tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684463172854959042.post598586600199427758..comments2024-02-27T17:43:37.207-05:00Comments on View From the Racetrack Grandstand: Overstepping and Memory ChairsThat Blog Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15487597769210721585noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684463172854959042.post-36708902776567652252013-03-20T14:51:32.276-04:002013-03-20T14:51:32.276-04:00I vehemently disagree. The SOANY is the horsemen&#...I vehemently disagree. The SOANY is the horsemen's organization which the horsemen at Yonkers Raceway have decided to represent them.<br /><br />Did the horsemen at the Meadowlands vote to have the SOANY represent them at the Meadowlands? No, they agreed to have the SBOANJ represent them; same thing for Freehold. At Harrah's and Pocono Downs, the legally recognized association is the PHHA. By all means, there are horsemen who race at multiple tracks but the fact remains they accept the local horsemen association as representing them at each track. <br /><br />Training facilities are a different animal. By all means, if something going on at Showplace impacts trainers with regards to their ability to race at Yonkers, then it is fair game for the SOANY to get involved on behalf of their members. If something going on at Showplace only impacts trainers' ability to race at the Meadowlands, then it is up to the SBOANJ to get involved. <br /><br />Let's be perfectly honest, everyone involved in harness racing knows there is no love lost between Faraldo and Jeff Gural. If the Meadowlands was not operated by Gural, odds are the letter criticizing the Meadowlands would never have That Blog Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15487597769210721585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684463172854959042.post-64217836073123230712013-03-20T13:59:52.268-04:002013-03-20T13:59:52.268-04:00One item that some of you continue to err on. Far...One item that some of you continue to err on. Faraldo's organization is the Standardbred Owners Association of New York (SOANY), and while the largely race at Yonkers, the association is not limited to where they race. So such a group can and should voice opinions about any track they race at, which in this case would include The Meadowlands, Freehold, Saratoga, Chester, Pocono, etc. Many members of such an organization could even stable in other states. Many SOANY members have their own farms off the track or at a public stable like Gateway or Showplace in NJ. So all is fair here in Faraldo speaking out about other tracks, whether or not you agree with what he says. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684463172854959042.post-54420408452278236522013-03-20T08:54:17.538-04:002013-03-20T08:54:17.538-04:00Sadly, I haave gotten use to Faraldo's missive...Sadly, I haave gotten use to Faraldo's missives against anything Gural does. Then, we get Gural responding. There is no love between these two me. Personally, I wish their missives would not be covered by the inudstry.<br /><br />What Gural wrote was not a real threat; it was more appaling to their sense of loyalty (of which is none).<br /><br />As for the two day meet, this is what happens when you are a non-slot track surrounded by racino tracks. Remember two days a week is better than hte place being bulldozed down; obviously a longer meet would be better.<br /><br />My biggest problem with Faraldo's letter (beside it being part of the personal feud these two men have) is the head of a horsemen's group at one track criticize what a track in another state is doing. Faraldo should worry about New York; not NJ, not Delaware or any other state. When Faraldo becomes President of HHI, then he has the right to be critical about what is going on elsewhere, not till then.That Blog Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15487597769210721585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684463172854959042.post-72750305736533152482013-03-20T07:43:14.952-04:002013-03-20T07:43:14.952-04:00Did you really expect that after Mr. Gural basical...Did you really expect that after Mr. Gural basically threatened people that choose to take advantage of the opprtunities in NY and PA that no response would be forthcoming? Or that when he needlessly took his routine pot shots and Sears and Brennan that it would go without reply? Perhaps you thought that it would go unnoticed that the regular heralding of how "great" business is at the Meadowlands still yields a two day race week, with no purse increase? You migh also have missed that the entire "cartel" issue was brought to attention by Jay Bergman, hardly a Gural opponent. Perhaps a missive WAS written.....but it wasn't by Mr. Faraldo!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684463172854959042.post-77482501576506145592013-03-19T16:46:55.023-04:002013-03-19T16:46:55.023-04:00The economics of horse racing are a mess. Slots a...The economics of horse racing are a mess. Slots and simulcasting make handle irrelevant to purses. Putting a quality product (racing and experience) out there almost seems a mystery to many tracks, especially the ones with slots. Give Gural credit for trying to doing that at M1.<br /><br />When I went to grad school in Michigan, I used to go to Jackson Harness Raceway when they were open in the spring. It was a fair track hosting an extended meet. They got 6 on the gate. This was before simulcasting so the entire handle was on-track. $1500 claimers were regular races. Purses often around $1000 and so were win pools. A $20 bet would move the odds of a horse from 10-1 to 2-1. No one bet with more than 2 MTP. You need a lot of tellers to do that today. Liquidity matters.Marv S.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4684463172854959042.post-9518719660701368612013-03-19T10:41:45.227-04:002013-03-19T10:41:45.227-04:00Yonkers is the worst track ever to wager on for ex...Yonkers is the worst track ever to wager on for excitement. I might bet $6 on a tri there if I have to wait 5 minutes for another race to start but YES Cal Expo, Meadowlands and Balmoral are much more exciting to bet and watch a race. I have never seen so many 1-5 shots compared to other tracks. I took March 16th at Yonkers as an example for FAN excitement and will just use the first 10 races. Out of these races, only 2 horses pulled out of the 3 hole to go first over, slightly before the 1/2. 2 races had nobody pulling out first over til after the 1/2 (once it was almost the 3/4 pole). The other 6 races had someone pulling out first over from 4th or 5th "just" before the 1/2. I know this track's oval is different than other half milers so they don't like to start moving 1st over just after the 1/4. And yes their 1 1/16 was not so great...so why not fix the dimensions of the oval? It is so bad watch a full card of Yonkers racing.edge1124https://www.blogger.com/profile/16494523315918894216noreply@blogger.com