My response to Andy C re Whales

[Denny]

Isn't NYRA legally set up as a not-for-profit???

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

Why wouldn't Saratoga go up?

You have a track that wealthy people travel to as a vacation destination. Staying in the town is very expensive (and in fact dwarfs whatever people pay for admission). It is also, other than the Belmont Stakes, NYRA's only chance to realize significant revenue from live patrons. And Saratoga can probably make even more money they more they charge (up to a point), because it will price out poorer patrons which will give the track a wealthier "feel" as it is filled up with more and more good looking people wearing nice clothes and hats, etc. Plus the track is small and it gets crowded when more than 30,000 people are there anyway.

It's pretty obvious that the correct business model is to charge nothing for Aqueduct, very little for Belmont (except on Belmont day and on a Breeders' Cup if they ever get one again), and a ton for Saratoga. NYRA is following that business model. As they should.

Not every horse racing date is about the regular horseplayer.

I don't think that anyone could ever accuse the NYRA of operating with the "regular horseplayer" in mind.

[Denny]

Sorry for going off topic. Certain things just rile me up.

how NYRA operates is just one of them.

[Denny]

Originally Posted by dilanesp

Average families can have a nice day out at Belmont at very low prices.

Saratoga is something else entirely. It caters to a different crowd. And as I noted, I don't think many "average families" can afford the hotels and restaurants in town anyway.

I have to say something about this.

YOU'RE TOTALLY WRONG.

I spend a lot of time at Saratoga every year. I meet and talk to people from all over the place. From all of New England, from Western NY and beyond, Canada, etc.

College kids and families, retired folk like me.

Mostly average people. Not well-to-do elites as you seem to think.

Those are in the boxes in the Clubhouse. Charge them what you like - not us.
We bet money and buy food and drink. (overpriced as it is)

Why were they able to operate for so many years without raising admission before Kay took over?

[Denny]

And BTW, the "average families" DON"T stay in town. They stay in motels up to half an hour away to avoid those crazy prices they charge in "town".

They make day trips to the track.

They come on tour buses.

They are average people that LIVE in the REGION.

[dilanesp]

Originally Posted by Denny

I have to say something about this.

YOU'RE TOTALLY WRONG.

I spend a lot of time at Saratoga every year. I meet and talk to people from all over the place. From all of New England, from Western NY and beyond, Canada, etc.

College kids and families, retired folk like me.

Mostly average people. Not well-to-do elites as you seem to think.

Those are in the boxes in the Clubhouse. Charge them what you like - not us.
We bet money and buy food and drink. (overpriced as it is)

Why were they able to operate for so many years without raising admission before Kay took over?

1. Where did you stay and how much did you pay?

If your hotel cost $175, I am sorry, you can afford $20 or $30 to get in.

2. They will make more money, almost certainly, by pricing people out.

[Denny]

If you must know,
I don't stay in a hotel/motel.
I stay with family half an hour away near Schenectady.
A friend stays in a motel in Colonie, 20 minutes away from Saratoga.
Rest of people I know make day trips from 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Like i also do sometimes.

I also actually talk to people at the track.
Meet people from all over the Northeast, and very few actually stay in Saratoga Springs. It's a gigantic rip-off for the wealthy only.
The Clubhouse crowd.
Is that enough?

Ranting over.