Snore Pass

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

Interesting \"revelations\" too.

So Stronach and company couldn\'t even lay out a 9 furlong oval? Race Fan unfriendly, Rocks on the Course, a Bizarre Turf Course. Whats next? The Hallandale \"Horse Wizard\"?

If they have to position the starting beam past the finish line, it tends to suggest the \"run-up\" is a little longer than otherwise. In other words that the horses are still back in the gate near the \"finish line\" to begin the race. Since it takes horses about two or three steps to get their feet under them it would appear more likely they are in full flight by the time they hit the starting beam. (At least that is the implication.) The suggestion is that 9 poll heats at Hallandale are half a second faster than elsewhere as a result and that appears why Moss\'s re-time is the quickest.

For Tgraph it probably doesn\'t matter. They do it on the numbers and relationships. Additionally, you\'re not gonna have many days at Gulfstream where you have multiple 2 turn dirt races.

On the other hand I love Time, and a half a second quicker race time that really isn\'t half a second quicker than Oaklawn or elsewhere can be two or more lengths to give back and that can be all the difference in the world.

Not sure what to make of the controversey other than to believe that Cosmic isn\'t far off the FOY horses, if he\'s off of them at all.

http://cristblog.drf.com/crist/

Gulfstream\'s newest clockings appear to have been made from finish pole-to-finish pole, as one might expect for a 1 1/8-mile race on a track 1 1/8 miles in circumference. The problem is that Gulfstream\'s oval isn\'t exactly 1 1/8 miles, as advertised. When the retooled oval was laid out in 2005 at the time of Gulfstream\'s massive renovation project, a measuring error was made resulting in the dirt track being slightly longer than 1 1/8 miles in circumference. Thus when 1 1/8-mile races are hand-timed at Gulfstream from finish pole-to- finish pole, the resulting clockings are about .50 seconds too slow. This discrepancy was confirmed Tuesday by Teleview Racing Patrol, which laid out the Gulfstream timing system. Because of the error in circumference, Teleview says timing for 1 1/8 races actually begins at a special timing beam placed 17 feet after the finish pole. (Videotaped replays of the Fountain of Youth show the outrider who triggered the beam positioned next to the outer rail at about that point.) Other distances are timed in a normal fashion, since the position of pole markers around the track compensates for the extra 17 feet. Hettel and his crew undoubtedly hand-timed the Fountain of Youth the way one would expect it to be timed, and I have no doubt that what appeared on their stopwatches was acceptably close to the actual time from finish post-to-finish post. But if you want to compare the Fountain of Youth with the earlier 1 1/8-mile race that day, or any other 1 1/8-mile race during the Gulfstream meeting, or if you want fractional and final clockings that don\'t represent an additional .50 seconds traveled, you\'ll need another set of timings that begin at the actual timing beam. So here you go. That\'s right – yet another set of times.

Posted by Steven Crist on Feb 26, 2008 at 3:16:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)



Obama Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dont see it mentioned here, but the DRF has a
> piece in Crists blog about the FOY and some very
> bizarre revelations on GP. Size matters.

[miff]

Poor Stronach going bust with his dumb ideas at Magna!



With one analyst tagging the proceedings \"Groundhog Day,\" Magna Entertainment Corp. announced Feb. 29 more losses during a short, testy conference call that discussed year-end financials for 2007.

MEC reported it lost $113.8 million in 2007, with $43 million of that coming in the fourth quarter alone, and said it was struggling in the United States\' current economy to complete a debt-elimination plan announced last year.

"No one can be happy with our performance in fourth quarter 2007 or the year as a whole," said Frank Stronach, founder, chairman, and interim chief executive officer of MEC, in his opening remarks.

During a 15-minute question-and-answer period that featured callers being cut off from follow-up comments, an analyst expressed in a self-described "rant" his disappointment with the performance of the company.

"I really think you guys ought to go back and listen to about the last seven to eight conference calls, because it's like Groundhog Day," said Tim Rice of Rice-Voelker LLC. "Every quarter, the results are disappointing; every quarter, we are going to sell assets and reduce debt. And nothing ever happens."

Another caller requested an update on the search for a new CEO. Stronach has been serving as interim CEO since Michael Neuman's departure from the position last March after a four-month stint. The company has had five CEOs since it was launched in 2000, with Stronach filling in on an interim basis three separate times.

Stronach responded to the caller by saying new chief operating officer Ron Charles and former CEO Tom Hodgson, who has been retained by the company as a consultant, were taking on broader responsibilities. And, as in previous conference calls, Stronach asked for suggestions of any prospective CEOs to be sent to MEC.

"Can I make a suggestion?" asked the caller. "You should go to Harvard MBA school or the University of Toronto for an MBA with experience. No disrespect to Ron, but just because he likes horses -- I like horses, too -- doesn't mean that I or my son could run the company, no better than the company has been run in the last five or six years."

"It's a good point you make," Stronach replied. "The board (of directors) has a search committee, and you people have an investment in MEC. And thereby, we will be happy to, if you know of a person that has some of the assets that they could make a contribution, we would be happy to hear about it. Send us the resumes."

MEC has now reported net losses of $402.1 million in the last four years combined. A plan to raise up to $700 million in capital by the end of 2008 has run into tough times due to weakened markets in real estate and credit, Hodgson said.

"There are fewer interested parties for some properties than we expected, and some that have found it more difficult to arrange financing than they expected," Hodgson said. "But my message to you is that we remain as committed to the successful implementation of the debt-elimination plan as we ever were. While the markets are not all on our side, we will continue to work very hard over the next 10 months to achieve that goal."

MEC has classified Remington Park, Thistledown, Great Lakes Downs, and Portland Meadows as discontinued operations as of Dec. 31, 2007. All four tracks are for sale, as are former proposed racetrack properties in Dixon, Calif., and Ocala, Fla., among others.

Charles described his first two months as the company's chief operating officer as "challenging." Charles, who also currently serves as the president of Santa Anita Park, called the issues with that track's synthetic surface "well documented," but also called Gulfstream Park's current meet disappointing.

"We continue to struggle at Gulfstream because of problems we are having with construction and parking," Charles said of ongoing redevelopment of the South Florida complex. "On-track attendance and handle is down. And we continue to be disappointed with the fact that we are unable to allow people to get to the racetrack and conveniently park."

Stronach also noted shareholder concern with the company's struggling stock price, and said the company is considering a reverse stock split to help out the situation. MEC was notified Feb. 13 it faced delisting from NASDAQ trading by mid-August unless it brought its stock price above $1 for 10 consecutive days.

"I am very mindful of the poor performance of our stock in the marketplace, and I am committed to addressing the issues underlying that unsatisfactory performance," Stronach said. "I have been personally been working very hard on our key strategic initiatives that I hope will come to (fruition) in the future."

MEC's stock price has closed under $1 for 43 straight days, and was trading at about 80 cents during mid-day trading Feb. 29.

Copyright © 2008 The Blood-Horse, Inc. All Rights

[white lightning]

maybe they should bring in isiah thomas

[richiebee]

White:

Why bring in Isiah when you could get his boss, another visonary in the mold of
Frank Stronach, James Dolan.

I think Jimmy would do it if you let his band perform after the races every
Saturday.

A parallel to be drawn: Bad racing in NY hurts racing all over;bad basketball
in Madison Square Garden hurts the NBA.

[fkach]

>Why bring in Isiah when you could get his boss, another visonary in the mold of Frank Stronach, James Dolan. <<

Please, let\'s leave the Knicks out of this. It\'s too painful a subject for me. I don\'t think I\'ve ever encountered a higher level of stupidity.

[fkach]

I\'m surprised Jerry has commented on this.  

I\'ve been reading Crist\'s blog on this issue and I\'m glad he has been keeping fans in the loop. However, I don\'t think the time of the race is as much of an issue as people think. I\'d be willing to bet that Jerry used the records of the horses to make the figure and if he doesn\'t have a high level of confidence he\'ll let us know.

[Boscar Obarra]

I have an idea for Frank.

 Merge with YouBet, thats two 80 cents stocks bringing it above that $1 that Nasdaq wants.

 Then do a reverse 1 for 10 split, making it a $16.00 stock.

 They\'re not as smart as horseplayers on the street , that will fool \'em for sure.

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

There\'s lots of money in car parts. Maybe Stronach can endure the bleeding with automotive infusions. He\'s a horrible decision maker however. In the auto field I\'m sure he delegates. In the world of horse racing he\'s far too hands on.

Daahar goes down at 9 poles at odds on after setting the pace and a 14-1 draws off. Say it ain\'t so!

Kudos to the Hosts on Student Council. That trip for the big pot in Japan was bold, but things haven\'t been the same since. His best works for the Santa Anita Handicap occurred before the San Antonio and he ran flat there as well. There was no way to wager on the horse. No way to wager against him either though. Talk about an indecipherable field. Congrats to the calls on Heatseeker. There were some.

I liked Colonel John\'s stride. It was foreboding, but it got loose late and he got squirrelly in the stretch and bore out across the track. I will be looking to beat him next time. (Not implying I bet the Sham. It was valueless.) Would not be surprised to find out John has run his last race... and on Poly of all surfaces.

CtC

Boscar Obarra Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have an idea for Frank.
>
>  Merge with YouBet, thats two 80 cents stocks
> bringing it above that $1 that Nasdaq wants.
>
>  Then do a reverse 1 for 10 split, making it a
> $16.00 stock.
>
>  They\'re not as smart as horseplayers on the
> street , that will fool \'em for sure.