Saratoga empty?

[Brisk Urging]

https://twitter.com/shoesNgrenades/s...95-E1JE0lPclRw

[PaceAdvantage]

I blame the Rapture.

[Brisk Urging]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

I blame the Rapture.

Heat big part of it 100 degrees

You also blame covid

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

I blame the Rapture.

This is the "other" Alex. Not the nice one that was posting here and on Twitter. He's reverted to the badly behaved one.

[Brisk Urging]

Originally Posted by the little guy

This is the "other" Alex. Not the nice one that was posting here and on Twitter. He's reverted to the badly behaved one.

darn

[$w1fT]

Maybe it was the fact that it was ridiculously hot all weekend? I was there from 11AM to the last race Friday and Saturday and I was absolutely wiped out from all the heat. The casual fans are not going to stay all day in that heat.

[Suff]

I was watching Fox, noticably quiet.
Guessing its an outlier because of heat.

Lakes nearby had a day.

No racing Monday, hurts the Sunday.
you stay Sunday night and fly on Monday. it's another night in the hotel + food = $500+

[Brass Hat]

Muggy, not as bad as Saturday though. The card was OK, a few MSWs, probably the best betting races were the last two.

I don't know if this is the right thread to bring this issue up, but there is no security at the beginning of the horse path for the races after Race 5, and people who are leaving having been walking into the path of horses coming on the path to the paddock. This is a long-standing issue. For the first five races, a younger security guard comes down on the golf cart, he does an excellent job, you would be surprised how many people get offended when he tells them to hold up. There is no one there for the later races.

I asked a guy in charge there a couple of years ago why there was no staff there for the later races; he asked me, seriously, if I wanted a job.

I have seen ridiculous stuff: a woman told to stand against the fence while the horses were coming in leaned over to pat a horse, people stand near the horses to get their picture taken. I have heard trainer staff asking out loud where the security is when these incidents happen but apparently it is not brought to the attention of whoever is in charge of security.

There used to be a chain to prevent people walking down that path, but it was removed a few years ago. I or a friend would hook it up when the horses entered the track area. I asked why it was removed and was told there was no security to connect it so they removed it.

If a horse got loose there it could enter the track area with catastrophic results.

[westernmassbob]

In NYRA’s defense they report attendance as “ paid admissions”. So basically there could have been tickets purchased well in advance and people just never showed up. I can tell you from family and friends that live and work in the area as well as some that have retail space at the track “in person “attendance is way down. There have already been several people in here that have confirmed that as well as all the social networking sites. NYRA can easily release the actual attendance but they don’t want or need the negative publicity. I actually understand that because people’s livelihoods are at stake. People rely on the seasonal Saratoga income and nobody wants to see attendance down because that means less for everyone. Make no mistake though...there is a lot less people in attendance this year then last.

[jefftune]

Originally Posted by Brass Hat

Muggy, not as bad as Saturday though. The card was OK, a few MSWs, probably the best betting races were the last two.

I don't know if this is the right thread to bring this issue up, but there is no security at the beginning of the horse path for the races after Race 5, and people who are leaving having been walking into the path of horses coming on the path to the paddock. This is a long-standing issue. For the first five races, a younger security guard comes down on the golf cart, he does an excellent job, you would be surprised how many people get offended when he tells them to hold up. There is no one there for the later races.

I asked a guy in charge there a couple of years ago why there was no staff there for the later races; he asked me, seriously, if I wanted a job.

I have seen ridiculous stuff: a woman told to stand against the fence while the horses were coming in leaned over to pat a horse, people stand near the horses to get their picture taken. I have heard trainer staff asking out loud where the security is when these incidents happen but apparently it is not brought to the attention of whoever is in charge of security.

There used to be a chain to prevent people walking down that path, but it was removed a few years ago. I or a friend would hook it up when the horses entered the track area. I asked why it was removed and was told there was no security to connect it so they removed it.

If a horse got loose there it could enter the track area with catastrophic results.

Ridiculous. The number one rule at Saratoga is that horses have the right-of-way.

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by westernmassbob

In NYRA’s defense they report attendance as “ paid admissions”. So basically there could have been tickets purchased well in advance and people just never showed up. I can tell you from family and friends that live and work in the area as well as some that have retail space at the track “in person “attendance is way down. There have already been several people in here that have confirmed that as well as all the social networking sites. NYRA can easily release the actual attendance but they don’t want or need the negative publicity. I actually understand that because people’s livelihoods are at stake. People rely on the seasonal Saratoga income and nobody wants to see attendance down because that means less for everyone. Make no mistake though...there is a lot less people in attendance this year then last.

You can spew all the BS you want here ( the old "I have friends" line is akin to "I've gotten a lot of private messages" ) but the fact remains that you were completely wrong in all your predictions this year as you were last year ( I think this was a Westernmassbob free zone prior to that but who can possibly remember ). Someone posting carefully chosen pictures on what would always be a sparsely attended day made even "worse" by yet another day of high humidity hardly spells doom for Saratoga. Why you revel in the possibility of the demise of Saratoga I can only guess ( don't bother with your usual crap about how the opposite is true....the proof is in the pudding ).

The good news for those of us that love Saratoga is that the racing has been strong overall and the response from the fans terrific as well. There will be some days where the weather could be better, and some days when the racing could be better as well, but overall things have been terrific. Rain last night and today have cooled things off as we head towards another terrific week of racing. I hope you can set aside your unfortunate negativity and find a way to be happy in life. I doubt it, but a man can dream.

[westernmassbob]

Originally Posted by the little guy

You can spew all the BS you want here ( the old "I have friends" line is akin to "I've gotten a lot of private messages" ) but the fact remains that you were completely wrong in all your predictions this year as you were last year ( I think this was a Westernmassbob free zone prior to that but who can possibly remember ). Someone posting carefully chosen pictures on what would always be a sparsely attended day made even "worse" by yet another day of high humidity hardly spells doom for Saratoga. Why you revel in the possibility of the demise of Saratoga I can only guess ( don't bother with your usual crap about how the opposite is true....the proof is in the pudding ).

The good news for those of us that love Saratoga is that the racing has been strong overall and the response from the fans terrific as well. There will be some days where the weather could be better, and some days when the racing could be better as well, but overall things have been terrific. Rain last night and today have cooled things off as we head towards another terrific week of racing. I hope you can set aside your unfortunate negativity and find a way to be happy in life. I doubt it, but a man can dream.

First it’s “ depending on the rain” now it’s “ oh maybe it’s too hot outside “ what’s the next excuse for the lower attendance? Maybe just maybe the super high hotel rates are actually keeping people from going or the high gas prices that are still high. Regardless of what you may believe or not the economy is keeping some people away. I know you hate to be wrong and never agree when someone is right. Narcissist....look it up and learn something about yourself that you can’t possibly recognize. Many people on track or have visited the past few weeks are talking about how dead it is around there. I guess they are all wrong.

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by westernmassbob

First it’s “ depending on the rain” now it’s “ oh maybe it’s too hot outside “ what’s the next excuse for the lower attendance? Maybe just maybe the super high hotel rates are actually keeping people from going or the high gas prices that are still high. Regardless of what you may believe or not the economy is keeping some people away. I know you hate to be wrong and never agree when someone is right. Narcissist....look it up and learn something about yourself that you can’t possibly recognize. Many people on track or have visited the past few weeks are talking about how dead it is around there. I guess they are all wrong.

OH NO! Whatever shall we do?

Somebody keep me away from high buildings and open windows!

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

OH NO! Whatever shall we do?

Somebody keep me away from high buildings and open windows!

I'm just glad that Bob is happy that things are going badly around here....while we are happy that things are going so well.

Look, everyone's happy....the malcontents and the reasonably well adjusted. It's a beautiful world!

[ScottJ]

Originally Posted by westernmassbob

First it’s “ depending on the rain” now it’s “ oh maybe it’s too hot outside “ what’s the next excuse for the lower attendance? Maybe just maybe the super high hotel rates are actually keeping people from going or the high gas prices that are still high. Regardless of what you may believe or not the economy is keeping some people away. I know you hate to be wrong and never agree when someone is right. Narcissist....look it up and learn something about yourself that you can’t possibly recognize. Many people on track or have visited the past few weeks are talking about how dead it is around there. I guess they are all wrong.

Let's be specific. Define "some".

I am being serious. Some could mean you know a family of four that skipped the two weeks so far, it could mean dozens have gone to Lake George instead, it could mean hundreds, or thousands.

Next question once you define "some", let us know how you determined "some's" value.