I offer this hypnotic video of Rachel’s recent work at Saratoga (thanks Raceday360!).
And when you’re done with that and want to read some in-depth and insightful analysis about what the numbers at the recent Saratoga sale could imply for racing, direct your browser here.
Posted by dana on Aug 17 2009
Filed Under: Industry, 2009, Rachel Alexandra, Steve Asmussen, Workouts, Saratoga, NYRA, Racing
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Gio Ponti in the Man o’War (Mickey Frome)
Since today was the perfect July afternoon, I can now complete my apples to apples handle and attendance comparison to Mother Goose day (which is great because I was starting to get a little tired of doing it).
Both Saturday June 27th and Saturday July 11th boasted beautiful weather and a single Grade 1 on the card.
Saturday June 27th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 13352
On Track Mutuel Pool: $1,357,534
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,657,212
ISW Mutuel Pool: $8,361,822
Saturday July 11th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 6735
On Track Mutuel Pool: $1,283,177
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,821,920
ISW Mutuel Pool: $8,312,667
Mother Goose day had an increase of:
6617 / 49% in attendance
$74,357 / 5% of on track handle
$49,155 / 1% in interstate wagering (ISW)
No doubt some will dismiss the on track handle increase because it’s relatively small compared to the near 50% attendance increase, however it’s still an increase.
Does that mean having and marketing stars will “save racing”? Not by itself, but it certainly helps get people to track, and in my experience (both of my own when I started going to the track and with folks I’ve taken) if they keep coming back they start to wager more as they get more comfortable. And who doesn’t want that to happen?
Posted by dana on Jul 11 2009
Filed Under: 2009, Handle, Becoming a Fan, NYRA, Belmont, Marketing, Racing
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Commentator winning the 2008 Whitney (Bud Morton)
During my discussion with Peter Rotondo about the Breeders’ Cup charities I couldn’t help but mention how unfortunate it is that there are no BC W&YI races at Saratoga. As it turns out, this is not the case!
He informed me that since the original challenge schedule was published that NYRA determined that it would allow 8 races in the program, the first one being the Whitney on August 8th and the remaining 7 being carded at Belmont.
How do you like them apples… isn’t it great when everyone gets along? See you at the Spa!
Posted by dana on Jul 08 2009
Filed Under: Bud Morton, 2009, NYRA, Breeders' Cup, Saratoga, Racing
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Asiatic Boy and his long body (Capitol149)
Because I’m only doing posts about things that have already been posted about today, here’s a recap of yesterday at Belmont!
Swifty’s birthday has usually been celebrated at the track and this year was no different. Teresa had been trying to organize a birthday gathering at NYRA’s new Top of the Stretch picnic areas so I suggested to Swifty (out of total self-interest) that maybe we should get in on that action and have a co-birthday party. The results? It crushed the field.
The area itself was great, apparently it was so muddy that our little pen required some straw to hide the mud. This added a nice barn-like ambiance to the affair. There was a festive air amongst all the Top of the Stretch-ers. On one side was a group of young-ish folks who enthusiastically (and drunkenly) hooted and hollered regardless of the outcome of any race (although a couple of them seemed to cash big in a couple of instances) and what looked to be a children’s birthday party on the other side.
We had a great assortment of well wishers for our co-birthday hosts. Naturally, Papa Backstretch was in attendance, which afforded me the opportunity to try to get a little information out of him. After picking the winner in the second, he gave up that he liked the drop in class with the cut back. He even let me know which horse he liked with at least 5 minutes to post once (he must have forgotten himself for a moment!). No doubt I’ll be trying to get more info out of him in a couple of weeks at Saratoga.
Trying to spy on Papa Backstretch, who worked diligently as the party went on around him
Swifty’s crowd included some folks who had gone to the track with us before and some who hadn’t. Not only did everyone enjoy themselves, many seemed to marvel at just how much fun they had “I can’t believe I spent 5 hours at the track, and it was GREAT!” exclaimed one first time guest, who’s 5ish year old daughter cashed on Trusted Heart (pictured below).
Guests marked their beverages while a new chapter of Future Handicappers of America was started
Several folks cashed on name plays, including our grill master Dan who naturally had Dantastic. His wife, a martial arts enthusiast had a nice $73 score with Offensive Attack. She also boxed him with Hero Figure (”I like fighting”). The Ben in the group did not get as lucky as Dan with Just Ben, but don’t feel too bad for him, he also had Offensive Attack!
Yours truly had a somewhat lousy day at the windows. I was too busy eating hot dogs and chatting with all the fab guests which included Andy Serling (now on Twitter!), Dave Grening, Bill Tivenan & Cassandra Cook who authored the excellent Off to Flying Start (more on that to come!), Jessica & Mr. Railbird and various members of the NYRA press office.
It’s always a pleasure when Mrs. Swifty comes to the track as she’s a very knowledgeable horsewoman who’s great to have around during the parade. Fortunately for my quickly shrinking voucher, Dry Martini jumped out at both of us. I liked only horses that had done well at the distance (Asiatic Boy, Rising Moon and Finallymadeit) and was hoping they would look ready to rock in the parade.
Seeing Asiatic Boy’s odds plummet, I was very interested in Mrs. Swifty’s take… when he galloped by she made a somewhat delighted “oh!” and confirmed that he looked good, in particular she liked his long body (something I would never notice or even know why I should I notice). Ready’s Echo also stood out to both of us but I felt strongly that he couldn’t get the distance… but damn he looked good! I put him in a dime super with Dry Martini, Asiatic Boy and Rising Moon… almost!
No doubt we’ll be doing this whole affair again next year but we had a such blast that we were talking about doing it again in the fall. If you’re a local with a will to picnic, you should definitely book a day at the Top of the Stretch… and take some potential new fans, will you?
Posted by dana on Jul 05 2009
Filed Under: Superfecta, Becoming a Fan, Payouts, 2009, Geldings, NYRA, Gambling, Fans, Belmont, Racing
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Rachel beginning to pull away (Jason Moran)
Robert at They’re in the Gate already posted about this but in my previous post on the matter, Rachel Raises Attendance AND Handle, I stated that I would follow-up with a comparison of this Saturday, so what the heck!
Saturday June 27th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 13,352
On Track Mutuel Pool: $1,357,534
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,657,212
ISW Mutuel Pool: $8,361,822
Saturday July 4th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 7,667
On Track Mutuel Pool: $1,378,296
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,969,277
ISW Mutuel Pool: $9,564,986
Attendance down: 5,685 / 42%
On Track Handle up: $20,762 / 1.5%
ITW up: $312,065 / 12%
ISW up: $1,203,164 / 14%
Robert already pointed a couple of things, such as last Saturday had not only 1 stakes race vs. 3 on this Saturday’s card, but 3 that were a lot more wide open from a gambling perceptive than the Mother Goose. This Saturday also had an additional race.
One interesting uptick was that the bump in the Intra-State wagering. I’m wondering if this had anything to do with Sweetnorthernsaint at Finger Lakes? While I couldn’t scare up attendance figures, according to the charts from DRF, handle from last Saturday was $596,897 while handle from this Saturday was $623,518, an increase of 4.5%. Probably not a direct cause but perhaps a contributing cause.
Now that I feel somewhat committed to the quest to find a true apples to apples comparison, I’m going to do this (hopefully only) one more time. The next three Saturday’s at Belmont are similar in conditions to Mother Goose day, one featured stakes race on the card and no national holiday. Let’s hope one (if not all) of them has spectacular weather so we can get a fair gauge of the impact of a marquee star.
Posted by dana on Jul 05 2009
Filed Under: Jason Moran, 2009, Rachel Alexandra, Handle, Industry, NYRA, Wagering, Belmont, Marketing, Racing
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