Thank You, PJ

[plasticman]

Seriously, and i\'m not kidding around, when i glanced at Saturday\'s SPA card i looked up to the top of the form to see if i was actually looking at Saratoga.

The drf SAID Saratoga, but how can we be sure, it certainly didnt look like a Saturday Saratoga card.

[FrankD.]

Pretty nasty storm in the area that looks like it will hit before the 9th race, a bit south of the track but rain for 9 & 10.

A very slow moving front with lot\'s of stuff in the area for Friday and Saturday. A matter of when it rains on Friday effecting that card, enough rain Friday, overnight and into to Saturday to wash out the Saturday card. Early prediction is all 5 early turf races off with only the stake staying on.

Good luck,

Frank D.

[wipitoga]

With the govenment takeover of Nyra fast approaching the word is PJ shows up at Gulfstream

[PapaChach]

If \"the word\" is he\'s headed to GP to replace the current GP racing secretary, I dunno, that one doesn\'t pass the smell test. GP had a great 2011-2012 meet in terms of handle and quality. A quick search of Teh Google doesn\'t turn up anything about Bork leaving or getting bumped up to a higher position. Can\'t see why GP would want to fix something that\'s not broken. Perhaps I\'ve misinterpreted your comment and Campo is headed for some other position there.

[miff]

Guys who continue to misdirect their venom at PJ Campo are getting it wrong!Maybe he will come on here and explain that he NEVER goes with a full field of cheap claimers over a superior shorter field of better stock.

Re NYRA,

If you believe the stories,Gov Cuomo is looking at a nearly clean sweep of NYRA\'s management AND board team.A horrific name, that keeps cropping up, is ex jockey Jerry Bailey(banished by NYRA ex CEO Charlie Hayward for jumping on the anti-NYRA bandwagon when they were on the ropes during the NYC OTB Fiasco)

Exactly wtf a Jerry Bailey knows about the gambling side of the business of racing or any side of any business is beyond me.Makes him like 1/2 to get hired along with consultants(like Mc Kinsey) which has no knowledge of \"the belly of the beast\" or of its existence.Couple of their MBA\'s Google Thorougbred Racing and they bill for thousands.

JB noted that things could be worse than current NYRA,could not agree more.

[Boscar Obarra]

If Cuomo wanted to show he\'s a mensch , he\'d call up Harvey Pack.

[richiebee]

Haven\'t heard anything about Campo joining the Magna gang, but I wonder if there
is any truth to the rumor that the Claiming Crown people have been contemplating
holding their annual event at the Spa next year?

[ajkreider]

Speaking of Magna, the CC is at Gulfsteam this December, I believe.

[fasteddie]

PJ gets a bad rap! He does what all racing secretary\'s are supposed to do. He makes his cards based on the horses on the grounds

Racing in general has suffered from the declining foal crops, and quality is thin. I will take issue with the complaints about the claiming races, as even the \"cheap\" ones are loaded with 50% drop-downs because the purses are so rich. 38K and up for 20 claiming???  Mdn Clm for purses that are MdSpWts at most tracks??

Yes, too many state-bred and maidens, etc. but this is what is available to write the cards, and the handle is doing quite fine thanks to full fields. I hate playing 5-horse Alw races,and will take my chances with a nice full field of turf maidens.

[alang]

Friday\'s card seems like it was just thrown together - it is a Pink Out day (every race for F&M) but the two stakes are done before 3pm and the maiden and NY Bred races are being thrown at customers at every opportunity.

In fact the early pick 4 Saturday is all maiden races and the 1st and 6 are both for $20k claimers.

[richiebee]

fasteddie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> PJ gets a bad rap! He does what all racing
> secretary\'s are supposed to do. He makes his cards
> based on the horses on the grounds

PJ is not the \"Racing Secretary\". He is the \"Director of Racing\" As such
he is responsible for the horses on the grounds.
 
> Racing in general has suffered from the declining
> foal crops, and quality is thin. I will take issue
> with the complaints about the claiming races, as
> even the \"cheap\" ones are loaded with 50%
> drop-downs because the purses are so rich. 38K and
> up for 20 claiming???  Mdn Clm for purses that are
> MdSpWts at most tracks??

Agree about the dwindling foal crop. Add to the fact that horses
(though arguably faster, ahem) are not as sound as they once were,
thanks to a seriously diluted gene pool, and you have horses making less
starts per year, a situation exacerbated by the inflation of purses, which
means even a \"cheap\" horse can make a decent living for its connections by
starting only eight or nine times per year. But there are other factors
which should have driven quality horses to NY.

> Yes, too many state-bred and maidens, etc. but
> this is what is available to write the cards, and
> the handle is doing quite fine thanks to full
> fields. I hate playing 5-horse Alw races,and will
> take my chances with a nice full field of turf
> maidens.


All sources handle only up marginally halfway through, a 6.5
increase in wagering from all sources, which should be reduced
slightly for the fact that 9 more races were run this year than last
year.

As to twelve horse maiden races on the turf, you certainly are \"taking
your chances\": bad trips, placement of turf rails, and of course,
main track onlys. Of the 119 races carded for the turf halfway through,
26 ended up on the main track.

PJ Campo has done an awful job this summer. I may be the only one
who thinks so, and there is nothing that can happen in the last 3 weeks
of racing to change my mind.

[miff]

Ugly report from NY State Comptroller Di Napoli re future justification for continued/increased subsidies for NY racing. Seems the report indicates that the subsidies paid via purses has done little to materially improve attendance or handle at NY tracks.

Not certain if Di Napoli is in the the powerful Menga camp.Menga Gov\'s right hand man who orchestrated the Govs takeover of NYRA.Menga a very high level Cuomo insider is an anti racing voice looking to pull the plug on racing subsidies in favor of redirecting those monies for better political capital for Cuomo.NY Thoroughbred/Harness groups speaking out against report claiming its bull.

This, yet a another indication of the uncertainty of the future of NY racing. Recent slot revenues from Aqueduct/Genting staggering,politicians drooling at prospects of monies that will flow to NY State in future from full blown casinos.NY racing in deep future trouble if it does not find a strong influential ally upstate.

[Niall]

I cant even begin to make excuses for what NYRA does and doesnt do. However, I am absolutely certain of one thing and that is they are faced with insurmountable rules as defined by NYS legislation. The racing business model in NYS will be a losing one unless it is changed. They are up against it. So while we shoot our venemous daggers at them (I do as well) this fact needs to be taken into consideration. I am confused by this report from DiNapoli. Having followed the VLT saga for years, I dont ever remember reading that anyone thought it would result in increased attendance and handle. I thought the purpose was to keep the game alive. Sure, for us fans but also for the many ancillary business\'s that depend on this games survival. But also to keep open space ... Can anyone begin to guess what the value of Belmont Park is? Yikes! Here is the mission staement of the NYS Breeders program ... \"To promote by monetary incentives the responsible breeding of quality(whoops)thoroughbred racehorses in keeping with the founding legislation to preserve New York\'s irreplaceable farmland.\" Its really so much more than math ... Then again, I guess that is his job. He is just another Cuomo puppet. This is Cuomo\'s revenge for the hiring of Kenny Noe ... Ahhhhh ... tough to be a fan these days ...

[TGJB]

1-- Re Campo, worth keeping in mind that if he didn\'t create big fields, which increases handle, lack of handle would be used to beat NYRA\'s brains out.

2- One check on Cuomo re this stuff is that he\'ll be pushing against some very powerful, very rich people. In today\'s politics, if you have national ambitions, that\'s dangerous.

[Boscar Obarra]

Speaking of politics , I hear Corzine is looking for work, he\'d be an interesting candidate for something in racing. He likes to gamble and doesn\'t mind losing, both traits of many horseplayers.