Oh no, not again! - Horse Racing Forum - PaceAdvantage.Com

Observer · 03-29-2002, 10:46 PM

Good ol' Frank Stronach and Magna are after Laurel and Pimlico .. fortunately, for now, several members of the Maryland Jockey Club oppose such a sale.

takeout · 03-30-2002, 12:49 AM

I must be missing something here. I would've thought that the possibility of ANY new ownership of the MD tracks would be welcomed with open arms. Shows what I know. If they're that happy with the current ownership, why did they pull the subsidy?

thirtyMTP · 03-30-2002, 01:38 AM

Did anyone see the comments from the chairman of the Maryland R&W Board? I don't have an exact, but something about taking a hard look at Gulfstream and that Magna took a premium track and ran it into the ground.

Also, I don't think DeFrancis is interested in selling, but I could be wrong and/or that mighthave changed.

smf · 03-30-2002, 02:29 AM

Joe D s/ get out as soon as possible. There's no guarantee the slots bill will pass after the present Governor takes a hike. If slots don't 'happen' and his product continues the slide it's in, then he'll have missed the boat and be stuck w/ a lemon.

As much as I very much like playing claims in Md, the situation there isn't all that good (even tho the racing in Md is better than what we have in TX). They're no longer major league, and Delaware and WVa's slots have put the squeeze on Md's remaining product.

The fact that Magna and cdsn are the only groups buying tracks (or even showing a worthy interest) nowdays proves what a bad business this is (owning a track). I'd like to see someone other than magna or cdsn buy LRL, PIM but it looks like no one is stepping up.

For whatever reason, many people (mostly non-locals) heaped praise on lone star for the past few years even tho their business has dropped off sharply. Well, come to find out from an article in our local paper, a councilwoman was quoted as saying "we knew the Trammell group (ownership) wasn't in it for the long haul from the start" when asked of the sale to magna.

The outgoing LS ownership could care less about the future of racing here, which the EXACT same c/b said of DeFrancis and most other ownerships. They were going to sell to the first sucker, in walks Frank, now he owns LS.

In a perfect world, only 2 people would run racetracks in the U. S....Bryan Krantz (Fairgrounds), and Schwartz (NYRA). Too bad we're stuck w/ meeker and stronach.

smf · 03-30-2002, 02:42 AM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by thirtyMTP
[B]Did anyone see the comments from the chairman of the Maryland R&W Board? I don't have an exact, but something about taking a hard look at Gulfstream and that Magna took a premium track and ran it into the ground.

>>>>>>>>>>

Yes, I saw that. Also, apparently some GP trainers aren't happy w/ Magna's performance up to now.

http://www.sunspot.net/sports/horser...sports%2Dhorse

In the Dallas Morning News, one of the leading trainers here (Sam David) was openly skeptical of Magna buying LS out. He said in so many words that cdsn at least put racing first, and he wasn't certain he c/ say that of magna.

Observer · 03-30-2002, 10:55 AM

I don't like how these two organizations are scooping up all the tracks in the country .. you know .. if someone goes bust, what happens to all those tracks they have??

I have nothing against the possible sale of those tracks, but I do have a problem with all these tracks selling themselves out, and an apparent disregard for what could happen to the future of this game on a national basis if these same organizations, specifically Magna, are permitted to just keep collecting whatever is available.

As they say, everything is for sale, for the right price. But, that doesn't make the sale the best thing. If Laurel and Pimlico are to be sold, I would much prefer to see Churchill do the purchasing than Magna. I don't think it's any secret that Magna just hasn't seemed to be into improving the game, and they have done some strange things, and have had some strange ideas. And I don't think there is anyone who could seriously say that Gulfstream put on their top notch product this winter.

cj · 03-30-2002, 11:17 AM

What's the possibility that the two giants are scooping up all these tracks and eventually plan to close them? It would certainly cut down on the competition. Much more money would be bet into the pools of the remaining tracks while operating costs were drastically reduced. I don't even know that this would be all bad for the industry in the long run, but then again, I don't know much!

CJ

smf · 03-30-2002, 01:24 PM

Good news, perhaps. MRC's opinion of magna's past performance might be strong enuff to actually block a deal. I believe this is what '30mtp' was referring to.

___"We would never approve it, I can tell you that," Saxon said. "I personally would look long and hard after the experience at Gulfstream. Why would Maryland approve an operator that runs a premium racetrack into the ground?"

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/tod...20751&subsec=1

What turns off Maryland officials, apparently gives the Tx Racing comission a cause to celebrate. Just shows how bad the situation is here w/ the on-track product.

PaceAdvantage · 03-30-2002, 02:00 PM

Hasn't Maryland racing and Joe D & Company been severely criticized in the past over how they run their tracks? I'm not intimately familiar with the area, but I'm sure I've read many, MANY critical articles and opinions about them....

Which leads me to think they are being just a tad hypocritical over the prospect of being bought out by Magna....

==PA

Observer · 03-30-2002, 04:50 PM

True, PA .. but you know the saying about putting all your eggs in one basket .. and right now there aren't many baskets out there anymore.

syyamo · 03-30-2002, 10:55 PM

Observer,

First let me state that I am not a fan of Magna. And I agree that seeminlgy, they do some strange things. However, as someone aplty put it "Calder at Gulfstrem" meet can not be laid fully at the feat of Magna. This is a direct result of Hialeah not opening up their barns to stable horses for the GP meet. True, Magna AND Calder somewhat caused this by chasing after Hialeah's dates, but I'm willing to give Magna a pass on that for this year. Let's see what happens next year after their new training facility is built.

From what I can tell by watching the nightly replay show from Gulfstream they seem to be positioning the track as an entertainment mecca as apposed to a racetrack. If you can't legally pump up the purses via slots I suppose they have to try something.

Recently while waiting for the replay show to start I watched a bit of the Florida legislature in "action". Appearing before some committee were representatives from Magna who are trying to "get a level playing field" . In short, they want laws repealed so they are able to run at night. Stay tuned.

Observer · 03-31-2002, 03:30 AM

Magna wanting to raise the takeout on wagering to generate the purse money needed for their proposed battle of the states competition thing-a-ma-jig was a strange idea.

Manga not having the two Golden Gates horse ambulances in proper working order on the same day was absolutely pathetic in the case of Silicon Sally, a daughter of Carson City, out of the Nijinsky II mare Dancing Slippers. She was only making her fourth career start when she broke down on the sloppy track in January. Maybe that poor, stricken filly would have needed to be put down either way, but to have her suffering for more than 30 minutes is just the kind of black eye the animal rights activists are looking for, and the kind of thing that leads to the poor view on racing, not to mention the obvious fact that this was absolutely inhumane. This wasn't merely a case where the ambulance couldn't get to her, the track vet couldn't even get to her for those 30+ minutes. They needed to delay the start of the next race, and when the vet finally did get to her, he walked her on her busted knee out of sight of the fans. Magna has been slapped with the maximum fine the California Horse Racing Board was permitted, $10,000, for this inexcusable situation, and they have also been sued by the filly's owners.

Let's not forget the big mess Magna created with the Breeders' Cup a couple of years ago when they backed out with Santa Anita because they needed to do improvements. If the track needed those improvements that desperately, Breeders' Cup Ltd. would never have selected them as a host site.

Speaking of Santa Anita, let's not forget that giant jumbotron in the infield that we get a good glimpse of everytime we're trying to watch a race. Now, I'm not against jumbotrons, but I am when they block my view of what's happening in the race. It's not like this thing is a tree.

I understand the issues surrounding the Florida stall space. My main problem with Magna is that they do not seem to be out for the good of the game, for improving the sport or for improving the product. They seem to want to make racing a circus side-show for families, yet appear to be making their own little wagering mecca for the bettors.

Now, I know everyone needs to look out for themselves, but we're talking about an entire industry coming to a point where it has just three principle operators ... NYRA, CDSN and Magna .. and that's a dangerous thing.

Tom · 03-31-2002, 09:34 AM

That episode with Silicone Sally just underscores what Frank the S really is - a greedy, evil b*st*rd. He is poison to this industry, Therre is absolutelu no excuse why a race was allowed to go off without proper abulance service available other than greed. Dont limit this outrageto animal rights activitsts - I am sickened by it and I am sickened by Frany the S. I wish nothing but bad luck to him personally and professionally. The world of racing would be a better place without the like of this sewer scrapping. I have not played GG since then and I never will again. It is the epitome of minor league racing and no purse structure can ever change that.

kitts · 03-31-2002, 08:21 PM

I've been on my soapbox for some years with a prediction that sure looks like it is coming true-in not too long a time there will be horserace centers in NY, FL, TX, and CA. And that will be it Maybe one more. Watch and Wager at home and online betting. "two legs good,four legs better" to quote Mr. Orwell.

BillW · 03-31-2002, 08:39 PM

Kitts,

Unfortunately, the best Tx racing is at OP and FG

Bill