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Post by trackrat on Dec 12, 2007 20:33:13 GMT -5
Keith, I just read in the Northfield program that management is closing the grandstand, the Sports Bar, the upstairs Grill and shuffling everyone into the clubhouse on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Are the betting carrels adjacent to the Sports Bar going to be closed MTW?
If more people shuffle into the clubhouse than it has betting carrels, will the betting carrels on the restaurant tables be available for $3 without paying any additional table charge?
I don't think you have enough available carrels in the clubhouse until you open up the ones on the restaurant tables. JMHO.
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Post by thegiss on Dec 14, 2007 11:53:04 GMT -5
Keith, I just read in the Northfield program that management is closing the grandstand, the Sports Bar, the upstairs Grill and shuffling everyone into the clubhouse on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Are the betting carrels adjacent to the Sports Bar going to be closed MTW? If more people shuffle into the clubhouse than it has betting carrels, will the betting carrels on the restaurant tables be available for $3 without paying any additional table charge? I don't think you have enough available carrels in the clubhouse until you open up the ones on the restaurant tables. JMHO. TR-Yes, all the clubhosue carrels are being reduced to $3 and the carrels adjacent to the sports bar will be closed MTW. We are dropping the admission surcharge as well. This will be through beginning of April. Between downstairs carrels and clubhouse carrels we have plenty of available work stations for weeknights.
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Post by moondog33 on Dec 16, 2007 13:00:19 GMT -5
Keith, Why dosen't management learn how to run a business?? You could improve business durning the week by making a few ajustments: 1. HAPPY HOUR, HAPPY HOUR, hAPPY HOUR!! If you would have a Happy Hour from say 4:00 to 7:00 pm with drink prices say 1/2 off you would have a good portion of the upstairs bar full. Throw in some free chips, popcorn and pretzels and you have a good entizer. Let see you would STILL make a profit on the drinks+You would make money on the additional wagering on the simlecast tracks. All the regulars and some of the Happy hour patrons would stay on to bet on the Northfield card and simelcasting. The ones that stay at the bar would certainly drink some more after 7:00pm thus would then be paying full prices on the drinks. Why is Northfield so against a Happy Hour? ? It works at other treacks and would work here too. I rember when you had $1.oo Sundays and the place was quite full!! Please respond here to this question. Thanks, Howard
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Post by thegiss on Dec 17, 2007 12:24:07 GMT -5
Keith, Why dosen't management learn how to run a business?? You could improve business durning the week by making a few ajustments: 1. HAPPY HOUR, HAPPY HOUR, hAPPY HOUR!! If you would have a Happy Hour from say 4:00 to 7:00 pm with drink prices say 1/2 off you would have a good portion of the upstairs bar full. Throw in some free chips, popcorn and pretzels and you have a good entizer. Let see you would STILL make a profit on the drinks+You would make money on the additional wagering on the simlecast tracks. All the regulars and some of the Happy hour patrons would stay on to bet on the Northfield card and simelcasting. The ones that stay at the bar would certainly drink some more after 7:00pm thus would then be paying full prices on the drinks. Why is Northfield so against a Happy Hour? ? It works at other treacks and would work here too. I rember when you had $1.oo Sundays and the place was quite full!! Please respond here to this question. Thanks, Howard Howard- Thanks for your comments. $1.00 Sundays did not increase handle at all. When the $1.00 prices (or the football games) ended, nearly everyone left. they did not stay. Any time we offer a food or drink special we get popcorn munchers-- non bettors looking for good deals-- and although we now make a small incremental profit, they do not justify doing it regularly. Before, we actually lost money on the $1 specials due to our deal with the concessionaire. Now that we operate opur own food service, we have a but more leeway and you will see some specials in 2008. We are offering free popcorn on weeknights
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Post by scojer on Dec 18, 2007 17:44:35 GMT -5
Closing the upper grandstand is the beginning of the end.Instead of finding away to put more people up there,northfield has found away to keep everyone out of there.I spend a little time up there on every trip i make to the track.Some of the old timers i know can be found up there every time i'm there.They may not be the biggest gamblers,but they do gamble.Maybe you can tell me where else in the place can you watch the horses warm up for the upcoming races without getting out of your seat and walking to a door or going outside.When sitting in the upper grandstand,you can see everything going on out on the track,ALL OF THE TIME.If you are watching a tv screen,you do not get to see all the things a capper needs to see.Unless of coarse you pay a price.I'll comment a little more at another time,as i am going to the track tonight.But they need to find a way to get people up there,and not run the few they have left out.And i must confess,i'm PISSED about this move.Seems like someone has just given up instead of doing there job. Scojer
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Post by chris on Dec 18, 2007 17:53:19 GMT -5
Where else in the place can you watch the horses warm up for the upcoming races without getting out of your seat and walking to a door or going outside. When sitting in the upper grandstand,you can see everything going on out on the track,ALL OF THE TIME I used to love sitting up there, WAY up, a little to the left of the concession stand. Plenty of exercise up and down the stairs, running to the windows and the old beer stand. (this is the pre-Sports Bar era).
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Post by trackrat on Dec 18, 2007 18:19:05 GMT -5
From a fan's perspective, there is no better place to WATCH the horses warm up and to watch the races than the upper grandstand. I still think you will run out of betting carrels in the clubhouse unless you open up the restaurant tables.
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Post by scojer on Dec 18, 2007 23:59:56 GMT -5
Most of the people who watch the races from the upper grandstand are the same people who i have seen up there for last 20yrs or so.From a relations standpoint,did the people who made this decision even think of maybe stopping up there when the decision was made and maybe pass out some free carrell tickets.Or did they just assume that everyone would just move and pay the $3 to sit in a seat.Now when you have a tv in front of you,you may be tempted to start wagering the other tracks.Not so sure thats what the track is looking 4.If i owned my own company and paid some educated people to figure out how to increase my business,i would fire the guy who just gives up.And in this case,someone would be out of a job.There are to many ideas that have not even been tried,to just say the hell with it,shut it down.Fire the guy and find someone who can do the job.You dont need someone from NASA to do it.If you dont try anything,thats just quitting.And if you want new patrons,you want them in the upper grandstand to see what is going on.Not sure you want the new guy sit behind a tv screen.So now you have made it impossible to educate the new guy walking through the door.....Here you go buddy,watch this tv here and enjoy yourself.......Give me a break....I need to shut up and go to bed.lol...I'm just plain PISSED OFF.
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Post by thegiss on Dec 19, 2007 12:05:20 GMT -5
Most of the people who watch the races from the upper grandstand are the same people who i have seen up there for last 20yrs or so.From a relations standpoint,did the people who made this decision even think of maybe stopping up there when the decision was made and maybe pass out some free carrell tickets.Or did they just assume that everyone would just move and pay the $3 to sit in a seat.Now when you have a tv in front of you,you may be tempted to start wagering the other tracks.Not so sure thats what the track is looking 4.If i owned my own company and paid some educated people to figure out how to increase my business,i would fire the guy who just gives up.And in this case,someone would be out of a job.There are to many ideas that have not even been tried,to just say the hell with it,shut it down.Fire the guy and find someone who can do the job.You dont need someone from NASA to do it.If you dont try anything,thats just quitting.And if you want new patrons,you want them in the upper grandstand to see what is going on.Not sure you want the new guy sit behind a tv screen.So now you have made it impossible to educate the new guy walking through the door.....Here you go buddy,watch this tv here and enjoy yourself.......Give me a break....I need to shut up and go to bed.lol...I'm just plain PISSED OFF. Scojer--the theater-style seats in the clubhouse are FREE, just as the grandstand seats were. In reading the program ads, it seems pretty clear, but perhaps we could have done a better job of explaining it. Nobody will need to spend any more money than they have been.
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Post by tautog on Dec 20, 2007 17:43:32 GMT -5
I'm going to throw my two cents in her but you guys might not like it. The racetracks don't CARE about the patron anymore at least here in the NE it's that way. Yonkers is shutting down for a week then going to 4 nights a week racing. When the Meadowlands was running flats they had enough horses to run 13 races and refused. All their money is made by slots and simulcasting. Where I hang out it's 75% of the same crew on weeknights do you actually think we'll stop going if they screw us? Aqueduct is a dump and it's a premier flat track.
The truth is both all of you and I will still go no matter what they do. It's not only racing but bonding and getting opinions on races. You just can't do that at home.
Happy hour I wish. Yonkers charges over $6 for a glass of wine never a discount in fact they just raised prices. I'm kind of against that idea as people will get rowdy if they had beer at a cheap price. Think about it you are there to gamble not to see a drunk get loud who knows nothing about racing. Tuesday night they were having a party on the other end (well over 150 feet) and all you could do was hear the amateurs clapping and yelling every race and I bet they weren't intoxicated. But we all looked at each other and laughed.
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Post by thegiss on Dec 21, 2007 12:52:08 GMT -5
I'm going to throw my two cents in her but you guys might not like it. The racetracks don't CARE about the patron anymore at least here in the NE it's that way. Yonkers is shutting down for a week then going to 4 nights a week racing. When the Meadowlands was running flats they had enough horses to run 13 races and refused. All their money is made by slots and simulcasting. Where I hang out it's 75% of the same crew on weeknights do you actually think we'll stop going if they screw us? Aqueduct is a dump and it's a premier flat track. The truth is both all of you and I will still go no matter what they do. It's not only racing but bonding and getting opinions on races. You just can't do that at home. Happy hour I wish. Yonkers charges over $6 for a glass of wine never a discount in fact they just raised prices. I'm kind of against that idea as people will get rowdy if they had beer at a cheap price. Think about it you are there to gamble not to see a drunk get loud who knows nothing about racing. Tuesday night they were having a party on the other end (well over 150 feet) and all you could do was hear the amateurs clapping and yelling every race and I bet they weren't intoxicated. But we all looked at each other and laughed. Tracks with subsidized purses (slots, riverboats, casino subsidies) can afford to be cavalier about racing. We can't. We need to make decisions that are beneficial to our bottom line but impact our customers as little as possible.
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Post by tautog on Dec 21, 2007 17:46:41 GMT -5
I Tracks with subsidized purses (slots, riverboats, casino subsidies) can afford to be cavalier about racing. We can't. We need to make decisions that are beneficial to our bottom line but impact our customers as little as possible. I have never been to NF maybe 1 day as I have to go out to Cleveland next year sometime. But how many people who hang in the grandstand will stop coming if it's clubhouse only? My hunch would be a few at most. People (including me) are comfortable in familiar surroundings. We might be a little grumpy but will accept it in the long run. It's a lost art people watching horses warm up in harness I respect those who do. Maybe there could be a screen showing the warmups that might alleviate some concerns. In the flats if a horse has a lather on I always throw him out. The bottom line is that racing is a dying industry even with the dramatic rise in purses where there are slots. At Yonkers my friend and I always say "look at these slot players, they're insane". Then we laugh and say "the slot players think we're the idiots".
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