BEL spring meet handle down big

[carterista]

ELMONT, N.Y. – All-sources handle for the 54-day Belmont spring-summer meet that ended Sunday was $581,496,467 down 5.3 percent from last year’s figure of $613,870,654, according to figures provided by the New York Racing Association. Ontrack handle was $77,960,658, down 5.6 percent from last year’s 54-day meet figure of $82,620,628.

This was expected. The meet was boring as race cards were carded at what appears at first haphazardly including big stake dates. It was unimaginative and generally inline with 'crapification' of its racing cards.

The racing secretary and its CEO are nothing short of total buffoons running a business for the benefit of owners, trainers, jockeys and privileged and select bettors at the expense of the public.

Out of 54 racing days, I bet perhaps a grand total of 3-4 Pick-4s that were properly carded without the racing secretary listing races in a manner that suits people on the inside and large syndicates. Take the decision to restrict P-5 to those with NYRA bets account......what idiot came up with this?

Why card NY Mdn breds as the last race of the day and final leg of a Pick-4 every racing day?

[lamboguy]

i am not surprised to see the decline in handle, and there are many reasons for it.

what i can say is that if the weather is good, Saratoga should increase year to year. the reason is that the owners of the horses held up running in Belmont in favor of Saratoga. racing is now in the limited owner and trainer mode, so seeing handle swings from one meet to the next is going to be normal going forward.

i also can't argue that this past meet has been on the boring side of the equation except for the big days.

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

i am not surprised to see the decline in handle, and there are many reasons for it.

what i can say is that if the weather is good, Saratoga should increase year to year. the reason is that the owners of the horses held up running in Belmont in favor of Saratoga. racing is now in the limited owner and trainer mode, so seeing handle swings from one meet to the next is going to be normal going forward.

i also can't argue that this past meet has been on the boring side of the equation except for the big days.

It is simple, Gulfstream is putting a hurt on everyone.

[MonmouthParkJoe]

Look no further than the weather and how many races were taken off the turf. Even had the remainder of a Saturday card cancelled as well. With the Saratoga book coming out a week or so before the end of the meet, yes trainers will hold their horses but they still managed to card more races then usual this past weekend.


While no racing jurisdiction is perfect, New York IMO is doing a great job.

[acorn54]

big competitive fields is all i ask for, i'll take care of the rest, and will be a bettor at ANY track that provides those. the money is just as green at class b tracks.

[usedtolovetvg]

My two favorite meets used to be GP Winter & Belmont Spring/Summer. Its a shame that the shrinking horse population and other gambling options have decimated the greatest wagering opportunities. Greed by those in the industry hasn't helped either. Stronach has turned Gulfstream into Calder and hurt all the other tracks during the summer. Saying all that, I think the bleeding is slowing down and I am hoping for a turn around. I know my kids quite enjoy a day at the track now. Here's hoping the time will soon come when tracks aren't dependent on the casinos. That relationship is even worse than my marriage and doesn't help either party.

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by MonmouthParkJoe

Look no further than the weather and how many races were taken off the turf. Even had the remainder of a Saturday card cancelled as well. With the Saratoga book coming out a week or so before the end of the meet, yes trainers will hold their horses but they still managed to card more races then usual this past weekend.


While no racing jurisdiction is perfect, New York IMO is doing a great job.

You are pretty much spot on, but there are some really NYRA-obsessed people out there who will jump on anything without thinking about it.

Saturday 6/17 they only ran the first three races.

And I was told they took 28 more races off the turf in 2017 vs 2016.

That right there could get you towards a massive chunk of the 5.3% decline.

[GMB@BP]

The dirt racing is just not good right now at Belmont because they dont get all the shippers that Saratoga does or even Belmont fall.

I thought the turf racing was fine and made up the bulk of their field size, and yes if your dirt races are so so and it rains your gonna get hurt handle wise.

[notoday]

The powers that be at Nyra put too much stock on Belmont Stakes Day It leaves the other Saturdays and holiday Mondays void of a big race I went Stars and Stripes day and it was a ghost town It was not promoted locally and most of the fields were small and for some reason maybe NBC the 11th went off after 730pm

[Rico8812]

Originally Posted by notoday

The powers that be at Nyra put too much stock on Belmont Stakes Day It leaves the other Saturdays and holiday Mondays void of a big race I went Stars and Stripes day and it was a ghost town It was not promoted locally and most of the fields were small and for some reason maybe NBC the 11th went off after 730pm

sharp post

[o_crunk]

https://twitter.com/o_crunk/status/886946241560670209

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by notoday

The powers that be at Nyra put too much stock on Belmont Stakes Day It leaves the other Saturdays and holiday Mondays void of a big race I went Stars and Stripes day and it was a ghost town It was not promoted locally and most of the fields were small and for some reason maybe NBC the 11th went off after 730pm

Ghost Town compared to what exactly?

I was there on S&S day too...that thought didn't occur to me

[Afleet]

I agree w/o crunk