Monmouth Park hits Suffolk shippers with a big bill!

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by Bluto Blutarsky

LOL - you really do know the Monmouth Park crowd!
Seriously- My 1st guess is J Willard Thompson. He is a millionaire many times over-not from training horses- from buying and holding blue chip stocks for decades. 2nd guess- Dennis Drazin- as an "advisor" for the NJTHA, he was initially for the $1000 charge but once there was a backlash from the horsemen well then he was against it. Another miscalculation from Dennis- one of many.............

I don't agree with your statement, Dennis wants what is best for all involved if he loses the live racing they lose both of the Favorites and the TVG deal, Bob Kulina was adamant about the fine, that is public knowledge. The fact is there is a strong hate for Lou Raffetto . He came to MP and asked trainers to run at Suffolk.
I also support MP but I was one who got fined for running in Suffolk in a race where I could compete(we run 40 beyers)so I felt that I was an exception to the rule, and there were several others who would or should have been exceptions to the rule. I don't want to put my horse in NY(NY bred)it is too costly and I cannot compete with what is currently running at Saratoga. I come to MP each and every week, I see my horses I come to the track I spend money(betting), I went with 8 people to the Haskell and spent over $800 at the clubhouse restaurant. I have done that for over 12 years in a row.
Here are my issues with Forbes writing the now infamous letters to the trainers, he never took into consideration the ramifications of the fine, he never once consulted with the people who he is representing, he never once said we will reach out to the owners and discuss this with them, that was his worst move. This isn't sitting well with the trainers or the owners, hopefully Dennis has a town hall meeting to clear the air!

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by DSB

Right.

But that's the problem. There are no horses that ANYONE gets from Suffolk.

So, it doesn't go both ways with regards to them.

And Atlantic City shipped in to MP during their mini meets and the Meadowlands meet in late September ship in to MP as well? These two were forgotten on purpose by Mr. Forbes in his letter.

[SG4]

Originally Posted by onefast99

Dennis wants what is best for all involved if he loses the live racing they lose both of the Favorites and the TVG deal

Just wanted to clarify on the above what you mean by the TVG deal? If Monmouth loses live racing is this in reference to just a sponsorship or the exchange betting, or would TVG's NJBets platform be revoked as well?

Also, Monmouth controls 2 of the Favorites OTB parlors? Who runs the others throughout the state?

[KidCruz]

Originally Posted by DSB

The shoe is on the other foot already.

Monmouth is in a life and death battle with casino fueled purses in every bordering state plus Md. and even WVA.

Suffolk may be racing a measly 6 days, but the model is the same as every other competitor Monmouth has for racing stock - inflated purses that promote shippers resulting in smaller fields for Mth. Do you know the future? Are you sure that next year it won't be 15 days, then 25 the year after?

As a guy who has raced in NJ for some time, I don't feel any obligation to help the guys in Mass save their racing. I doubt anyone in NE cares about the welfare of horsemen in NJ. Accordingly, I'm concerned about the future of racing at Monmouth, and agree with the policy.

Anyone who is willing to accept free stabling should know that it comes with the obligation to support the meet.

Oh, and placing restrictions on shippers is nothing new. Many condition books actually spell it out. One overnight I saw (not Mth, but can't remember which track) said something to the effect: "If you ship out, don't come back."

Well, the petty, shortsighted, self-serving thinking really seems to be working for them. Also, angering some of their most loyal horsemen seems to really be working for them.

You are right. They are doing the right thing. Keep doing what you are doing Monmouth. All is well.

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Originally Posted by onefast99

I don't agree with your statement, Dennis wants what is best for all involved if he loses the live racing they lose both of the Favorites and the TVG deal, Bob Kulina was adamant about the fine, that is public knowledge. The fact is there is a strong hate for Lou Raffetto . He came to MP and asked trainers to run at Suffolk.
I also support MP but I was one who got fined for running in Suffolk in a race where I could compete(we run 40 beyers)so I felt that I was an exception to the rule, and there were several others who would or should have been exceptions to the rule. I don't want to put my horse in NY(NY bred)it is too costly and I cannot compete with what is currently running at Saratoga. I come to MP each and every week, I see my horses I come to the track I spend money(betting), I went with 8 people to the Haskell and spent over $800 at the clubhouse restaurant. I have done that for over 12 years in a row.
Here are my issues with Forbes writing the now infamous letters to the trainers, he never took into consideration the ramifications of the fine, he never once consulted with the people who he is representing, he never once said we will reach out to the owners and discuss this with them, that was his worst move. This isn't sitting well with the trainers or the owners, hopefully Dennis has a town hall meeting to clear the air!

Fast- Regarding the $1000 fine- you believe what you want to believe.
Quote from a NJTHA board member, "The fact is this was Dennis' idea-then the horsemen started complaining-and then when asked about it directly by one of the leading trainers at MP, Drazin said it wasn't his idea and he didn't support it."

Sounds like Kulina, Forbes, Drazin need to get their stories straight, don't you think?

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by Bluto Blutarsky

Fast- Regarding the $1000 fine- you believe what you want to believe.
Quote from a NJTHA board member, "The fact is this was Dennis' idea-then the horsemen started complaining-and then when asked about it directly by one of the leading trainers at MP, Drazin said it wasn't his idea and he didn't support it."

Sounds like Kulina, Forbes, Drazin need to get their stories straight, don't you think?

This is all Forbes!

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by SG4

Just wanted to clarify on the above what you mean by the TVG deal? If Monmouth loses live racing is this in reference to just a sponsorship or the exchange betting, or would TVG's NJBets platform be revoked as well?

Also, Monmouth controls 2 of the Favorites OTB parlors? Who runs the others throughout the state?

The state would take it back the NJbets website came with the live racing. Gural has the Bayonne OTW and Penn Gaming has two in Southern NJ. The Woodbridge(Fords NJ)and the new Hillsborough OTW is run by the operators of Monmouth Park. Both Gural and Drazin have the ability to build others but that seems to be on the back burner since the sports wagering bill has taken a lot of time away from Drazin and the possibility of a Northern NJ casino has taken much of Jeff Gurals time up.

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Originally Posted by onefast99

This is all Forbes!

You are wrong.
After all these years, I would think you would have learned by now-

NO DECISION IS MADE AT MONMOUTH PARK WITHOUT DENNIS DRAZIN'S APPROVAL.

[cj]

Originally Posted by Bluto Blutarsky

You are wrong.
After all these years, I would think you would have learned by now-

NO DECISION IS MADE AT MONMOUTH PARK WITHOUT DENNIS DRAZIN'S APPROVAL.

Just curious. What difference does it make? Seems like a fair fee to me no matter who made the decision.

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Fast and I differ on who/what was the impetus for the fee.

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by Bluto Blutarsky

Fast and I differ on who/what was the impetus for the fee.

Dennis does have a lot on his plate maybe he forgot where he put the steak! See you at the track heading there on Monday.

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by cj

Just curious. What difference does it make? Seems like a fair fee to me no matter who made the decision.

The issue here isn't the fee it is the way it was crammed down the trainers and eventually the owners throats. Poor communication by someone who purports to represent the horseman.

[cj]

Originally Posted by onefast99

The issue here isn't the fee it is the way it was crammed down the trainers and eventually the owners throats. Poor communication by someone who purports to represent the horseman.

Thanks, I really got lost a little in this thread, wasn't sure where it was headed.

[bello]

Looks like Monmouth won this battle. Only 2 Orseno entries at Suffolk saturday.
No other Monmouth stabled horses making the trip.

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by bello

Looks like Monmouth won this battle. Only 2 Orseno entries at Suffolk saturday.
No other Monmouth stabled horses making the trip.

One of the horses entered is a stakes horse so there is no reason to fine someone when every horse is eligible to run anywhere they wish when it is an out of town stakes race as long as you let the racing secretary know. MP has also added some race onto the overnights that directly compete with those Suffolk is running, so no need to ship when you can run the same race at MP, something that should have been looked at and discussed before firing off letters threatening those who are a large part of providing revenue for the track.