see article in saturday\'s racing form. he is tearing down GP. anybody want to bet me $1 that the place will be 100% better in 2006? a new 1m turf course and a 9f dirt track - perfect for large fields, perfect for the BC (assuming they keep the turf from getting rock hard, which i am sure they will). he also wants to hold a short meet at palm meadows. PM also has a 1m turf course and a 9f dirt course..... sound familiar? the guy wants to duplicate saratoga racing. he will never capture the saratoga ambiance, nobody ever will, but he will bring the same quality of racing to south florida. so for those constantly complaining about stronach, constantly complaining about shopping malls and lost internet signals, take a trip down to GP in a few years; you just might see the best racing in the entire world. the guy does some good things for the sport.
> the guy does some good things for the sport.
I can think of one real good thing he can do for the Sport.
Sell his Assets.
\"the guy wants to duplicate saratoga racing. he will never capture the saratoga ambiance, nobody ever will, but he will bring the same quality of racing to south florida. \"
Let\'s hope he enhances the quality of racing in South Florida the way he has at so many of his other tracks. Running GP head to head with Calder should help a great deal, and of course the Malls at Gulfstream will bring in a whole new set of racing fans.
And speaking of Saratoga, Stronach won\'t even duplicate Saratoga AT Saratoga, once Magna is running the show in NY. Figure he\'ll want to lengthen the Spa meet to at least three months, and probably more. And I really don\'t think you can make a rational argument that a three, four, five month meet will do much to enhance the quality of racing and ambience at Saratoga.
btw, an article in the Albany Times Union a couple of weeks ago quotes Joe Bruno calling for a competetive bid process for N.Y. racing. Do you think it has anything to do with the thousands that Stronach is paying Ken Bruno?
Do you think him (Stronach) finally getting around to the rebuilding of Gulfstream has anything to do with the timing of his bid to buy NYRA. As in I am a man of my word.
Also up to this point in time all he has done is tear down the Gulfstream facility.
A new 15,000 seat facility does not exactly sound like a Breeders Cup friendly Plant.
Rebuilding it and two new tracks for 140 Million is still up in the air in my mind. Go ask the guy at Arlington.
And now, the plot thickens...for today, a NY appeals court issued a ruling invalidating the way racetrack VLT revenues are doled out. From what I\'ve read and heard, the court said VLTs are lotteries, not slots, and since, per state law, all profits from lotteries must go toward education. None can go to horsemen.
Of course, this decision (a unanimous, 5-0 blowout, for what that\'s worth) will be appealed by all parties - talk about a decision no one can love! Pataki hates it because it puts a serious crimp in his plans to expand VLTs, the horse people hate it for obvious reasons, and the anti-gambling zealots hate it because it didn\'t say VLTs on non-tribal lands are unconstitutional.
What now? Does Frankie decide that the NYRA franchise doesn\'t look so sexy in the cold light of a VLT-less morn? Or does he figure it\'s still a great pick-up that\'ll help him move toward simulcast signal domination? Does anyone in NY politics even dream of making a quixotic effort at a constitutional amendment that would legalize the 2001 setup? (can\'t imagine anyone could be that nuts, but who knows). And most importantly, who vomited more tonight, George Pataki or the people who run NYRA?
The part of this I don\'t understand is why is the horseman\'s share designated a \"profit?\" Why isn\'t it a \"license fee\" or something? I would think the accountants could figure this one out.
If all of the \"profit\" from the other New York lotteries is going to the schools I\'ll eat my hat! HP
Excellent points as usual HP.
As a follow-up to some of the points I made yesterday Stronach had some very interesting comments in that DRF article.
He said he may still have live racing at Palm Meadows. Sounds like an angle for leverage with The City of Hallandale, where Gulfstream is located.
He said he may overlap Racing Dates with Calder, that if he spends the kind of money he is going to spend being open for 3 1/2 months isn\'t long enough.
So what happens if he gets control of NYRA? Does he set the Racing Dates? Maybe he proposes tearing down Belmont Park since on most days they only need about 20,000 seats or less.
Also regarding tearing down Gulfstream I\'m sure most everyone who reads this Board had previously BEEN THERE (past tense). Do you know how difficult it is to get in and out of there. Stronach will be $25 Million in the hole just hauling away all of the debris from tearing the place down, maybe more. There is no where around to dump it and it will have to go away truck-by-truck.
And finally if you were there recently, if you looked East there is a beautiful new Hotel on the beach named the Diplomat. The estimated construction cost on that project was set at $400 Million, it ended up costing OVER $800 MILLION !!! What happens when the inevitable cost overruns occur at Gulfstream does he (Stronach) stick the bill in the wallets of Hallendale, the taxpayers???
Don\'t think for second that he won\'t do it and if the legislature in New York has their eyes closed to this kind of behavior they are asking for it.
I\'ve been going to Saratoga every year for so long and can\'t even tell you when I started. It\'s a beautiful place, but from my perspective there are counter forces at work.
1. It keeps getting more and more crowded - epsecially on days when there\'s a very good race. It has gotten to the point where I avoid the best races and try to go on the weekends when there\'s a great race that doesn\'t get much publicity (like the Test).
2. As they have stretched out the length of the meet, the overall quality of racing has declined sharply on a per day basis.
As someone that bets primarliy on stakes and other high quality races, I used to gear up secifically for that meet knowing there would almost always be one or more stakes or other very high quality races every day.
The talent and quality has been stretched much thinner as the meet has gotten longer. There are some days up there that remind me of the Aqueduct winter meet except the grass is green.
I don\'t have a solution to the problem because from a purely monetary perspective I am almost certain they are going to stretch the meet even further. However, with each stretch it is clear to me that Saratoga loses some of the \"intangible qualities\" that made it special. (at least to me)
The legislature in N.Y. will have their eyes closed and their hands out. It sounds to me SC that the way stronach runs his tracks and the way the legislature takes care of business will make them perfect partners. Where else can you be four months late passing your budget and simply leave work for a six week vacation. The decision of the appellate court has far-reaching ramifications in this state. Gambling profits are now the cornerstone of revenue growth in the state. Its time to take a look at the political make up of the Court of Appeals to see how this will shake out.
BTW, the Court of appeals has four(of seven) Pataki appointees. VTL\'s may be safe afterall.
New York is a very tough state to do business in. Stronach will get squeezed and he won\'t like it. I make him a bet against. I say he will bide his time and he has plenty to occupy him elsewhere. HP