Why tracks are losing customers?

[Twingirl]

I live 1.5 hours from the track, and I patronize that track religiously during LIVE racing. Seeing live horses, I'll put up with just about anything.

However, I will *never* attend for any kind of simulcasting event again. Because the comfort of my own home, with online wagering, is just so far superior.

Everything at the track is immensely uncomfortable for the customer. The food is awful and expensive. The TVs are so tiny I had to put on distance glasses I use for driving just to see the screen (that is, when I could get close enough to them at all). There is only one huge screen and that is outside which is the only one I looked at all day. The air quality, which I'm not usually picky about, is awful. I dunno if it's the paper dust from all the ticket printing or what.

I'll compare it to a dirty bus station in some large metro area. You know how that feels. People throwing tickets on the floor, and coffee stirrers and all that, and a real lack of maintenance staff sweeping anything up.

They want you to "rent" a table and chair......fine, but who wants to sit on one of those pre-formed orange plastic chairs from the 1970's all day long? Good god, my body can't take that anymore.

The lighting is dim. DIM. I have hardly any correction with reading glasses, (it's like 1.25 or something) and I was STRUGGLING to read the racing form. I had to walk outside and sit down on the cement in order to READ.

The machines were you can do your tickets instead of going to cashiers....people were bumping each other all day long, there isn't any room between the machines to even put your paper notes down. I would have to shove it into my purse, then key my wagers from "memory"...either that, or balance everything with 2 hands at the same time I was also using my hands to key my wagers.

I'm not a youngster anymore, but I'm not falling apart either. I got home and I literally felt be-draggled; exhausted. And dirty. Just like I had spent the day in a run-down bus station somewhere.

I have never been to any other tracks, so I can't compare?

Yet, I feel very lucky to HAVE a live track nearby, I love racing, and in general, I love {track to remain unnamed} just *because*. But really, they need to spiff it up a little, at least if they wanna keep any customers during OFF season when there is no live racing.

[bdw0617]

hey twngirl... you aren't far from mE! I'm in little rock

let me guess... you went to blue ribbon downs?

i can tell you my experince. first of all, you are going to lose some of the fans you HAVE, let alone not make new ones, if you keep this crap up. the "i can't realistlcly play half the card because of all the track switches" crap.

the "i can't handicap half these races because I literarly do not know a damn thing about any of these european horses and it's not available for me" crap. The breeders cup website has 10-20 videos replays for each division, and of those, only 2 races for the european invaders. the QEII and some other race.

to put that in the right perspective, we had 4 winners, and was a nose away from 5. not even a nose. like centimeter. and you give me 2 freaking races, neither of which really answers a darn thing about the under card races, to handicap what.. 33 european horses? and you execpt me to spend money?



Here is my thing about synethics... i have NO problem with synethics.

the probelm I have is that it is NOT a replacement for dirt! how hard of a concept is that to grasp? you take a horse like curlin, who has not lost on dirt in over a year, make him run his championship race on synethics? shoot why don't we just make all of the races on turf, it'd be the same thing. really.

it's not that curlin got beat.. it's that he did'nt get a fair chance.

[mightyhijames]

we attend simulcasting religiously; i'm there on weekends, others are there every day it is open. you're right, it leaves a lot to be desired but because we have a core group, all sitting in 'their' chairs week after week, that's what makes it fun. if it weren't for this central location, we would have never come together. as it is, the environment itself just offers something else to talk and joke about. here in maryland, we're hoping the slots pass and racing will get a shot in the arm, and that will trickle down to our little corner of the racing world. right now, i think the racing game is just trying to keep it's head above water and there's not a whole lot of leftover $$ for creature comforts.

[BargainBlueblood]

Believe it or not, I went to Belmont on Friday to watch Breeders' Cup races, and the track didn't bother to turn on the sound for the BC simulcast races. Just as bad, the large screen TVs showed only the live races from Belmont, and the Keeneland simulcasts. The Breeders' Cup events were relegated to small screens alongside regular Friday cards from Finger Lakes, Calder, and Laurel. I called Charlie Hayward's office after every single BC race to inform them there was still no sound, and was told they were "working on it." We shifted from the Grandstand to the Clubhouse for the F/M Turf...still no sound, and the signal dropped out at the sixteenth pole, so no one could see who won the race. 30 seconds later the signal returned, and the camera had zoomed in on Forever Together for her post-race jog...so we knew who won without having had the pleasure of watching her stretch run. An absolutely disgusting display by NYRA. They have no respect for or understanding of their fan base, and then they wonder why attendance is down.

[adrienne]

I think it depends a lot on the track you go to, but of course, I think the majority of tracks are pretty bad as far as simulcasting...

I like Prairie Meadows simulcasting in Iowa. Of course, one summer I got to work up there changing the TVs (which if anyone is reading, I'm so sorry, it took a *long* time to get through my head that Louisiana Downs runs like, 14 races a night).

Arlington Park and their Trackside is really nice. Though the entrance fee for the grandstand during the season is insane. Also, the food at the Trackside restaurant is really, really gross. And the food at the grandstand is really, really expensive. But as far as simulcasting goes from what I have seen, it's hard to beat the grandstand. My biggest complaint though is there is NO WHERE there you can easily sit down, watch a TV, AND see the real horses at the same time.

Hawthorne has been playing around with their setup. Before they closed half the grandstand there was a wonderful place up on the top floor where, if I had to come in during the morning for the horses and watch the races with my boss in the afternoon... there was a couch I could nap on (clutching my wallet to my chest of course, considering it was Cicero). They of course closed that part of the grandstand and my couch was gone When they did that they did noticeably improve the 'general admission' section with bigger TVs and a nice bar area. Hawthorne has the potential to be deeply creepy and they do a decent job of keeping it from hitting rock bottom. They used to have GREAT cheap food in the upstairs restaurant but they changed that :/ last season the food kind of sucked... I don't know about this year because, of course, I'm not up there anymore. But by far, Hawthorne nails my trifecta of seating + TV + live horses. Loved it! They also have really nice tellers considering what they have to do for a living. My biggest complaint was that racing seems to end perfectly in time with rush-hour traffic. I have spent MANY an hour on 55 sitting... sitting... sitting...

I was really surprised when I went to Oaklawn a couple years ago. What a craphole. I don't know if that is what the OP was describing, but it sounds like it. DIM nasty place. The upstairs is a little better, but not much. I don't think I ever bothered to actually 'find' the live racing at Oaklawn because it was such a plan in the butt to find my way through the labyrith of that grandstand.

I walked through Keeneland empty during the sale once.. so I have no impressions, really. I've only been on the backside of Beulah and Churchill. (Beulah, I learned, is a scary little backside and was really hard to fit the big trailer through... eek! Churchill on the other hand was wicked easy to get the trailer around... once I found the backside). I've seen Turf Paradise... closed... didn't look anything like I expected.

The Woodlands in KC is actually pretty nice for simulcasting. A decent restaurant, nice people... TV + chair + live racing there

Then into the tiniest...

I have to say one of the best simulcasting places I've ever been to was Atokad. It was the only sorta-close track running on my birthday so I insisted we go. Well, the live racing was kind of depressing and it was WINDY and miserable outside so we ended up going inside and betting on Arlington all day. Really pretty nice in there! It might have been a pleasant suprise more than anything.

Horseman's Park is really nice as the racing exists only to keep the simulcasting open. My only complaint was that I was there only during the few days of live racing and it was INSANELY busy.

So yeah... it all depends on who is running the show...

[ratherrapid]

BDW you could never have been talking about Blue Ribbon Downs when I was there a few years back. more fun at Blue Ribbon than any track I've been. You can get right up to the horses, ya, lack of the Euro works and video is irritating. but, do they have clockers at Newmarket???

these tracks are so stretched in terms of personnel under the present set up we're unable to expect a lot. I think the NTRA (or somebody) should focus on one single track, get that one in shape, figure out how to market to bettors, and then go on to the next as racing lacks resources for overall impact. Question: can you now place a bet by computer, or do you still need a phone?

[Mickey the Marcher]

the "i can't handicap half these races because I literarly do not know a damn thing about any of these european horses and it's not available for me" crap. The breeders cup website has 10-20 videos replays for each division, and of those, only 2 races for the european invaders. the QEII and some other race.

to put that in the right perspective, we had 4 winners, and was a nose away from 5. not even a nose. like centimeter. and you give me 2 freaking races, neither of which really answers a darn thing about the under card races, to handicap what.. 33 european horses? and you execpt me to spend money?

You can watch replays of English and Irish races from free at Attheraces.com, it's also chock full of handicapping info.
Likewise, the RacingPost website will give free detailed PPs of any race run in Britain or Ireland for the last 15 odd years. They also supply replays, though you have to pay a nominal fee.
PPs for US racing from Brisnet, Equinline or DRF cost money. You get the same info for Euro racing for free.

[Mickey the Marcher]

Arlington Park and their Trackside is really nice. Though the entrance fee for the grandstand during the season is insane. Also, the food at the Trackside restaurant is really, really gross. And the food at the grandstand is really, really expensive.

People complain that tracks are crappy, then complain about having to pay for something nice. You can't have it both ways.
How much was the grandstand entrance fee at Arlington? For comparison check out what admission costs to any European racetrack, for a bit of perspective.
Us tracks should let the 'cappers do their thing from home and make the trackside experience something people want to pay good money for. They sell it way too cheap in my opinion.