Hollywood struggling to fill Saturday card

[Igeteven]

Today, Hollywood Park put on the worst card I have ever seen here in S. California, tomorrow is about the same.

Are the Trainers sending message?

[v j stauffer]

Originally Posted by Igeteven

Today, Hollywood Park put on the worst card I have ever seen here in S. California, tomorrow is about the same.

Are the Trainers sending message?

The weather and the economy are sending a message.

[Igeteven]

Vic

I hope you are right on that one,

Lester

[Tom]

When will someone GET the message - start cutting days - duh.
I'll help them out - I refuse to play crappy race days - haven't played anything in California outside the BC in over a year - don't miss it a bit.
Ditto NYRA...don't need these "past their prime" tracks running on reputation instead of quality.

[Stillriledup]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

The weather and the economy are sending a message.

Bad weather report hurt Hollywood on Thursday. The previous night, rain was expected to start at noon, but they changed the forecast the next day, but people had already planned on not attending.

I dont' like the economy excuse, i think part of the reason is that there's no slots fueled purses. The barns would be overloaded with horses if the purses were packed with slot machine money.

[DanG]

The housing market, agriculture, international trade and tourism, the entertainment industry, auto dealers, furniture and building supply stores...etc...

All of these major industries and MANY more have suffered greatly in California and I believe very few of them have gone to cushion track. Just how So Cal’s handle has stayed this high is remarkable to me given all their internal issues.

[RichieP]

Originally Posted by Tom

When will someone GET the message - start cutting days - duh.

There it is!

PLEASE will the powers that be out there listen to this man

[Show Me the Wire]

Management embraces the concept of cutting days. In fact management would rather have no live racing and merchandise simulacasting to the public.

The horsemen put up resistance to less racing days and fewer purse opportunitiies.

[Tom]

I'm sure the horsemen love 5 horse fields.

[levinmpa]

It seems we get this every year toward the end of both Hollywood meetings. In the Spring/Summer, everyone wants to get down to Del Mar. Hollywood really needs to shorten this Fall meeting by at least a week, and go to a 4 day week after Thanksgiving. It was an excellent meeting up until the conclusion of the Fall Turf Festival. The problem is that with Santa Anita's winter meeting opening on the 26th, many owners and trainers just prefer to wait, and run for a larger purse.

[Show Me the Wire]

Originally Posted by levinmpa

It seems we get this every year toward the end of both Hollywood meetings. In the Spring/Summer, everyone wants to get down to Del Mar. Hollywood really needs to shorten this Fall meeting by at least a week, and go to a 4 day week after Thanksgiving. It was an excellent meeting up until the conclusion of the Fall Turf Festival. The problem is that with Santa Anita's winter meeting opening on the 26th, many owners and trainers just prefer to wait, and run for a larger purse.

All that is true. However, which group would be more adverse to running four days instead of five, management or horsemen?

[lamboguy]

Originally Posted by v j stauffer

The weather and the economy are sending a message.

the economy isn't going to stop tampa, they will be up in handle this upcoming meet, why don't you blame the guys that swindled the race tracks to put in the synthetic.

[Show Me the Wire]

Isn't Gulfstream Tampa's competition? Gulfstream is a dirt track, so why does Tampa fill its card with another "dirt" track available on the same circuit?

Maybe the reason for Tampa's cards is about the purse structure and types of horse Tampa caters too and not the surface.

[rwwupl]

Originally Posted by Tom

I'm sure the horsemen love 5 horse fields.

Race cards should be put on to draw the customers first, not themselves.


The following is from a current article by the Paulick Report :

http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/an...ave-ca-racing/

Excerpt:



Lately, however, the Hollywood Park fall meeting merely serves as a reminder of how tired and old horse racing has become in Southern California as it limps to the end of the racing year.

Perhaps we should count our blessings that Hollywood Park is still in business, given its present ownership by a land development company that has a wrecking ball at the ready as soon as it can obtain financing. Its caretaker management team, led by Jack Liebau, who turned Bay Meadows in Northern California into a useless pile of rubble, is doing little more than going through the motions, knowing the end is near. Can they really be blamed? The track is on life support, with Liebau playing the role of assisted suicide doctor Jack Kevorkian, aka Dr. Death.

[DanG]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

the economy isn't going to stop tampa, they will be up in handle this upcoming meet, why don't you blame the guys that swindled the race tracks to put in the synthetic.

TBD was affected; just as so many businesses have been. One drive around this community the last couple years and the evidence is obvious.

DRF: http://www.drf.com/news/article/109475.html

For much of the last decade, business at Tampa Bay Downs has been on the upswing. But last year, with the economy struggling, betting slipped about 2.5 percent to $3.9 million a day.