I had a great time at the BC at DMR, but let's not do this again

[Dtom80]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

18k Friday, 22k Saturday.

Take a look at my photos in the live thread. Place was empty.

Del Mar is my home track. This was my first Breeders Cup. I don't have perspective on other BCs but I thought Del Mar did a great job and the track held true to form lots of long shots hitting the board. The parking situation needs corrected. I hope they come back sometime in the next 5 years

I've been to a few opening days and a handful of Pacific Classics. Without a doubt there were more than 22k on Saturday. The Infield was packed. I've never seen it that way

[burnsy]

Originally Posted by Dtom80

Del Mar is my home track. This was my first Breeders Cup. I don't have perspective on other BCs but I thought Del Mar did a great job and the track held true to form lots of long shots hitting the board.

That's the part I liked about it. The courses were fair......SA is a conveyor belt compared to how those tracks played. A horse could actually move and close with results. Giving the Euro's and East coast a fair shake.

[pandy]

Originally Posted by burnsy

That's the part I liked about it. The courses were fair......SA is a conveyor belt compared to how those tracks played. A horse could actually move and close with results. Giving the Euro's and East coast a fair shake.

I couldn't agree more. Some of the BC days at Santa Anita were horrible, the track was a conveyor belt for leavers. It looked like half mile track harness racing.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by Dtom80

Del Mar is my home track. This was my first Breeders Cup. I don't have perspective on other BCs but I thought Del Mar did a great job and the track held true to form lots of long shots hitting the board. The parking situation needs corrected. I hope they come back sometime in the next 5 years

I've been to a few opening days and a handful of Pacific Classics. Without a doubt there were more than 22k on Saturday. The Infield was packed. I've never seen it that way

The infield was not packed. You should have looked closer. Several areas were filled up with hospitality tents and premium seating, which was half full. The rest of the infield was more full than usual but that's because the patrons had less space.

The apron was empty FFS! When is the apron ever empty on a big day at Del Mar?

[RunForTheRoses]

Originally Posted by pandy

I couldn't agree more. Some of the BC days at Santa Anita were horrible, the track was a conveyor belt for leavers. It looked like half mile track harness racing.

Totally have to agree and with the handle figures you posted it sounds like a success to me. With SA shrewd locals like Mandella would move up horses. Who woulda thunk Kimmel would have moved up his horse.

[RunForTheRoses]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

The infield was not packed. You should have looked closer. Several areas were filled up with hospitality tents and premium seating, which was half full. The rest of the infield was more full than usual but that's because the patrons had less space.

The apron was empty FFS! When is the apron ever empty on a big day at Del Mar?

LOL doth protest too much. As far as only loners liking it uncrowded do you really like being shoulder to shoulder in a crowded pissy mens room? i would hope not.

[Robert Fischer]

Track is a little bit small, but they did a great job with both courses.

The site itself appears to be beautiful.

Possibly a moderate outside bias on the dirt, but that is tough to read, as pace-beneficiary closers tend to be a part of the outside flow. Gun Runner also rebuffed that flow, whether that is a testament to his performance or to the track being rather fair is a process of splitting hairs.

The 6f Turf Sprint was actually more fair(vs the Santa Anita downhill 6.5f course), in spite of the small course. The Santa Anita 6.5 downhill course kind of dictates tactics to inside draws, and can be a horse-for-course, course. Yesterday's turf sprint was mostly fair, and with the demise of the underlaid favorite, produced boxcar prices.

The broadcast was well done and professional.

The crowd was fine. Not a big deal to me regardless, but I understand Dilanesp is a glass-half-empty guy, and Harper/Fravel are going to be glass-half-full about their business.

[cj]

Originally Posted by upthecreek

But we all know you're way underpaid by TFUS

Seriously, those guys had a stack of 100s at the windows like nothing I've ever seen before and they weren't putting them back in their pockets much when walking away.

[AndyC]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

I am very skeptical of the on track handle numbers. Even if we assume Del Mar's announced attendance numbers, the per capita would have to have shot way up. Last year 70k bet 13.5 million, just under $200 per capita. This year an announced 37k allegedly bet 16 million, shooting per capita up to $450.


Remember, the ANNOUNCED on track attendance on Saturday was the lowest in history. And there were no betting lines.

Were there some rich Saudis in the turf club making $100k bets or something? Otherwise, the BC is clearly lying. Maybe they are counting some off track bets in that number.

Your info points to either a lower crowd count released than was actually there. The alternative would be that DM and the BC have truly gotten the rich elites to attend. Either way it looks positive not negative.

[ronsmac]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

Live attendance is a lot more important than people here think.

It's important because BC sells a lot of expensive tickets and corporate hospitality suites and events, of course.

But it is also important because a big crowd is part of the marketing of the event. If only 15,000 people showed up at the Kentucky Derby, that would be very bad for Churchill Downs, because it would be terrible for their marketing, sending the message to the general public that their event isn't important.

This is why promoters paper houses and pad crowd counts. And it's why most BC's are at SA or CD these days.

Finally, no, a low crowd isn't a good thing for an attendee. It's a good thing for loner horseplayers who just want to stretch out and spend no money other than on coffee and wagering. But it's a terrible thing for all the people who pay hundreds of dollars for the ambience of a great live event. Would it be "good" for the attendees of Del Mar's opening day, who like to show up in beautiful dresses and drink margaritas and party, if they showed up one year and the place was empty? Is an empty bar or dance club "good" because you can stretch out.

The BC only gets a small cut of off track handle. They are putting on an event, and they need a critical mass of people to show up for it. For all sorts of reasons. The last two days diminished the event.

I agree with everything you said except the small cut of off track handle. My rebates are a couple of points less than on a normal cali card.

[Redboard]

I hope they hold every BC at Del Mar. With all the chalk not only losing but most finishing up the track, it felt like Christmas. When favorites win I don’t. Love to see all the experts with pie on their face. I’m sure that the unfamiliarity with the track had something to do with it.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by Redboard

I hope they hold every BC at Del Mar. With all the chalk not only losing but most finishing up the track, it felt like Christmas. When favorites win I don’t. Love to see all the experts with pie on their face. I’m sure that the unfamiliarity with the track had something to do with it.

I think a lot of this is variance. There were a lot of false favorites yesterday, like Drefong and Arrogate, plus even a legitimate favorite in a 2 year old race like Bolt D'Oro can always regress.

Hold it again at DMR with a different group and maybe 7 favorites win.

[Southbaygent]

Originally Posted by upthecreek

It couldn't have been sold out because between 3-4 Eastern the TVG guys were begging people to come out , "If you're in the area , come on out there plenty of room" was what they were saying. So I assume you could pay at the gate

Haha all of a sudden we’re believing TVG guys who we diss on this forum almost daily

As far as I know Tix were 100% sold out. If you got dropped off at über spot, security was asking to show your tix or you were told get back in line for über back Home.

I was there. Some spots crowded, some not. Was easy to eat, bet, pee. Ample parking.

Did all the sold tix show up, who knows? Mutuel handle was impressive.

The whole logistics of crowds reminded me of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where we geared up for nightmare crowds and traffic but all the spot-on planning made it all go smooth.

Crowd size or no, Del Mar did a stellar job hosting the BC. A week ago I would have said BC wouldn’t rerun to DMR, today I’m thinking “maybe”.

[upthecreek]

Originally Posted by Southbaygent

Haha all of a sudden we’re believing TVG guys who we diss on this forum almost daily

As far as I know Tix were 100% sold out. If you got dropped off at über spot, security was asking to show your tix or you were told get back in line for über back Home.

I was there. Some spots crowded, some not. Was easy to eat, bet, pee. Ample parking.

Did all the sold tix show up, who knows? Mutuel handle was impressive.

The whole logistics of crowds reminded me of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where we geared up for nightmare crowds and traffic but all the spot-on planning made it all go smooth.

Crowd size or no, Del Mar did a stellar job hosting the BC. A week ago I would have said BC wouldn’t rerun to DMR, today I’m thinking “maybe”.

I don't think Simon Bray & Kurt Hoover would tell people to come out if they knew they couldn't get in TVG is pretty tied in to Dmr On track all meets It wasn't like ass clown Schrupp was involved. Personally I could care less if they had 50 people or 50,000 BC my least favorite day of racing

[cj]

Originally Posted by upthecreek

I don't think Simon Bray & Kurt Hoover would tell people to come out if they knew they couldn't get in TVG is pretty tied in to Dmr On track all meets It wasn't like ass clown Schrupp was involved. Personally I could care less if they had 50 people or 50,000 BC my least favorite day of racing

I'm not sure how it worked this year, but last year TVG had very few people on site. Were they live on track this year?