Moments after the New York Senate signed the virtual death warrant for NYCOTB, visitors to the NYRA website saw the following:
 |
| Courtesy of NYRA |
That's right, free bus transportation from certain OTB locations to Aqueduct, complete with free program, hot dogs and soda. Subway schedules to get to the Big 'A'. Directions for getting to Aqueduct by car. Encouragement to sign-up for the NYRA ADW account program.
Over at Yonkers Raceway? Nothing. Perhaps someone needs to call them at Yonkers Raceway and let them know that OTB has closed. No more wagering dollars coming in from NYCOTB. Despite this, no attempt to get people to join Yonkers' ADW through TVG. No encouragement to have OTB customers come back to the track (maybe no room for them?). Nothing. Just business as normal.
What can be inferred from the difference in responses? Maybe what people say about Yonkers Raceway is true; they could care less about horse racing. After all, if they were concerned about racing, wouldn't they do something to try to get NYCOTB horseplayers to play the races at Yonkers?
6 comments:
Let's see.Yonkers is a racino,right? Hmmm.
Shows how much racing matters in the 'racino'era.
just like woodbine.
love the slots players, screw the horseplayers.
Good for the NYRA. Let their on-track business bloom as a result of their efforts.
Yonkers is situated in a perfect place to capitalize with the stranded NYC OTB players.
Unfortunately YR marketing has fallen asleep at the wheel.
Yonkers Raceway has been as poorly managed as any other racetrack the Rooneys have owned, including Liberty Bell and Green Mountain.
It is pathetic to see races going for up to $ 42,000 line up single file, with horses outside the 4 post not daring to leave unless they have extreme early speed. The longer stretch has accomplished nothing. The tighter turns have made formerly sound horses, lame. The posting of inaccurate post times-with the race often delayed up to 10 minutes from the original post-is ludicrous. Actually, I think Tim Rooney loves harness racing; it is just that he, his son-in-law, and all the other family members on the payroll, simply do not know how to run a track.
With NYCOTB gone, I am curious to see if post times are closer adhered to. For the record, I suspect holding up post times was done at the behest of the SOAOFNY.
The problem is that blasted first run; starting right into the turn. How are outside horses going to make a move?
Of course, they could experiment, like Maywood does, with the gate leaving the field earlier. They could spend some of the casino profits to move the judges' stand so that they could then move the finish line. They could solicit ideas from big bettors and other sources.
Or, they could do nothing, as in their response to the closing of NYCOTB.
Post a Comment