Meets: Laurel expands, Mountaineer reduces

[Grits]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...mmer-race-meet

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...-drop-50-dates

[gheuks]

I would expect laurel to continue where pimlico left off with good cards and lots of turf. If you haven't given Maryland racing a look lately, you should.

[tanner12oz]

Mountaineer reduced dates last year too

[thespaah]

Less than 7 per event....Less than $90k handle per card....Casino revenue or not, no track can survive with numbers like that.

[appistappis]

no sense for the mountain and mah valley to run at the same time.

[bello]

Casino revenues are down in general and will continue as the folks hooked up to the breathing machines continue to away The millennials are not interested in mindless slots. Couple that with over-saturation of a dying industry, slots, and you have a recipe for disaster for all racinos.

Racetracks that can get people to attend with the welfare slots will be the ones that survive. Slots were a temporary fix that destroyed innovation from track management to get people to the track.

Tracks should take a lesson from Churchill Downs and use strong marketing techniques to bring people in. Those that do not will quickly fade away. The trend has started.

[castaway01]

Originally Posted by bello

Casino revenues are down in general and will continue as the folks hooked up to the breathing machines continue to away The millennials are not interested in mindless slots. Couple that with over-saturation of a dying industry, slots, and you have a recipe for disaster for all racinos.

Racetracks that can get people to attend with the welfare slots will be the ones that survive. Slots were a temporary fix that destroyed innovation from track management to get people to the track.

Tracks should take a lesson from Churchill Downs and use strong marketing techniques to bring people in. Those that do not will quickly fade away. The trend has started.

Can we please not have racetracks take lessons from Churchill Downs on anything? Could you pick a worse example?

Also, it's not like they haven't tried to get slot machines themselves, or to buy tracks where they could get slot machines. Racing is strong enough in Kentucky to fight off the slots because they figure it will divert money from betting, but that's the only reason they don't have slots too. It's not for some noble cause.

[bello]

Been to Churchill lately?

Been to racino tracks lately?

Keep Enjoying betting from your living room. I like going to the live races where I can mingle with like minded folks. Seems like the only place there are any folks lately are Keenland and CD and I travel to a dozen tracks or more every year. I'll pay the extra vig for the job they do. Not a popular opinion I know, but I'll make it. Racino tracks are dead or dying.

[Cholly]

Originally Posted by bello

Tracks should take a lesson from Churchill Downs and use strong marketing techniques to bring people in. Those that do not will quickly fade away. The trend has started.

With the "Downs After Dark" series, Churchill is emphasizing revenue based on admissions and concessions, with less emphasis placed on revenue generated from wagering. Of course they would--the admission and concession revenue doesn't have to be shared with horsemen or ADW's; they don't have to offer rebates on $10 beers.

Instead of trying to attract customers who will spend $20 on admission/concessions and $200 wagering, they want more customers who will spend $200 on admission/concessions & maybe only $20 on wagering. They attracted 28,000+ plus Foster Night, and the average wagering per person was about $50...but you can "bet" they sold boatloads of alcohol and food, with almost all of that revenue flowing straight to the bottom line.

That kind of thinking is an anathema to those who contend "horse racing is only a gambling game", but the people who think that aren't trying to profitably run a race track facility--CDI is.

[bello]

Sorry Cholly, But I respectfully disagree. New bettors/millennials will NEVER get interested in racing by simply and accidentally tuning into TVG or wandering into OTB. They are also NOT the ones strolling in to play slots. You need to get their asses to the track, and they will sense the excitement of live racing and the SKILL associated with picking a winner. Success feeds on those factors. New gamblers will be created and that id the only way. There is no marketing to old fart horseplayers. There is marketing to new potential players who want skill games and excitement. Like it or not Churchill and their Downs After Dark program along with music, drinking, getting novices into the winners circle, the AP promotion has all been ingenious. And if they make consession money more power to them.

Better than the empty seats at Belmont. Other than a couple of old time Stakes days the place is a ghost town

[thaskalos]

Originally Posted by Cholly

With the "Downs After Dark" series, Churchill is emphasizing revenue based on admissions and concessions, with less emphasis placed on revenue generated from wagering. Of course they would--the admission and concession revenue doesn't have to be shared with horsemen or ADW's; they don't have to offer rebates on $10 beers.

Instead of trying to attract customers who will spend $20 on admission/concessions and $200 wagering, they want more customers who will spend $200 on admission/concessions & maybe only $20 on wagering. They attracted 28,000+ plus Foster Night, and the average wagering per person was about $50...but you can "bet" they sold boatloads of alcohol and food, with almost all of that revenue flowing straight to the bottom line.

That kind of thinking is an anathema to those who contend "horse racing is only a gambling game", but the people who think that aren't trying to profitably run a race track facility--CDI is.

But can they accomplish that on weekdays? It ain't easy running a track by depending on the festive atmosphere that you provide on the occasional marquee racing day.

[bello]

Originally Posted by thaskalos

But can they accomplish that on weekdays? It ain't easy running a track by depending on the festive atmosphere that you provide on the occasional marquee racing day.

There is no way the can accomplish the same results on a weekday,...But don't think that is the point. If they even get a few more people interested in betting on the festive nights they win from a gambling perspective as well as a business perspective. They, as most businesses do, will have busy days and slower days. Key is creation of new customers and zapping in the profit on the busy days. Like CD or not, that is what they are doing.

[dirty moose]

I hope Laurel picks up where Pimlico left off. I thought Pimlico's meet was great.

[charm city whizz]

Sal Sinatra doing all the right things in Maryland so far, the otb at horseshoe casino is great

[Stillriledup]

Originally Posted by castaway01

Can we please not have racetracks take lessons from Churchill Downs on anything? Could you pick a worse example?

Also, it's not like they haven't tried to get slot machines themselves, or to buy tracks where they could get slot machines. Racing is strong enough in Kentucky to fight off the slots because they figure it will divert money from betting, but that's the only reason they don't have slots too. It's not for some noble cause.

And then to add if they don't get slot machines in the tracks they buy, they sell those tracks to the 'killers' to get developed. No doubt that you are right, using CD as an example of anything other than a company who hates horse racing and the people who work inside the game is a pretty bad example.