Time for Contraction

[ultracapper]

EMD shouldn't have been effected by weather related issues. It's been a typical winter here, all in all. A few dramatic days, but nothing sustained or climactic.

What are the Muckleshoots throwing into each purse? Gotta be less than a 10% enhancement. The big thing, the real big thing, about the Muckleshoots and Emerald Downs is the fact the tribe owns the land EMD sits on. And they bought it after the track was built. And there's plenty of comparable other land in the immediate area. So, obviously, EMD is an issue with them in one way or another. Their long-term plans are anybody's guess, with damn few clues to go by.

[EMD4ME]

Originally Posted by ultracapper

EMD shouldn't have been effected by weather related issues. It's been a typical winter here, all in all. A few dramatic days, but nothing sustained or climactic.

What are the Muckleshoots throwing into each purse? Gotta be less than a 10% enhancement. The big thing, the real big thing, about the Muckleshoots and Emerald Downs is the fact the tribe owns the land EMD sits on. And they bought it after the track was built. And there's plenty of comparable other land in the immediate area. So, obviously, EMD is an issue with them in one way or another. Their long-term plans are anybody's guess, with damn few clues to go by.

GULP

[SuperPickle]

Originally Posted by ultracapper

EMD shouldn't have been effected by weather related issues. It's been a typical winter here, all in all. A few dramatic days, but nothing sustained or climactic.

What are the Muckleshoots throwing into each purse? Gotta be less than a 10% enhancement. The big thing, the real big thing, about the Muckleshoots and Emerald Downs is the fact the tribe owns the land EMD sits on. And they bought it after the track was built. And there's plenty of comparable other land in the immediate area. So, obviously, EMD is an issue with them in one way or another. Their long-term plans are anybody's guess, with damn few clues to go by.

The Muckleshoots will happily keep writing those checks (it's at least a couple million a year) as long as they don't ask for slots.

When you factor in how far away from Seattle it is, the growth in handle and the deal with the casino they're fine near term.

[EMD4ME]

I read on their website that they had 13,000 for fireworks night last year at EMD.

I haven't seen 13,000 since the Belmont stakes

I honestly don't think Stars and Stripes day at Belmont drew 13,000. I don't remember. (I am not counting the SPA for obvious reasons).

Unless you count the 13,000 zombies in the racino next door who are throwing away their WIC allowance every month.

But it's ok. NYRA has it all figured it out. Forget growing the product. Just focus on ADW market share in 30 states, who cares about tapping into 10,000,000 NYC residents.

Little old Washington outdraws NYRA. They should be ashamed.

But that's ok, you can watch the races on TV. Wait, no you can't

Program manager asked me to help another 50 year plus diehard. He needed to get his ROKU code. I was almost there (helping him) when he said I don't have e-mail. You need e-mail to access the ROKU code. Real Geniuses at NYRA.

At that point , I gave up and so did he. Another VIP $300,000 a year player who can't bet unless he is there. Program manager felt terrible. It was embarassing.

NYRA is making sure contraction occurs. Contraction of their diehard decades old base.

[ultracapper]

Originally Posted by SuperPickle

The Muckleshoots will happily keep writing those checks (it's at least a couple million a year) as long as they don't ask for slots.

When you factor in how far away from Seattle it is, the growth in handle and the deal with the casino they're fine near term.

There is not a single slot machine in the state of Washington that is not on reservation land. Not one. If anything, the Muckleshoots bought the land under the track in order to get slots at the track one day. And with that set up, they may not have to supplement purses. My guess is the Washington horsemen may be the only horsemen in the nation against slots at their track.

I would bet the tribe has tried to get slots at the track many times, but even though they own it, it's not on the reservation.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by EMD4ME

I read on their website that they had 13,000 for fireworks night last year at EMD.

I haven't seen 13,000 since the Belmont stakes

I honestly don't think Stars and Stripes day at Belmont drew 13,000. I don't remember. (I am not counting the SPA for obvious reasons).

Unless you count the 13,000 zombies in the racino next door who are throwing away their WIC allowance every month.

But it's ok. NYRA has it all figured it out. Forget growing the product. Just focus on ADW market share in 30 states, who cares about tapping into 10,000,000 NYC residents.

Little old Washington outdraws NYRA. They should be ashamed.

But that's ok, you can watch the races on TV. Wait, no you can't

Program manager asked me to help another 50 year plus diehard. He needed to get his ROKU code. I was almost there (helping him) when he said I don't have e-mail. You need e-mail to access the ROKU code. Real Geniuses at NYRA.

At that point , I gave up and so did he. Another VIP $300,000 a year player who can't bet unless he is there. Program manager felt terrible. It was embarassing.

NYRA is making sure contraction occurs. Contraction of their diehard decades old base.

NYRA is terribly run, and they basically blackmailed the state into extending their charter a few years ago, by falsifying a land claim.

New York tracks started losing attendance in the 1970's, 15 years before the other major circuits started losing people. And NYRA, as you note, can't even draw for big races at Belmont, despite being next to the largest market in the country. NYRA had trouble even drawing for the Breeders' Cup.

The only bright spots are Saratoga and the Belmont Stakes.

Live attendance is important. Not only do tracks make more money from live patrons, who buy food, pay for parking, etc., but live attendance gets people interested in the sport. NYRA' s inability to be able to get 1/1000th of the population of New York to come to the track is one of the great continuing acts of malpractice in our entire sport.

Those tracks should be sold to someone who knows how to market, and they should clean house.

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

NYRA is terribly run, and they basically blackmailed the state into extending their charter a few years ago, by falsifying a land claim.

I had no idea NY State was capable of being so easily duped...good to know...tax season is upon us.

[Secondbest]

Talking about contraction
Aqueduct has 52 horses running a nine race card on a holiday.

[elhelmete]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

I had no idea NY State was capable of being so easily duped...good to know...tax season is upon us.

Oh no no no...NY gets TAXES right all the time. They have their best men on it!

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by PaceAdvantage

I had no idea NY State was capable of being so easily duped...good to know...tax season is upon us.

They weren't duped, they were blackmailed.

NYRA was chartered 60 years ago as a specially chartered non-profit to run the remaining New York thoroughbred racetracks, which had been purchased by the state. When NYRA had its big corruption scandal, the state looked at the possibility of allowing a competitor in to operate the tracks rather than NYRA. At that point, NYRA falsified a land claim and claimed that NYRA was deeded the tracks in the 1950's, which was ridiculous. NYRA never paid any money or gave any consideration for all that valuable land-- they were an operating company.

But the fake land claim gave NYRA leverage which allowed them to freeze out potential competitors and have their operating license extended, because it would have cost a ton of money and taken years to litigate.

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

They weren't duped, they were blackmailed.

NYRA was chartered 60 years ago as a specially chartered non-profit to run the remaining New York thoroughbred racetracks, which had been purchased by the state. When NYRA had its big corruption scandal, the state looked at the possibility of allowing a competitor in to operate the tracks rather than NYRA. At that point, NYRA falsified a land claim and claimed that NYRA was deeded the tracks in the 1950's, which was ridiculous. NYRA never paid any money or gave any consideration for all that valuable land-- they were an operating company.

But the fake land claim gave NYRA leverage which allowed them to freeze out potential competitors and have their operating license extended, because it would have cost a ton of money and taken years to litigate.

How in the world could something FAKE give them LEVERAGE? If it's FAKE, it has no leverage. We're talking NEW YORK STATE here, not some old lady living in a house that's up for eminent domain and she was swindled by a bunch of fast talking lawyers.

You're saying NYS was duped?!?!? How could that possibly be? Think logically. If it was FAKE, then NYS would have told NYRA to go take a hike...pronto...

[HuggingTheRail]

Originally Posted by ultracapper

EMD shouldn't have been effected by weather related issues. It's been a typical winter here, all in all. A few dramatic days, but nothing sustained or climactic.

Good to hear you escaped the weather. Hastings announced yesterday that they are going to delay opening by one week in April as they know they will not be ready

[EMD4ME]

Originally Posted by HuggingTheRail

Good to hear you escaped the weather. Hastings announced yesterday that they are going to delay opening by one week in April as they know they will not be ready

Sorry to hear that HTR. I am so psyched that this year, I get 2 more weeks of EMD

[ReplayRandall]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

The industry has a peculiar way of running a game whose betting is driven almost exclusively by out-of-town wagers. 37 thoroughbred racetracks are running today...and all of them are expecting to do business.

We need to start getting serious about the subject of contraction, and we can start with the average field sizes of those 37 tracks running today. Excluding Saratoga, what are we looking at, fields of 6 or 7 after phantom scratches??

[Jeff P]

As I type this (roughly 8:00 pm pacific) there are currently 395 scratches in the Equibase XML for today's thoroughbred races.

I can't help thinking that if they did preliminary vet inspections the morning of... rather than wait until the horses approach the gate:

About half of those scratches would be known hours before post time -- instead of a minute or so before post time.

It's maddening.

It's like they're trying to pull a bait and switch. Either that or they just don't want players to know who's actually running.


-jp

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