trouble in paradise

[Michael D.]

stronach\'s new laurel track is open:

trainer lisa jimenez: \"it\'s spectacular. it looks like belmont, it it so wide. there were so many naysayers but they hung in there and got it done right.\"

trainer ferris allen: \"it was a very expensive project and at the end of the day it is going to be first-class.\"

trainer carlos garcia: \"it is beautiful. i just saw a horse work and there was no kick-back. it is a good bouncy track. previously it wouldn\'t have been this good. my horses were eager to go and my excercise riders said the horses liked it.\"

i have never focused on laurel, but i think i will when they open on jan 22.

[Silver Charm]

Interesting what you say Michael D, this comment is also from the same story:

\"All of us at Magna Entertainment and the Maryland Jockey Club would like to thank the Maryland racing community for their patience,\"said Jim Gagliano, executive vice president of Maryland Racing Operations.

Gagliano\'s comment about fans being patient should be repeated by his senior level boss. Promise the world but tell everyone its going to TAKE TIME and THEN DELIVER.

The thing that is most interesting from your comments are you said you will start playing the track because of the condition of the Racing Surface. Not because of the band, the combo group, the movie theater, the shopping mall, ferris wheel or roller coaster.

The Old Terrace restaurant at Gulfstream used to remain open after the races with a band and a bar and a nice crowd. However there were probably 5 times as many people inside doing nothing but betting on races.    

Do the people who run these tracks ever see this and consider what they can do for them.

[Michael D.]

SC,
the two most important promises stronach ever made have now been delivered. the true horsemen at GP and Lrl are now finding this out. good betting opportunities follow great racing..... as for the shopping mall comments, where are the shopping malls? go to the GP site, and tell me if that future site looks like a shopping mall. if you think it does, then don\'t bother going. i am not directing this towards you, SC, but the people who have said that stronach will turn some of today\'s top tracks into shopping malls have been proven wrong. it\'s time you stop, admit you were wrong, and go away. stronach\'s tracks will offer great racing, great betting opportunities, and will be packed with fans once they are completed.

[Michael D.]

CtC,
i am with you, i never liked FuPeg all that much, but the horse got a great book of mares. i think two of the young ones have a chance of being something special. check out the pedigrees on bandini and andromeda\'s hero.

[razzle]

Michael, here\'s hoping Laurel is worth doing.  In the past, it\'s been very short fields, with very short-priced juice trainers.  Without slots, the latest concern is losing starters to W.Va. because of the purses they offer.  It has also been difficult to get their signal. raz

[richiebee]

Well I just did a post that was actually
on racing only, but now you have
me going on Stronach again.

Here\'s what makes me as suspicious of
him as all you guys are of the on track
medicine men. He is considering developing,
at this time, racetrack/ retail centers
in Romulus, MI and near Sacramento,CA.
He plans on making Gulfstream a multi-
purpose (racing/retail/entertainment)
center. (Now tell me, is there room for a nine hole executive course in the infield?)
Frank Stro is a brilliant businessman and
he is hedging his bets; if the tracks
tank, he can roll right ahead with retail
ventures.

I am 50 years old and very enamored with
the history and tradition of racing, almost
as much as I am with trying to find a
winning bet. Racing, because of all the
breeding angles, because of the relative
longevity of jockeys and trainers, always
seems to relate back to the past in ways that other spectator sports do not. Certain
venues (you guys know I\'m talking NYRA
now, and Keeneland)should be improved,
but not radically changed. Frank Stro
seems to favor new surfaces, new structures.
As far as racing is concerned, Belmont,
Keeneland and Saratoga are historic
places which need to be administered with an eye towards the past as well as the future.

And once again, just so all know that
I am willing to give credit where credit
is due, no commercial breeder has ever
been on the kind of roll that Frank/
Adena Springs is on now.



Post Edited (01-10-05 02:31)

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

I can\'t find any info on the Laurel Track. Did they lengthen it as well?

You hit the continuity nail right on the head richibee. That was well put.

CtC



Post Edited (01-09-05 21:49)

[Michael D.]

richie,
nobody cares how old you are, and nobody cares how enamored you are of anything... where are the shopping malls?? the real horsemen love GP, and the real horsemen love the new Lrl surface. save your rambling posts, and just tell us what you don\'t like about stronach\'s tracks??? i am from upstate ny, and have been going to the spa for 25 straight years. who cares??? i was just at Kee for two straight weeks. who cares??? we all love the tradition of racing. everybody cares!!! the great tradition isn\'t going away. just tell me why stronach has made racing at GP or Lrl worse than it was before. if you can\'t, just  go away. if you can tell me exactly why stronach has ruined the tradition of racing, please go ahead.

[Silver Charm]

>The Old Terrace restaurant at Gulfstream used to remain open after the races with a band and a bar and a nice crowd. However there were probably 5 times as many people inside doing nothing but betting on races.

>Do the people who run these tracks ever see this and consider what they can do for them.

I will repeat my comment just for the sake of remnding people what about us.

As far as the shopping mall goes, wasn\'t Santa Anita going to be linked by walkway to a Mall. (And I\'m not talking about the one who posts on this Board. Good Luck in th Vegas contest by the way)

Maybe before Frank went on the aggressive roll-up he should have seen some of his visions through to completion with at least one track then people would have an easier
time listening and believing where he is going with all this.

So far things some things look ok, if he doesn\'t RUN OUT OF CASH halfway through.

[richiebee]

Michael:

  I work nights. It allows me to play
golf and go to the races. What are you
doing awake at 2:43AM?

 Frank Stro can buy as many racetracks
as he wants. He possibly will save racing
in some states (I hope Maryland)and try
to revive it in states where it will
likely fail (Michigan). As to what he
does with these tracks-- since it is
his money, whatever he wants.

 But Michael, rock concerts DURING the
races? Bimbo, pom pom waving cheer-
leaders DURING the races? His approach
may work in some venues, but keep him
away from tracks where tradition and
history are important.

 And, by the way, do you think any
of the horsemen who rely on Magna
for stall space so they can live are
going to say anything negative about
the surfaces or facilities?

[HP]

Concerts DURING the races are a good idea.  They do this at Belmont.  Perfect for families.  When they get bored you park them in front of the music for awhile -- and dad can squeeze in a few more races and everyone is happy.  If you have the room, why not capitalize on it?  It does not hurt any of the \"tradition\" as far as I can see.  I am not the kind of \"fan\" this kind of thing will sway one way or another, but I think this is generally a positive since it shows that the management/promo dept. of the track is thinking of SOMETHING to earn their money.  It may actually get a few more folks out to the track...  You\'d be surprised.  HP

[Michael D.]

richie,
i don\'t think it matters, but i have to watch the asian markets for the first few days of every week....... just do this for me richie, wait until GP is finished, then come back on this board and compare it to the old one. i would ask everybody interested in the matter to do the same. Lrl has been a dump for years, and the old GP wasn\'t anything special. it\'s hard for me to believe that so many people are attacking stronach for the good work he has started to do on these tracks.

[fasteddie]

I wish Stronach would buy Atlantic City Racecourse; beautiful 9F main track and one of the best 1 mile turf courses ever built. It \'s a shame to see it wasting away!

[richiebee]

 Hialeah and Atlantic City both very nice facilities. Hialeah was an awesome
building with very good sight lines.

 But who remembers Bob Brennan\'s
Garden State Park? This was a beautiful
facility, a monument to what a man could
do when he had a seemingly endless
supply of other peoples\' money.

 Unfortunately, Brennan tried to open his
track in the mid 1980s when there were
already 3 struggling tracks within an
hour or so from Cherry Hill-- AC, Philly
Park (then Keystone) and pre- slots
Delaware.