Saratoga empty?

[westernmassbob]

Originally Posted by the little guy

As expected, with dramatically improved weather overall this week, the numbers were up again. Saturday was absolutely packed. Hopefully the good weather continues.

I was there last Wednesday and looked like a decent crowd for during the week. Had several friends on track this weekend and they said it was jam packed. I’m glad attendance is exceeding my expectations. Gas prices did drop about a dollar so I guess people changed their minds and ended up making the trek.LOL.On Wednesday I was in the Curlin room and met Jason Blewitt’s wife. I told her that you and him were my favorite Talking Horses team. I asked her about the horse named after him and she said he might race this month at Toga. Anyway it’s still early but maybe I will end up being wrong about this year’s attendance. I won’t mind being wrong about that. I will be there again on Thursday because I love Saratoga and not just the track. Cheers.

[burnsy]

The basis of the first post in this thread is bogus. They don’t do the giveaways on Sunday which IMO used to be worse. Now Sunday is a go to day for people that actually go for racing and betting. I’ve been to two of the three Saturdays …,.., both were ridiculously packed! Plus, there were several days it was 95 in the shade. The gas ⛽️ prices mean nothing ..it’s the schedule and the weather. Why ? They gave that Picnic Blanket out Friday . Great weather ! The place was jamming for a Friday. No one at Saratoga. Well, whoever says this garbage can’t be here or they’re dreaming .

[westernmassbob]

Originally Posted by burnsy

The basis of the first post in this thread is bogus. They don’t do the giveaways on Sunday which IMO used to be worse. Now Sunday is a go to day for people that actually go for racing and betting. I’ve been to two of the three Saturdays …,.., both were ridiculously packed! Plus, there were several days it was 95 in the shade. The gas ⛽️ prices mean nothing ..it’s the schedule and the weather. Why ? They gave that Picnic Blanket out Friday . Great weather ! The place was jamming for a Friday. No one at Saratoga. Well, whoever says this garbage can’t be here or they’re dreaming .

First off I agree with you but to be fair a few things can be addressed. Attendance as you know drops off significantly after the 8th race on most days. I was there last Wednesday and it was a good crowd but by the 9th race it looked like a ghost town. I think whomever started this thread is taking pictures late in the card ..who knows. As far as gas prices go they have had an impact in the past on track attendance. There are several articles online that talk about it happening over the years. This year gas prices as a percentage are way up compared to those years Saratoga was impacted. Ironically not this year...so far. Giveaway days are always packed ! Burnsy hope you have been crushing it !

[ScottJ]

Originally Posted by westernmassbob

First off I agree with you but to be fair a few things can be addressed. Attendance as you know drops off significantly after the 8th race on most days. I was there last Wednesday and it was a good crowd but by the 9th race it looked like a ghost town. I think whomever started this thread is taking pictures late in the card ..who knows. As far as gas prices go they have had an impact in the past on track attendance. There are several articles online that talk about it happening over the years. This year gas prices as a percentage are way up compared to those years Saratoga was impacted. Ironically not this year...so far. Giveaway days are always packed ! Burnsy hope you have been crushing it !

Wednesdays are the days to attend if you want to avoid excessive on-track crowds and you are correct that the normal end-of-day decrease in attendance can seem exaggerated.

As far as gas prices, hard to believe that the decrease of $1.25 / gallon for a car that does 20 miles per gallon would actually matter to anyone coming from within 100 miles (assuming that is the limit for a day trip). It would be the difference of $12.50 which is less than the cost of parking close to the track.

Last, let's talk about total handle as Day 14 is now in the books.

Opening week (four days) handled $106M helped by Del Mar's later opening. Week two (five days) saw handle right around $100M total. This past week handled $83M heading into Sunday's program which was just short of $23M total, making the handle about $106M.

While it is still early (many of the biggest weekends to come, Labor Day week being the slowest), this meeting could be well on track to break the $815M record from last season if the weather holds.

Here's hoping for Monday and Tuesday rains all season!

[burnsy]

Originally Posted by westernmassbob

First off I agree with you but to be fair a few things can be addressed. Attendance as you know drops off significantly after the 8th race on most days. I was there last Wednesday and it was a good crowd but by the 9th race it looked like a ghost town. I think whomever started this thread is taking pictures late in the card ..who knows. As far as gas prices go they have had an impact in the past on track attendance. There are several articles online that talk about it happening over the years. This year gas prices as a percentage are way up compared to those years Saratoga was impacted. Ironically not this year...so far. Giveaway days are always packed ! Burnsy hope you have been crushing it !

I crushed the first two weeks. The last week didn’t fare as well. It’s an up and down game. You gotta ride the wave when your hot and ride out the cold snaps and hope you’re in the plus 8 weeks later, a marathon compared to the old days. The late day phenomenon has been going on for years. And it’s mostly the vacation and casual players. They get there really early for a table, it’s a long hot day and families can’t last until the 10 th or 11th race. I don’t show up before the first race and I stay until the end most days. Anyone that’s a serious horse player knows the best racing is at the end of the day. I love that the place clears out .