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07-18-2016, 04:43 PM
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 1,121
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Delaware Should Just Give Up
So they sent the horses out to the track for the 7th race. The race was a really nice NX1 allowance race on the turf with several young horses by top trainers like Shug and Delacour. Four horses were around 7/2. It was probably the best betting race and watching race of the day.
With four minutes to post the skies (which had been black for 10 minutes) open and they bring the horses back and cancel racing.
Now here's the kicker...
THE EXACT SAME THING happened at Monmouth on Saturday before a turf sprint race. But at Monmouth someone looked up in the sky, saw it was going to pour any minute and move up post time by five minutes and got the race in.
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07-18-2016, 04:59 PM
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#2
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$2 Showbettor
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: The Villages
Posts: 2,578
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I was there on Saturday for their big day. I got there for the 4th race and left after the 10th. It was chalk city, the favorite hit in every race except the 5th, where the second betting favorite won. Here is the Del Cap payouts:
$1 EXACTA PAID $3.40
$1 TRIFECTA PAID $9.30
$1 SUPERFECTA PAID $13.20
$1 Daily Double PAID $2.10
It was like that all day. Late pick 4:
$1 Pick Four Paid $58.20
Never saw it so uncrowded.
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07-18-2016, 05:01 PM
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#3
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Veteran
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 9,893
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Redboard
Never saw it so uncrowded.
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I missed it this yr, but DelCap day is typically jam-packed.
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07-18-2016, 05:35 PM
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#5
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Veteran
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 9,893
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperPickle
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The fields are often small, making many of the races unattractive from a betting standpoint. But the track owners have put a lot of money into the racing side of the business, from the best simulcast room outside of Vegas to the second best paddock in the country (behind Saratoga), as well as monthly handicapping tournaments and a big outside area that is very family friendly. There are just too many race dates on the East Coast for management to present a compelling racing product. If you have an idea of how to attract more entrants, I'm sure the racing secretary would be receptive.
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07-18-2016, 05:51 PM
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#6
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 7,510
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only 2 million bet on the entire card.
26% of the handle was on the Delaware...
On track handle was a whopping $200k....
There could not have been more than 1500 people in the stands,
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07-18-2016, 06:52 PM
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#7
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$2 Showbettor
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: The Villages
Posts: 2,578
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Saratoga_Mike
........ from the best simulcast room outside of Vegas to the second best paddock in the country (behind Saratoga), as well as monthly handicapping tournaments and a big outside area that is very family friendly. ........
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I agree with that. The simulcast room and paddock are top shelf.
Don't know why you said Saratoga though. It was bad enough and then they stuck a TV booth area and picnic tables next to it to make it even worse.
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07-18-2016, 06:52 PM
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 1,121
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Saratoga_Mike
The fields are often small, making many of the races unattractive from a betting standpoint. But the track owners have put a lot of money into the racing side of the business, from the best simulcast room outside of Vegas to the second best paddock in the country (behind Saratoga), as well as monthly handicapping tournaments and a big outside area that is very family friendly. There are just too many race dates on the East Coast for management to present a compelling racing product. If you have an idea of how to attract more entrants, I'm sure the racing secretary would be receptive.
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They should lease the track to Stronarch and allow them to create a year-round Laurel/Pimlico/Delaware circuit.
If not run less dates. Do a 1-2 month meet with higher purses. Similar to Kentucky Downs.
Maybe that combined with racing in the fall like they did 40 years ago. Basically attract the Monmouth horses as that meet ends.
If not they should add lights and race nights. Considering how beautiful the track is and how they only race in the summer now and the Meadowlands, AC, Garden State don't race TB's anymore there's a window. Friday nights in the summer up against Del Mar would be particularly nice.
If they got lights they could then cut a deal with Dover and race their harness dates there. Dover would love to get rid of the harness and the horseman would love to race on the mile. Plus mile harness generally out performs on the handle side so there's revenue upside. Probably not a ton but enough to pay for the surface switch. Plus you have a training track so you could have TB's stabled there while you raced harness on the main.
The harsh reality if the Rickman's gave up on the racing a while ago. They're priorities in this order are...
1. Casino
2. NFL Wagering
3. Expanding sports wagering
4. Simulcasting
5. Live Racing
Ever notice they stopped racing live on Sundays against the NFL wagering? That's how much they care.
The bottomline is this. They have a lot going for them. They have slot purses. A great location that can pull horses from a ton of circuits AND you're 15 minutes from Fair Hill so those guys will always race there.
It should be a LOT BETTER.
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07-18-2016, 07:04 PM
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#9
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NoPoints4ME
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 9,854
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Saratoga_Mike
The fields are often small, making many of the races unattractive from a betting standpoint. But the track owners have put a lot of money into the racing side of the business, from the best simulcast room outside of Vegas to the second best paddock in the country (behind Saratoga), as well as monthly handicapping tournaments and a big outside area that is very family friendly. There are just too many race dates on the East Coast for management to present a compelling racing product. If you have an idea of how to attract more entrants, I'm sure the racing secretary would be receptive.
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I know it's messed up but I would run races for PA breds, WV breds and Virginia breds.
Pay for shipping and make the purses higher for those races.
They can be innovative. "For 3YUP, who last raced in West Virgina, Penn or NJ" or something like that.
Just a koo-koo thought.
I'd also install lights and run at 4 PM 1st post.
Finally, I don't care if you run 6 races. Fill the gate with 12 and run just 6.
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07-18-2016, 07:36 PM
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#10
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2014
Location: st louis
Posts: 2,986
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EMD4ME
I know it's messed up but I would run races for PA breds, WV breds and Virginia breds.
Pay for shipping and make the purses higher for those races.
They can be innovative. "For 3YUP, who last raced in West Virgina, Penn or NJ" or something like that.
Just a koo-koo thought.
I'd also install lights and run at 4 PM 1st post.
Finally, I don't care if you run 6 races. Fill the gate with 12 and run just 6.
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The problem with that is the track would have to get permission from the Delaware Racing Board, which probably would not okay it. Illinois tried that and were turned down to have fewer races per card.
__________________
You will never achieve 100% if 99% is okay!
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07-18-2016, 07:57 PM
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#11
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NoPoints4ME
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 9,854
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zico20
The problem with that is the track would have to get permission from the Delaware Racing Board, which probably would not okay it. Illinois tried that and were turned down to have fewer races per card.
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It was just a hope. We all know the horsepeople would not allow that as they would cut their revenue down signifigantly.
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07-18-2016, 08:40 PM
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#12
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Refugee from Bowie
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,598
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thespaah
only 2 million bet on the entire card.
26% of the handle was on the Delaware...
On track handle was a whopping $200k....
There could not have been more than 1500 people in the stands,
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Was "Chester Pete" one of the assembled mob?
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07-18-2016, 10:24 PM
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#13
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: NJ
Posts: 3,822
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperPickle
They should lease the track to Stronarch and allow them to create a year-round Laurel/Pimlico/Delaware circuit.
If not run less dates. Do a 1-2 month meet with higher purses. Similar to Kentucky Downs.
Maybe that combined with racing in the fall like they did 40 years ago. Basically attract the Monmouth horses as that meet ends.
If not they should add lights and race nights. Considering how beautiful the track is and how they only race in the summer now and the Meadowlands, AC, Garden State don't race TB's anymore there's a window. Friday nights in the summer up against Del Mar would be particularly nice.
If they got lights they could then cut a deal with Dover and race their harness dates there. Dover would love to get rid of the harness and the horseman would love to race on the mile. Plus mile harness generally out performs on the handle side so there's revenue upside. Probably not a ton but enough to pay for the surface switch. Plus you have a training track so you could have TB's stabled there while you raced harness on the main.
The harsh reality if the Rickman's gave up on the racing a while ago. They're priorities in this order are...
1. Casino
2. NFL Wagering
3. Expanding sports wagering
4. Simulcasting
5. Live Racing
Ever notice they stopped racing live on Sundays against the NFL wagering? That's how much they care.
The bottomline is this. They have a lot going for them. They have slot purses. A great location that can pull horses from a ton of circuits AND you're 15 minutes from Fair Hill so those guys will always race there.
It should be a LOT BETTER.
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Most of this is totally clueless to the realities of horse racing.
What does running on Sundays have to do with caring about racing? They run the days they do the most handle. Sundays aren't it, so they don't.
Run at night? That's a total failure as an idea and would not work. That was the death of several tracks in NJ, so why would it work in Delaware? There would still be small fields of unappealing races. Run harness? Why not run greyhounds if you want to light your money on fire. Seriously?
I totally disagree that they have a lot going for them. They did 20 years ago when they got the casino and few other tracks did. Now many tracks have casinos include their main rival, Parx. Couple that with the horse population being half of what it was and there's nothing to draw owners to the track. So the fields don't fill. It's not mismanagement or not caring or incompetence. If I gave you 7 players and asked you to field a baseball team, you could stack those 7 players on top of each other or in any other pattern and you still wouldn't be able to field a team.
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07-18-2016, 10:26 PM
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#14
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: NJ
Posts: 3,822
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shemp Howard
Was "Chester Pete" one of the assembled mob?
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Could you at least give an inside joke translator for your moronic BS? 1000 of the same joke that the 3 of you who hang at Penn National get doesn't make it any funnier.
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07-19-2016, 09:14 AM
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#15
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 4,520
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Saratoga_Mike
the second best paddock in the country (behind Saratoga), .
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Used to be the best paddock was Saratoga, hands down. Now I wouldn't even put it in the top 10.
Allan
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