Breeders’ Cup officials have decided to suspend the entire Breeders’ Cup stakes program for 2009

[Wrongly]

http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/48414.htm

Wow, seems pretty drastic!

[sighthound]

Adding that Friday day of racing cost a few mil.  

Whoops.

[Silver Charm]

And the Synthetic handle cost a couple more......

[sighthound]

Number of meets/tracks I haven\'t bet due to track change to synthetic surface:  zero

Number of meets/tracks I purposely have sought out to bet due to track change to synthetic surface:  three

Number of meets/tracks I wanted to, but haven\'t been able to bet due to signal fights, so I cannot access with the current three major ADW platforms I have from home:   multiple

[Boscar Obarra]

I commented a number of months ago, that I was surprised more here were not commenting on the economic crisis.

 Even horseplayers (and racetracks)  have to live in the real world, as hard as that is to believe.

[BitPlayer]

The interesting question is: How have the signal fights have affected your total handle?  I think the willingness of Churchill Downs to take a hard line with the THG is based in part on the assumption that bettors will shift their handle to tracks that have deals with the ADWs.

My last-resort ADW is NYRA, which allows out-of-staters to bet by phone (but not online) on tracks that are simulcast by NYRA tracks.

[richiebee]

Its not so much the effect of signal fights, it\'s the cause.

The cause is that the various racing jurisdictions can not seem to work together
to maximize racing\'s full potential.

I see in racing\'s future 15-20 live racing venues in North America, hopefully
unified under one sanctioning body and utilizing a synchronized year round
schedule. The result might be larger fields featuring quality runners.

The foal crop, now in excess of 30,000 per year, will drop into the high teens.
While it would have been nice if this reduction was done by design, I would
imagine that the current US economy will bring about this reduction. There are
multiple issues here, including excluding non stakes winning stallion prospects
and unraced mares from the breeding equation.

TVG and HRTV disappear, are replaced by a network which takes the multi billion
dollar business/sport of Racing seriously and does not treat Racing
condescendingly. This network will have a 24 hour presence and will not be
attached to an ADW platform. This network will cover quality racing from Europe
and Asia extensively, as these (medication free) continents will handle more US
action given the reduction in US racing. This network is available on all cable
systems.

One media clearinghouse provides the information now currently supplied by 4
separate entities -- DRF, Equibase, TG and Rags; JB cashes out and begins a
quest to become king of the handicapping contests and lower his golf handicap
to single digits.

[Silver Charm]

The signal fights have destroyed wagering and interest. Certainly mine. I tried to bet Calder oon late Sat but could not because I needed to go to the track or the dog site. Excuse me it is X-mass shopping season with plenty of other todo\'s on my weekend hit list. I did get to watch thru online so there is progress.

But do not underestimate the Synthetic issue. The BC caught a bad weather day at Monmouth, a good site that probably deserves another chance. The Synthetic handle was weak and it will be weak again next year because they are running it over the same surface. My Keeneland wagering has nosed dived because I just do not have a read on the stuff.

The big guys are getting their clocks cleaned becasue all of the races were won by Euros or Turf horses. Now the little guy is going to get cleaned becasue of the cuts.

Maybe the big guy purses should have been cut since they handing it over the Europeans. Screw the little guy is bad public relations. Like the signal disputes.......

[TGJB]

We just did a breakdown of online sales over the last 3 years by track. CRC is way down (40%) this year. Oaklawn, which I believe was carried by every ADW, is way up-- double the sales of 07. This is presumably because people who buy online figure to play online or by phone.

[sighthound]

What has happened to the synthetic tracks before vs after they went synthetic?

[TGJB]

I\'ve only got 06 on,but Del Mar was up a lot last year (20%), up again about 6% this year. Santa Anita was up 25% last year, about flat this year, but it\'s a little complicated-- on one hand they had a bunch of cancellations and we don\'t have the whole year in yet, on the other they had the BC, which adds a lot of sales. Hollywood was up 22% last year, flat this year. Keeneland was up 20% last, 13% this year.

Basically, the numbers for each track should go up each year, since our sales do (or did until the economy hit the fan a few months ago, now we\'re running about even with last year). The reason we did this breakdown is to look at the effect of the AWDs not taking tracks-- judging by Calder (and to a lesser extent Churchill-- down 10%) that\'s affecting not just bettors but us as well.

It will be interesting to see how things develop in this industry over the next few years. The economic crisis should accelerate some pretty drastic changes-- to the bloodstock market, to tracks, to everyone. Maybe even to some in the data end of the pool.

[Silver Charm]

The next year will be tough. People need to watch out or they will kill everything including themselves. Maybe we need a couple of tracks to go down or a few fewer racing dates.

My concern then is  do you also lose the fans. This is no time for people to be playing hardball.

TG shop hang tough. America is the only country you can still bet on even after paired XX\'s.

[BB]

... and a one-year layoff, maybe.

[richiebee]

Silver Charm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

 
> TG shop hang tough. America is the only country
> you can still bet on even after paired XX\'s.

Amen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq8Uc5BFogE

[HP]

These economic problems may stimulate municipalities to wake up and take a look at racing since it can be a source of desperately needed revenue.  In New York, for example, the State is facing big shortfalls...and if they can\'t put the slots in Aqueduct now (just one example) it\'s never going to happen.  I know nobody is going to be breaking ground on condos over there in the forseeable future, that\'s for sure...