Sad State Of Belmont Park

[JustRalph]

Originally Posted by thespaah

yes...I used to live in northern NJ..
For ez pass holders these are the prices.
For the George Washington Bridge which gets you across the Hudson into Manhattan( Cross Bronx Expressway) the peak time toll is $9.
This collected one way.
Now, to get to Long Island where Belmont is located, one must also cross the East River. The toll to use those crossings is $5.76 . This collected EACH way.
now, for those poor slobs who have disdained the ez pass ,,it gets better.( worse)..The GWB is FOURTEEN bucks...The MTA bridges colect $8.50 EACH WAY!
so with the ez pass discount. one still is in the hole TWENTY bucks...This is before they pay to park, gas, program and or Form....
Suffice to say, if one lives in NJ, Upstate NY or CT, they are out Thirty dollars before they sit down to start handicapping the races.
if I lived up there, I'd be betting from home. I would go on very rare occasions.
And I used to LIVE at Belmont. Especially during the fall Champ Meet.

Coming up from Baltimore I used to cross the Verrazano bridge. If I remember right it was $14

[barahona44]

Originally Posted by thespaah

)..The GWB is FOURTEEN bucks....

It's worse than that.The GWB is FIFTEEN dollars for non EZ pass holders,it's been that price for at least the past two years.

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

So are you saying Belmont was filled with people that day?

If anybody was expecting Saratoga crowds at Belmont, then I have nothing else to say.

The original poster was either exaggerating greatly for effect, or just posting BS for the sake of posting BS.

[sour grapes]

I would estimate the crowd to be 6 k on the saturdays the past 3 weeks,on gold cup day it will double to 12-13k.25-30 years ago it was 25 on a regular saturday and probably 35- 40 on Gold cup day.Thats the reality of the times but to say it was a ghost town is plain out wrong.

[aaron]

Originally Posted by sour grapes

I would estimate the crowd to be 6 k on the saturdays the past 3 weeks,on gold cup day it will double to 12-13k.25-30 years ago it was 25 on a regular saturday and probably 35- 40 on Gold cup day.Thats the reality of the times but to say it was a ghost town is plain out wrong.

Seems like a reasonable estimate.

[JohnGalt1]

At least those who show up bet on track. Horse betting is still entrenched in NY culture.

Canterbury gets 8- 20k people a day and bet almost nothing.

This year they had 20k on a Saturday--Extreme Day-- and bet $230,000 on track.

On days that Belmont or Santa Anita get 20k people, how much is bet on track for the card? Heck, for a race???

[ultracapper]

What is bringing all those people to Canterbury if not to bet on the races? The smaller crowds aren't betting even $30 a head.

[JohnGalt1]

Extreme day has the ostrich and camel races,

Thursdays are buck night and get about 10k.

In many races there is more in show pools than either win or place.

I think most who attend treat it like going to a baseball game. They watch, eat, drink, make a few $2 bets, then leave after the 5th race.

Canterbury has been around since 1985 and the horse race betting culture has still not become ingrained.

And it's not necessarily cheapness. They aren't shy about putting $50 in a slot machine 3 miles south at Mystic Lake Casino, or betting $5 a hand at a table game.

[cj]

Originally Posted by JohnGalt1

Extreme day has the ostrich and camel races,

Thursdays are buck night and get about 10k.

In many races there is more in show pools than either win or place.

I think most who attend treat it like going to a baseball game. They watch, eat, drink, make a few $2 bets, then leave after the 5th race.

Canterbury has been around since 1985 and the horse race betting culture has still not become ingrained.

And it's not necessarily cheapness. They aren't shy about putting $50 in a slot machine 3 miles south at Mystic Lake Casino, or betting $5 a hand at a table game.

It is the same here at Remington. I think most people are intimidated by the game. The whole experience, including digesting the information, is pretty overwhelming for a beginner.

[Al Gobbi]

It seems that big changes are on the horizon for Belmont

NYRA, meanwhile, reportedly plans to conduct a major renovation of the Belmont Park racetrack and grandstand beginning in 2018, a process that could take up to two years to complete. The racing organization is currently renovating Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, installing a new turf course and revamping the main track.

http://qns.com/story/2017/07/31/they...-belmont-park/

[notoday]

I do not have an agenda I also forgot to mention when you come in off the cross island from the southern state parkway the main parking lot has a few thousand cars that I assume will go to car dealers. Nyra must get a pretty penny to lease the spots. I did not expect Saratoga size crowds at Belmont but like the poster who went Saturday and saw patrons I am still shocked at the lack of people on Sunday.
Do not know you Pace Advantage but why cant you accept my observation?

[Steve 'StatMan']

I know that IL has given up running against the NFL on Sundays. Not that our tracks have had great attendance, except for Arlington's big days Million Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and 4th of July with the Fireworks Show. Maybe Memorial Day & Labor Day, and the KY Derby, Preakness & Belmont Simulcasts as well. But ordinary days, nope, attendance not good at all. Worse at Hawthorne normally - we'll see how they do when the TB's are back.

But Sunday vs. NFL, and other tracks having Blue Laws on Sunday, many don't race. Either can't get the fans to come out, or can't do liquor sales.

[Tom]

Finger Lakes gave up Sundays a long time ago, due to football.
This year, they almost lost Saturdays to Amish Rake Fighting.

[Dahoss9698]

Originally Posted by Tom

Finger Lakes gave up Sundays a long time ago, due to football.
This year, they almost lost Saturdays to Amish Rake Fighting.

Okay...this was funny.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by cj

It is the same here at Remington. I think most people are intimidated by the game. The whole experience, including digesting the information, is pretty overwhelming for a beginner.

On the other hand, when I went to Fair Meadows this summer, the Friday night crowd wasn't betting much but was having a great time. Much more enjoyable as a spectator experience than an empty big track.