Post by jimhorseman on May 22, 2008 22:36:12 GMT -5
My two cents:
Without slots or the "racino" concept harness racing would have consolidated to where there would only be a handful (Meadowlands, Mohawk/Woodbine, Chicago circuit) of tracks operating that offered consistent programs with enough handle to be playable by moderate players. Small regional tracks such as Lebanon, Ocean Downs, The Meadows, Buffalo, Rosecroft etc would eventually cease to exist.
The problem with the slot/racino tracks is the shortsigtedness of the individual operators. I; along with a couple of devout harness racing friends, have made several trips a year to numerous race tracks across the Northeast. It seems that about two thirds of the tracks look at harness racing as a necessary evil needed to allow the slots to operate. These tracks give minimal support to the harness racing part of "racino". Buffalo Raceway is an example in my hometown. Less than half of the clubhouse is devouted to racing, three clerks taking wagers, not being able to cancel an erroneous bet punched in a self service machine, no direct way to watch a race at the rail and get inside to make a bet, rushing through a race card to get it over as quick as possible, in general doing nothing at all for the horse player. Buffalo now begins their card at 6:30 p.m. and often is done before 9:30 - sometimes the last race winner is having their picture taken in pitch black as that is how anxious they are to turn the track lights off. I think The Meadows, Vernon Downs, Georgian Downs and Monticello are examples we have visited that fall into the same category.
On the other hand, tracks that truly treat the racing half of racino as an equal partner are drawing new fans, big crowds and having success. Tioga Downs comes to mind. I was very impressed on my recent trip to the track on the Central NY/PA border. Equal space is alloted to both the harness and slot areas. A low cost, terrific dining room overlooks the finish line. Plenty of inexpensive programs (3 tracks for a dollar) are available. There is a nice bar area with plenty of nearby tellers and television monitors. It is clean, well advertised and racing nights are treated as a major event. I was there for opening night, 2008 and attendance was over 6,200. I intentionally watched the first race in the clean, spacious grandstand and the crowd literally cheered as the horses came by the stands the first time. Everybody stood and there was a roar as the horses came through the stretch for the actual finish. Would a brand new, high purse, terrific race track have been built without slot dollars? Would Yonkers have come back from the near dead without slot dollars? The Toronto tracks do a terrific job similiar to Tioga and their attendance and handle reflect their effort. On a smaller scale Batavia Downs tries very hard to accomodate the racing fan and has increased purses and attendance to show for their efforts.
Interestingly we've seen the same trend in some of the nearby T-Bred tracks. Fort Erie in Southern Ontario operates their race track as the so called necessary evil. The closest view to the finish line is about 100 feet beyond with a high concrete barrier keeping the fan from getting any closer. The simulcast area is in a separate building isolated several hundred yards to the right of the main track area. Not suprisingly their handle has severely decreased as has their purse structure, attendance and race dates. They started their season by not even racing on the weekends, instead choosing to run on Monday & Tuesday afternoons when most of their potential patrons work. A couple of Sundays ago my friends and I wanted to go to the Finger Lakes race track to watch racing and wager on the simulcast. We found out they weren't racing live on Sundays and the track did not take any harness racing action on Sundays - despite the fact that Tioga Downs was offering a stakes card an hour and a half to their south. On the other hand it seems the new T-Bred track in Erie, Pa is making an honest attempt to make the racing work.
The slots can save and enhance racing but it takes local management who can overlook the short-sighted, quick slot profits and truly work to become a partner with the racing industry.
Without slots or the "racino" concept harness racing would have consolidated to where there would only be a handful (Meadowlands, Mohawk/Woodbine, Chicago circuit) of tracks operating that offered consistent programs with enough handle to be playable by moderate players. Small regional tracks such as Lebanon, Ocean Downs, The Meadows, Buffalo, Rosecroft etc would eventually cease to exist.
The problem with the slot/racino tracks is the shortsigtedness of the individual operators. I; along with a couple of devout harness racing friends, have made several trips a year to numerous race tracks across the Northeast. It seems that about two thirds of the tracks look at harness racing as a necessary evil needed to allow the slots to operate. These tracks give minimal support to the harness racing part of "racino". Buffalo Raceway is an example in my hometown. Less than half of the clubhouse is devouted to racing, three clerks taking wagers, not being able to cancel an erroneous bet punched in a self service machine, no direct way to watch a race at the rail and get inside to make a bet, rushing through a race card to get it over as quick as possible, in general doing nothing at all for the horse player. Buffalo now begins their card at 6:30 p.m. and often is done before 9:30 - sometimes the last race winner is having their picture taken in pitch black as that is how anxious they are to turn the track lights off. I think The Meadows, Vernon Downs, Georgian Downs and Monticello are examples we have visited that fall into the same category.
On the other hand, tracks that truly treat the racing half of racino as an equal partner are drawing new fans, big crowds and having success. Tioga Downs comes to mind. I was very impressed on my recent trip to the track on the Central NY/PA border. Equal space is alloted to both the harness and slot areas. A low cost, terrific dining room overlooks the finish line. Plenty of inexpensive programs (3 tracks for a dollar) are available. There is a nice bar area with plenty of nearby tellers and television monitors. It is clean, well advertised and racing nights are treated as a major event. I was there for opening night, 2008 and attendance was over 6,200. I intentionally watched the first race in the clean, spacious grandstand and the crowd literally cheered as the horses came by the stands the first time. Everybody stood and there was a roar as the horses came through the stretch for the actual finish. Would a brand new, high purse, terrific race track have been built without slot dollars? Would Yonkers have come back from the near dead without slot dollars? The Toronto tracks do a terrific job similiar to Tioga and their attendance and handle reflect their effort. On a smaller scale Batavia Downs tries very hard to accomodate the racing fan and has increased purses and attendance to show for their efforts.
Interestingly we've seen the same trend in some of the nearby T-Bred tracks. Fort Erie in Southern Ontario operates their race track as the so called necessary evil. The closest view to the finish line is about 100 feet beyond with a high concrete barrier keeping the fan from getting any closer. The simulcast area is in a separate building isolated several hundred yards to the right of the main track area. Not suprisingly their handle has severely decreased as has their purse structure, attendance and race dates. They started their season by not even racing on the weekends, instead choosing to run on Monday & Tuesday afternoons when most of their potential patrons work. A couple of Sundays ago my friends and I wanted to go to the Finger Lakes race track to watch racing and wager on the simulcast. We found out they weren't racing live on Sundays and the track did not take any harness racing action on Sundays - despite the fact that Tioga Downs was offering a stakes card an hour and a half to their south. On the other hand it seems the new T-Bred track in Erie, Pa is making an honest attempt to make the racing work.
The slots can save and enhance racing but it takes local management who can overlook the short-sighted, quick slot profits and truly work to become a partner with the racing industry.
