In light of the mess, Calder has raised takeouts

[Cangamble]

The big news to specialty gamblers Monday was that Calder raised its takeout percentage on a few wagering options. The track will now take 27 percent out of Pick 3, 4 and 5 wagering (up 3 percentage points) and 21 percent from the Daily Double and Exacta bets (up 1 percentage point).
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/504523.html

Seriously, are the people who run Calder (Churchill Downs) insane ????????

[karlskorner]

Not only that they raised the admission price for the grandstand/clubhouse.
I guess they were overly impressed by the simulcasting crowd they drew away from GP.

[Tom]

Any track still charging admission is not worth going to.
I grudgingly pay the extortion money to get into Saratoga, but only because the Toga guys are there. If not for them, I would never set foot on the grounds.

[shanta]

Goodbye Calder! Goodbye Turf Paradise!

Hello Keeneland! Hello Hawthorne!

Etc.Etc

Very simple stuff.

[GaryG]

I will sure be sorry to see this Tampa meet end....it is the best for me. I usually play Calder and Monmouth during the summer, but what the hell. I am old enough to work just part time anyway. Wait, I am old enough to retire!

[john del riccio]

Originally Posted by GaryG

I will sure be sorry to see this Tampa meet end....it is the best for me. I usually play Calder and Monmouth during the summer, but what the hell. I am old enough to work just part time anyway. Wait, I am old enough to retire!

Gary,

You and me both. TAM was great for me. I must say though, the last 2 weeks were a little on the bizzare side but I sort of expected that and scaled down. it seems to happen at most race meets (ie becareful the last few weeks).

John

[bigchump]

Yesterday's first race pools:
First @ Philly 38K wps pool.
First @ Calder 7K wps pool.
Let the low pools at Calder teach them a lesson.
A takeout increase is not enough...
Whoever is to blame.....I just don't care.
I'm through with Calder.
If only we would stick together and boycott Calder and any other track that pulls stunts like this, how soon things would change.

rant over
bigchump

Edit:
A boycott is the act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with someone or some other organization as an expression of protest.

[1st time lasix]

Calder isn't hard to boycott anyway. Worst track in the country for a significant reduction of odds on a front running type that secures position by the first call. In my opinion they clearly accept money into their win pool after the gates open. probably into the exacta pool as well but it is not so easy to observe.

[prospector]

Originally Posted by karlskorner

Not only that they raised the admission price for the grandstand/clubhouse.
I guess they were overly impressed by the simulcasting crowd they drew away from GP.

i can't get past the charging of admission to bet....or parking charges...
hoosier has valet parking for $3...are they nuts?
i can valet park at ceasars in vegas for a buck..

living in vegas for 10 years spoiled me..no admission, free parking, free program(drf) and free drinks..
its simple for me...want my money? treat me like you do.

[trying2win]

I just fired an email off to CALDER RACECOURSE and told them what I thought of them raising takeouts on certain types of bets: Here is the email I sent:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

~"The REAL BOSS is the customer. They pay for your salary and everything you own. If you don't please him or her, they will take their business elsewhere."
--Earl Nightingale

Hello:

I just read the MIAMI HERALD article about CALDER RACECOURSE raising the takeouts on PICK 3, 4, 5 bets, and the EXACTA AND DAILY DOUBLE bets. This seems like insanity to me. This article has already been posted at some horse racing discussion group sites and your racetrack is already being vilified by many bettors for this action.
Do you think most of us bettors are stupid? Do you think most of us bettors are degenerates as well, and will bet any track regardless of the amount of the takeouts?.....WRONG! Mark my words...this action of raising of takeouts will backfire on your racetrack big time, and I predict a big drop in parimutuel handle. I for one, because of the raising of takeouts, WILL NOT BE BETTING AT CALDER. Before I go, just remember the words of the mother of FORREST GUMP (from the movie)..."STUPID IS...AS STUPID DOES!"

Thank you,
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay....who else at this PACE ADVANTAGE site is going to not just TALK THE TALK, but WALK THE TALK and send off an email to CALDER RACECOURSE and tell them what you think of them raising takeouts? We all read about the 'POWER OF RACETRACK MANAGEMENT and the 'POWER OF HORSEMEN". Don't you think it's time to show the 'POWER OF HORSE PLAYERS" and say something on this issue of raising takeouts, by speaking out with your words and your wallets?

Time to stop making excuses like "sending one email won't make a difference"....NONSENSE! Just think what a whole bunch of bettors sending their opinions to CALDER RACECOURSE could possibly do? Just might get the CALDER executives' attention if enough bettors complain.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now....here's the link to the contact page at CALDER RACECOURSE :

http://www.calderracecourse.com/about/contact_us.html


~"Persons of mediocre accomplishments are quick to explain why they
HAVEN'T, why they DON'T, why they CAN'T and why they AREN'T."

--David J. Schwartz Ph.D. (by the way, this is not DAVE SCHWARTZ of HORSESTREET HANDICAPPING SOFTWARE fame)

[csmith]

I just e-mailed them stating my dissatisfaction for the takeout

Originally Posted by bigchump

Yesterday's first race pools:
First @ Philly 38K wps pool.
First @ Calder 7K wps pool.
Let the low pools at Calder teach them a lesson.
A takeout increase is not enough...
Whoever is to blame.....I just don't care.
I'm through with Calder.
If only we would stick together and boycott Calder and any other track that pulls stunts like this, how soon things would change.

rant over
bigchump

Edit:
A boycott is the act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with someone or some other organization as an expression of protest.

Well, the pools were low because no one in the country could bet on the simulcasts. That's not exactly shocking, is it, when 90% of the money comes from off track?

[Cangamble]

Just got this email from Churchill Downs (how I got on their mailing list is a mystery to me)

FLORIDA HORSEMEN’S REFUSAL TO SEND CALDER SIGNAL OUT OF STATE FORCES 30-PERCENT PURSE CUT AT TRACK EFFECTIVE APRIL 27

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (April 22, 2008) – Calder Race Course today announced that due to the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association’s refusal to approve the distribution of Calder races to out-of-state wagering outlets, including advance-deposit wagering (“ADW”) companies, the racetrack has been forced to cut purses by 30 percent, effective Sunday, April 27. The purse reductions will affect a variety of race conditions, including stakes races.

“The Florida horsemen’s refusal to allow out-of-state wagering on Calder’s races has left us with no option but to cut purses now in order to offset the amount of handle both Florida horsemen and Calder will lose every day that Florida horsemen refuse to send Calder’s signal out of state,” said Steve Sexton, executive vice president of Churchill Downs Incorporated, Calder’s parent company. “Florida horsemen have chosen to single out and penalize Calder, as well as customers around the country who enjoy wagering on Calder’s races. We find that hard to understand when TrackNet Media Group, which negotiates simulcast sales for both Churchill Downs- and Magna-owned racetracks, has nearly doubled the ADW host fee rate paid to horsemen in Florida compared to last year.”

Currently, the only wagering outlets permitted to accept wagers on Calder races are simulcast outlets within the state of Florida and New York Off-Track Betting (“NYOTB”) facilities. On April 21, Florida horsemen gave their consent to allow NYOTB to accept wagers on Calder races. The Isle Casino & Racing at Pompano Park, a casino and harness racetrack in Pompano Beach, Fla., is not receiving Calder’s signal because no cross-simulcasting agreement exists between Calder and that facility.

Sexton said the purse cut would not affect the first-ever Calder Turf Million, scheduled for Saturday, April 26. “Several stables have already shipped in horses to compete in Saturday’s Turf Million, and we don’t want to inconvenience those horsemen by reducing purses for Saturday’s card so close to the event,” Sexton noted. “We hope for the sake of our customers that Florida horsemen will revisit their position on this matter.”

Calder Race Course, located on South Florida’s Miami-Dade / Broward county line, offers Thoroughbred horse racing during two consecutive meets and year-round simulcasting. The track is home of the Summit of Speed, Juvenile Showcase, Festival of the Sun, Florida Million and Grand Slam series of events. A wholly owned property of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), Calder also operates the Tropical Meet. In 2008, the Calder Meet runs from April 21 through Oct. 19 and the Tropical Meet runs from Oct. 20 through Jan. 2, 2009. Information about Calder Race Course can be found on the Internet at www.calderracecourse.com.

[rrbauer]

We (the horseplayers) are holding the remedy to all of this nonsense: Our pocketbooks. Lock 'em up! Arrogance is the only explanation for this latest move by Calder. We need to teach these people that 27% of nothing' is nothin'! As you know, I've been harping on this takeout issue for a long time and a lot of people are slow to embrace the idea of just shutting down until the dust settles. I hope the stupidity of the industry and their total indifference to their customers is sinking in. The only thing they want from us is our money....and, from my perspective, they ain't getting it!!

[Imriledup]

Don't. Bet. Calder.


Its that simple.