What if it's already spent?
Nearly every racing fan simply loves Saratoga; you hear and read its accolades expressed in hundreds of romantic terms everyday. Saratoga is like a vacation to most, a time to take reprieve from the day-to-day concerns of life. This is all well and good for the out-of-town casual racing fan or vacationer, but that state of mind is dangerous for those whose business is racing and/or for Saratogians. The currency of racing is in trouble and beyond the magical mist of Saratoga lays real concerns.
The overall meet is still projected to have less handle than in 2008 and that meet was down 10 percent from 2007. The barns and entire plant need expansive upgrades. Society is not going to allow for long delays in providing adequate housing for backstretch workers.
At Saratoga's boutique Fasig-Tipton Select Sale, it was possible for a few buyers to provide a successful bottom line but when more than 5000 yearlings hit the auction block in Keeneland's Fall Yearling Sale in KY next month, a new reality will surface. The economic status of racing simply cannot bring this number of potential race horses into its fold.
The New York racing industry mindset seems to be stuck on waiting for the slots to come to the rescue. The mantra goes something like this; slots will hugely increase purses, pay for all the needed improvements, supplement the breeding program and new owners and fans will automatically appear. Race tracks across America with slots have seen purses increase, but purse sizes alone do not tell the whole story. Their fan bases are shrinking.
Go to Philadelphia Park, Delaware, Sunland, Mountaineer, Finger Lakes or a number of other places where slots are supporting racing and it will not require a calculator to tally up the racing attendees. Better yet check out the backsides of those places. Most of them are in dreadful disrepair, but before gaming was approved, there were grandiose hopes to improve everything for the horses, horsemen and racing fans. Now go to the gaming areas and you won't be able to count the number of people sitting at machines. Just how long will it be before gaming operators are going to balk about giving life support to racing?
The New York Racing Association is fast running out of the money allotted to them for surrendering Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga to the State of New York. Slots (VLT's) for Aqueduct have been approved for eight years and at last count there were about that many entities bidding on a contract to put them in. It is said that the lack of VLT's at Aqueduct costs New York taxpayers more than a million dollars per day. Isn't it likely that our politicians may have 'ideas' about where to spend new found money? Might the posturing to seize control of VLT's have something to do with the absurd delay? The required improvements for the three racing plants are growing everyday and neck and neck the expense to do so is racing upwards.
To me the whole thing is reminiscent of something that happened several years ago. Alysheba had just lost both his bid for a Triple Crown and an accompanying $5 million dollar Chrysler Triple Crown Challenge bonus.
Following the race, Jim McKay asked Jack Van Berg, "What does it feel like to lose more than $5 million in a matter of minutes?" Jack answered, "It wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't already spent it."
The overall meet is still projected to have less handle than in 2008 and that meet was down 10 percent from 2007. The barns and entire plant need expansive upgrades. Society is not going to allow for long delays in providing adequate housing for backstretch workers.
At Saratoga's boutique Fasig-Tipton Select Sale, it was possible for a few buyers to provide a successful bottom line but when more than 5000 yearlings hit the auction block in Keeneland's Fall Yearling Sale in KY next month, a new reality will surface. The economic status of racing simply cannot bring this number of potential race horses into its fold.
The New York racing industry mindset seems to be stuck on waiting for the slots to come to the rescue. The mantra goes something like this; slots will hugely increase purses, pay for all the needed improvements, supplement the breeding program and new owners and fans will automatically appear. Race tracks across America with slots have seen purses increase, but purse sizes alone do not tell the whole story. Their fan bases are shrinking.
Go to Philadelphia Park, Delaware, Sunland, Mountaineer, Finger Lakes or a number of other places where slots are supporting racing and it will not require a calculator to tally up the racing attendees. Better yet check out the backsides of those places. Most of them are in dreadful disrepair, but before gaming was approved, there were grandiose hopes to improve everything for the horses, horsemen and racing fans. Now go to the gaming areas and you won't be able to count the number of people sitting at machines. Just how long will it be before gaming operators are going to balk about giving life support to racing?
The New York Racing Association is fast running out of the money allotted to them for surrendering Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga to the State of New York. Slots (VLT's) for Aqueduct have been approved for eight years and at last count there were about that many entities bidding on a contract to put them in. It is said that the lack of VLT's at Aqueduct costs New York taxpayers more than a million dollars per day. Isn't it likely that our politicians may have 'ideas' about where to spend new found money? Might the posturing to seize control of VLT's have something to do with the absurd delay? The required improvements for the three racing plants are growing everyday and neck and neck the expense to do so is racing upwards.
To me the whole thing is reminiscent of something that happened several years ago. Alysheba had just lost both his bid for a Triple Crown and an accompanying $5 million dollar Chrysler Triple Crown Challenge bonus.
Following the race, Jim McKay asked Jack Van Berg, "What does it feel like to lose more than $5 million in a matter of minutes?" Jack answered, "It wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't already spent it."
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