What major change do you want to see in NJ's racing future?

[onefast99]

I would like ideas of what you would like to see at Monmouth Park this upcoming May when racing resumes. Anything from food to seating to purses to "Calder" type racing like "extreme day or summit of speed" etc etc. I am in the process of making some recommendations to the track and I want to be sure they are good ones! Thanks everyone in advance for this.

[alysheba88]

4pm post time on Fridays

4 days of racing

[kenwoodallpromos]

NW1 or 2 L on dirt can run on grass as maidens.
Free ultrasound equiptment for use on all horses.
Whips must be the same color as the horse's coat.
Finish times in hundredths for ALL runners.

[Snow Chief]

get rid of the springsteen song in the post parade for the haskell, it is tacky and lame. sell forms on sundays for monday in the grandstand and not just the clubhouse when SAR is running.

[Zman179]

Bring Atlantic City Race Course back to life.

Trivia: Did you know that Trevor Denman was a regular race caller at AC? Having Denman and Larry Lederman in the same booth led to some great nighttime racing there.

[njcurveball]

Originally Posted by Zman179

Trivia: Did you know that Trevor Denman was a regular race caller at AC? Having Denman and Larry Lederman in the same booth led to some great nighttime racing there.

LOL! OH MY!

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

[Milleruszk]

I would like a NJBets website that works. This is the only ADW that I am legally allowed to bet with. It looks like they have changed their web site from bad to worse. At least with the old web site I could bet and watch video. Now there is no video available!!! Anyone else having the same problem?

[chiman52]

Up the promotion budget. People love giveaways.

Granted, it usually does not lead to increased handle, but it plants the seed in people's minds that a future visit to Monmouth is viable. I know I am always in need of another 200 dollar beach towel.

[Kelso]

RAISE THE INFIELD TOTE-BOARD SO THAT INFORMATION ON THE BOTTOM CAN BE READ BY FANS SITTING IN THE FIRST ROW OF THE APRON. (Two or three feet higher should do it.)

=====

Lead the industry ... close the pools and post final odds before the first horse loads.

=====

- Live racing May 1 through October 31.
- Ten-cent supers every race (field permitting).
- Try a season of Friday twilight racing. Who knows?
- Prompt/complete communication of inquiry/objection details.

- Keep a restaurant open until at least 8PM ... at least during live racing, but preferably for simulcasting, also.
- Restore the rail spur to the gate and push the "Pony Express" trip hard. (Free admission with rail ticket? Free program?)

- Prohibit the tellers from fishing for tips with the "out of change" dodge.
- Prohibit the restroom "attendants" from fishing for tips by disabling the paper-towel dispensers. (Double-check their immigration papers, too.)

=====

There are three county colleges and three universities less than an hour's drive from Oceanport. (One university is within bicycle distance.) Try to get the kids to the park in May and September. Name a race (or a day) for each school, perhaps tied in with the alumni associations ... place major ads/coupons in the school papers ... maybe put a club facility (loud music, or whatever) on the third floor aimed specifically at that crowd ... featuring flashy "how to cap/wager" demonstrations/brochures prominently.

Marketing tie-ins with the many area PTAs. Free tix/dinners for their raffles, "(fill in name of school) Day at Monmouth," etc.

Basic "how to cap/bet" speakers made available for meetings of all local organizations.

In short, do much more to make MTH "the neighborhood track."

=====

KNOWLEDGEABLE "VALUE OF THE HORSE INDUSTRY TO NEW JERSEY" SPEAKERS MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS.

=====

As to a new source of substantial revenues, one of my sons suggests trying to get sports books ... instead of slots/VLTs ... into both MTH and MED. Not that it would be an easy sell, but the idea offers some advantages over seeking/gaining the machines.

The tracks are already sports-wagering venues. They already have betting windows, teletheaters, TVs and mini-totes scattered about, so capital cost should be considerably less than it would be to set up slot parlors ... essentially, just expand the teletheater-type facilities, add a few more TVs and some larger, indoor totes. Maybe, if such exist, sports-betting machines.

The idea requires no more legislative/constitutional action than does the slots idea. And, of greatest advantage, it presents no direct competition/drain to the Atlantic City casinos, since they don't have sports books. (Of course, they'd scream to get in on the new action, too. F 'em!)

Being the only other sports book in the country besides Vegas (?), the profits could be sufficient to reduce pari-mutuel takeout down to whatever the state tax rate is!


THANKS VERY MUCH FOR ASKING!

[Zman179]

Originally Posted by njcurveball

LOL! OH MY!

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Oh yeah, dead serious. During the Hollywood summer meet, Trevor would go to Atlantic City to call the races until Del Mar started up. Mind you this was back in the late 80's, early 90's.

Trevor at AC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxg5ofCbiBA

He did the same at Pimlico during the spring, even called the Preakness in 89 and 90:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94tV8hXziGc

Sorry bout the rotten music , but it's the only copy I could find on YouTube.

Originally Posted by Milleruszk

I would like a NJBets website that works. This is the only ADW that I am legally allowed to bet with. It looks like they have changed their web site from bad to worse. At least with the old web site I could bet and watch video. Now there is no video available!!! Anyone else having the same problem?

Video worked fine for me. You can now watch two tracks instead of one.

I don't know what to add to this thread, this we already had the same discussion on two other threads.

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by Kelso

RAISE THE INFIELD TOTE-BOARD SO THAT INFORMATION ON THE BOTTOM CAN BE READ BY FANS SITTING IN THE FIRST ROW OF THE APRON. (Two or three feet higher should do it.)

=====

Lead the industry ... close the pools and post final odds before the first horse loads.

=====

- Live racing May 1 through October 31.
- Ten-cent supers every race (field permitting).
- Try a season of Friday twilight racing. Who knows?
- Prompt/complete communication of inquiry/objection details.

- Keep a restaurant open until at least 8PM ... at least during live racing, but preferably for simulcasting, also.
- Restore the rail spur to the gate and push the "Pony Express" trip hard. (Free admission with rail ticket? Free program?)

- Prohibit the tellers from fishing for tips with the "out of change" dodge.
- Prohibit the restroom "attendants" from fishing for tips by disabling the paper-towel dispensers. (Double-check their immigration papers, too.)

=====

There are three county colleges and three universities less than an hour's drive from Oceanport. (One university is within bicycle distance.) Try to get the kids to the park in May and September. Name a race (or a day) for each school, perhaps tied in with the alumni associations ... place major ads/coupons in the school papers ... maybe put a club facility (loud music, or whatever) on the third floor aimed specifically at that crowd ... featuring flashy "how to cap/wager" demonstrations/brochures prominently.

Marketing tie-ins with the many area PTAs. Free tix/dinners for their raffles, "(fill in name of school) Day at Monmouth," etc.

Basic "how to cap/bet" speakers made available for meetings of all local organizations.

In short, do much more to make MTH "the neighborhood track."

=====

KNOWLEDGEABLE "VALUE OF THE HORSE INDUSTRY TO NEW JERSEY" SPEAKERS MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS.

=====

As to a new source of substantial revenues, one of my sons suggests trying to get sports books ... instead of slots/VLTs ... into both MTH and MED. Not that it would be an easy sell, but the idea offers some advantages over seeking/gaining the machines.

The tracks are already sports-wagering venues. They already have betting windows, teletheaters, TVs and mini-totes scattered about, so capital cost should be considerably less than it would be to set up slot parlors ... essentially, just expand the teletheater-type facilities, add a few more TVs and some larger, indoor totes. Maybe, if such exist, sports-betting machines.

The idea requires no more legislative/constitutional action than does the slots idea. And, of greatest advantage, it presents no direct competition/drain to the Atlantic City casinos, since they don't have sports books. (Of course, they'd scream to get in on the new action, too. F 'em!)

Being the only other sports book in the country besides Vegas (?), the profits could be sufficient to reduce pari-mutuel takeout down to whatever the state tax rate is!


THANKS VERY MUCH FOR ASKING!

Excellent ideas. I am going to push hard for the twilight friday card. The restaurants are run by Aramark they wont budge they close the clubhouse kitchen before the 8th race on live race days. They have a difficult time hiring workers after the kids go back to school, no different then any other local track. They might keep the teletheatre snack bar open longer, big deal the food is horrendous and consists of hot dogs and semi frozen deli sandwiches. I would like to see the track open a few spots for local restauranteers to operate or get Chef Ramsey in there to clean up the 1980's style crap. The tote board issue will never be resolved it is too low and the railbirds cant see much of it especially when the distance races are run and the board is partially blocked for 15 minutes until the horses are sprung from the gate and by then who cares about looking at the tote board except to see the results. The inuiry-objection debacle is big. Jimmy Edwards is one of the best stewards in the nation, get rid of the other two. Betting while the racing is going on, how many times do we see the 3-1 shot go to 8-5 as the horses near the 1/2 mile marker? That has to be one of the biggest mistakes a track can make posting lower odds on horses while they are running the race that has to change. A sports book would be pretty cool. Since NJ has no major league baseball team that may be given a look. The track handicapper is Brad Thomas not the most personable guy in town. Mike Curci(sp)is a bit more animated but getting a few solid handicappers to do a seminar or morning show as they do in Saratoga may be a great idea in the making. A jockeys seminar may be something people would like also. The backstretch tour needs a facelift so maybe include a tour by a handicapper or Jockey. Monmouth park has never done anything for the college kids except the Friday before the breeders cup. I didnt see a whole bunch of college kids that day and the weather didnt help either. As you can see the marketing at this track is non-existent. The NJSEA has no idea of how to market to todays racing enthusiast. Free addmission is a must offer a free program to anyone, if the people want extra information the form is for sale or even have a "track specific" form for $3 with information on pp's and jockey-trainer %'s etc. Maybe someone will listen to all of this one day!

[alhattab]

I'll start by saying there are very few places I'd rather spend a day than Monmouth Park. I love going there. Lots of room, easy to bet, decent racing with occassional star horses and personalities. A few improvements would make the experience much better:

-Add video boards: one in the infield and one near the walking ring over the manned betting windows. Monmouth is the only large venue without an infield video board, and there are tons of people out in the picnic area with no idea what's going on because there are very few TVs (unlike Saratoga) and no video. Add TVs in the picnic area

-Better coordinated post times with NYRA, especially late in the day. It's absurd that they can't go with a system like No Cal/So Cal.

-Twilight posts on Fridays with better concessions from local restaurants say near the bandstand with maybe some live music. I'd go over with the family.

-4 day racing week with 10/day maybe moving to 3 day week with 11 or 12/day in Sept. Oct. Consider adding racing festival days around Thanksgiving and even sporadically in the winter. Drop Meadowlands

-Consolidate the stakes races like other mid-tier venues. For example, have the Iselin, Red Bank and two others on Sat of Memorial Day weekend, then UN Day with the UN, Jersey Shore, Eatontown and one other, Haskell day is good as it is (may need to move it back one week), move NJ Festival day to earlier in the meet so the horses are fresher. Take money from Med meet races like Med Cup and Pegasus and add to Mth features. Have guaranteed Pick 4s and 5s on the big days.

-Make Patio Terrace more desirable nighttime destination

-1:15 posts on all racing days

[njcurveball]

Originally Posted by jma

Video worked fine for me. You can now watch two tracks instead of one.

I don't know what to add to this thread, this we already had the same discussion on two other threads.

Are you working for the company?

YES, you can watch two tracks now, BoTH 3 inches high! You cannot maximize either one. (looks like you dont watch too many races). It is brutal to try to see the post parade or watch the race.

This is probably the worst thing they ever did.

If you have nothing to add and this thread is boring you, there are many others you can read. There is much more in this thread that was not in the others.

[njcurveball]

Originally Posted by Zman179

Oh yeah, dead serious. During the Hollywood summer meet, Trevor would go to Atlantic City to call the races until Del Mar started up. Mind you this was back in the late 80's, early 90's.

I will have to tell Larry next time I see him. Trevor may have came in for BIG stakes on TV. When a TV station like CBS or ESPN covers the big races, they use a different announcer than the regular track guy. The fact that you took Larry's impression of him in the regular races as being him is quite a compliment for Larry!

Larry also did Mike Battaglia, John Bothe, Marshall Cassidy and a few others. He was the best!