

[LemonSoupKid]

Here's a post from the side of someone who stayed in a Breeder's Box on Saturday. It was super weird, on Friday they had ushers so that people wouldn't go from GA to the setup "box seats" which were elevated by a small stairwell with nice padded seats. On Saturday, no usher (closer to the late races when most people left too) was there from at least race 5 on, and the face was $550 for these seats. It was almost as if you could have just paid $50 and gone into a lot of these. I don't really mind, but it does make you feel salty when you have a $500 ticket and all you really needed to do was spend $50 to get the same thing, no one did or said anything. And there were some clear (not totally) unsavories that ventured up there. I gave one a beer, so I'm not trying to act like I don't like the common man or putting anyone down. But just saying.

It's interesting at Santa Anita I often try to do something similar, but it's a huge grandstand and they aren't even close to selling out so you aren't even taking anyone's seat. They typically have ushers. Or you can just sit on those platforms, which isn't horrible considering the view and the fact that it doesn't cost much to get in via GA.