nyra is closing the 2nd n 3rd floor grandstand at

[miff]

Bit,

Better quality racing good. My point, with NYRA windfall slot millions, players got nothing but a price raise for admission.How is that good business?

NYRA never considers players, had to be a way to NOT raise prices with all that money. Not going to stop me/most from going to track but goes right to heart of NYRA not really giving a f--k about gamblers.

Mike

[P-Dub]

I have been following this thread, and I\'m amazed at how a premier East Coast track with a ton of history has been marginalized.  Very sad.

Today was my first time at the newly renovated Santa Anita clubhouse, and I have to say they did a pretty nice job. Flat screens in every box, new padded seats too.  The mezzanine has been completely remodeled. New lighting, a bit dimmer but gives it a really cool vibe.  New workstations positioned in the center, large and oval with outlets to plug in your device (wi-fi throughout the property). Gone are the small, round tables that were tacky as hell.

The food stations have gotten a facelift, more variety (Frank and RichieBee, I know the corned beef doesn\'t compare, but it works), freshly painted and remodeled.  Nice bar in the middle of the mezzanine, shaped in a horseshoe.

Gone are the bank of SD televisions hanging from above, grainy and always missing a track or 2 (I don\'t miss watching people attempt to reach up and change the channel to a track I have absolutely no interest in). Replacing them are flat screens everywhere.  They also have 2 or 3?? of those large screens on the wall that can be divided into several different feeds, like you see at a good sports bar.  They can alter the size of each feed, have several smaller feeds in one box of the grid, etc...  An awesome (if I may use that word Mr C.) way to watch every track offered.  I spent a lot of the day bouncing from the box seats to this large grid of tracks, until my wife got pissed that I wasn\'t spending enough time with her in the box. So flat screened it in the box after that little episode.

They also created private boxes above the clubhouse box seats, with betting machines and comfortable seating.  Kind of like a box at an arena or stadium. Don\'t know who has access to those, but they do look nice. They obviously plan on having the BC here as often as possible.

Oh yeah, bathrooms completely remodeled. Urinals with stalls, new motion sensor sinks (water and soap), new floors, toilets.  If you had blind folded me, and removed the blindfold after I entered the bathroom, the last place I would have guessed was \"racetrack\".

Oh yeah. It was around 73 degrees today.

Will look over the Late P4 and post on that in a bit, just downloaded the special. Can\'t wait for tomorrow.

[miff]

Nice try Paul.So Santa is a better facility than Aqu? Where\'s the pidgeon crap out there?

......typical West Coast bias.

Mike

p.s. So it\'s 73 out there, big deal.The 10 foot pile of snow in my yard is almost gone.

[Edgorman]

Paul has understated how great the racing experience is now at Santa Anita.  I recently spent a day there wandering around wagering, eating and drinking. In the clubhouse, there are tables and chairs, couches, desks and workstations too numerous to count.  
You can\'t gaze anywhere without spotting a bank of flat screens, either on the wall or hanging. And a sound system that actually works everywhere in the facility.
Several comfortable bars, carving stations reasonably priced and the place is kept so clean you could eat off the floor.
Obviously NYRA can\'t duplicate the views of the mountains, but they could learn a lot about what can be done to improve the on-track experience.

[Topcat]

richiebee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 2nd floor grandstand between eighth pole and
> finish line perhaps the best
> sightlines at any racetrack I have been to. Very
> little motivation for me to
> attend live anymore, but I guess they will save a
> lot on escalator maintenance.
>
> Kay apparently going to increase profitability by
> running all matches, er races
> between 4 and 6 furlongs, saving expense of
> maintaining a large part of the
> track.
>
> Can be said that Kay might be the political
> appointee that has done most to
> destroy thoroughbred racing in NY since Hazel
> Dukes.
>
> Would love to see some of the whales \"buycott\"
> NYRA but that is not going to
> happen.
>
> NYRA seems to be saying OK we ruined Aqueduct,
> lets get to work on Belmont


Yeah, but just think of all the money they\'ll save on staffing .  . . (throws up in mouth) . .

[P-Dub]

Edgorman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Paul has understated how great the racing
> experience is now at Santa Anita.  I recently
> spent a day there wandering around wagering,
> eating and drinking. In the clubhouse, there are
> tables and chairs, couches, desks and workstations
> too numerous to count.  
> You can\'t gaze anywhere without spotting a bank of
> flat screens, either on the wall or hanging. And a
> sound system that actually works everywhere in the
> facility.
> Several comfortable bars, carving stations
> reasonably priced and the place is kept so clean
> you could eat off the floor.
> Obviously NYRA can\'t duplicate the views of the
> mountains, but they could learn a lot about what
> can be done to improve the on-track experience.


miff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nice try Paul.So Santa is a better facility than
> Aqu? Where\'s the pidgeon crap out there?
>
> ......typical West Coast bias.
>
> Mike
>
> p.s. So it\'s 73 out there, big deal.The 10 foot
> pile of snow in my yard is almost gone.

You\'re right Edgorman, you really have to visit to see how nice it is. The place is immaculate, extremely clean with grounds landscaped to perfection.

Had to throw in the weather Mike, thought some of you might appreciate that. You can backhand me if we ever meet.