Kvetchers, meet the machers

[magicnight]

This was posted today on the NYRA site:

NYRA to Host First Ever Public Hearing at Belmont Park

On Saturday June 15th, The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA), will host its first ever Public Hearing in the west wing of the Belmont Room (2nd floor of the Clubhouse) at Belmont Park from 9:30-11:00 a.m. Members of NYRA Senior Management will be among those in attendance.

The session will provide the public an opportunity to discuss topics of interest in an "open forum" setting. Based on responses to fan surveys, the primary areas of focus during the event will be racing, wagering and marketing. The town hall-style meeting will start with a brief introduction and continue with a recap of recent NYRA events, followed by a moderated, question-and-answer discussion with the panel.

Fans wishing to attend must RSVP here as space is limited. An agenda will be presented and posted at nyra.com in advance of the session.

"It's essential that we listen to the thoughts and concerns of our fans, and the best way to do that is to give them a chance to weigh in directly on topics of broad interest and importance," said Eric Wing, Director of Communications & Media Relations for NYRA. "June 15th will be the first of many such opportunities going forward. We look forward to an open and frank discussion next week."

http://www.nyra.com/belmont/nyra-to-host-first-ever-public-hearing-at-belmont-park/

Lord knows this site has seen its share of complaints directed at NYRA management. I\'m interested to know if any of our local kvethchers plan on attending. Myself, I would love to, and I\'m not ruling it out, but that\'s a pretty early wakeup call for a Saturday. I guess I could always play the English races over my phone if it gets too bad. Anyone else interested in meeting the clueless clowns and empty suits?

[TGJB]

If Andy is one of those answering questions I hope someone tapes it, and I\'m not kidding.

[richiebee]

Have already RSVPd, thanks for posting this.

[richiebee]

I hope my friend Joe (not a TGenerate) attends. He went on a nearly 30 minute rant
at Belmont on Sunday on how the first thing he would do if left in charge of NYRA
would be to eliminate all pre and between race commentary (including Maggie) at
NYRA tracks. His feeling is that this commentary does nothing to increase handle or
bring new people to the game.

[TGJB]

He\'s dead wrong. Anything that educates people increases handle.

[Dick Powell]

Kenny Noe and Steven Crist used to host public hearings back in the mid 1990s. Kenny\'s answer as to why they could not use color-coordinated saddle cloths because of the black and white photo finish camera was priceless.

[richiebee]

TGJB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> He\'s dead wrong. Anything that educates people
> increases handle.


JB:

Hate to continue this during a good discussion of what is turning into an
interesting Belmont, but I do not think there are any statistics that can be
produced that would convince me that the offerings of Andy, Maggie, Steve
Crist (at Saratoga) et al have any effect on handle.

To look at it another way, if the commentators went to Maui for a month long
vacation, and there was no pre race commentary by Andy and Jason, no paddock
commentary by Maggie,and they were not replaced, do you think handle/attendance
would really be affected? I do not. Do you think there would be a hue and cry to
send an airplane, immediately, to bring them back? I do not.

Are the people who prattle really sharing any knowledge? What, by citing stats
from Formulator? Are they confronting the real hot button issue in Racing other
than in a (apologies to Mr Zimmerman) \"something is going on here, but our
employers really don\'t want us to discuss what it is\" manner? I think not.

As to \"anything that educates people increases handle\", I thought the TDN \"Painful
Truth\" articles were outstanding, but Page 3 of Part II, which reproduced the
veterinary record of the Pletcher trainee Coronado Heights, who broke down in a
race and was euthanized, was repulsive. As the article points out, the animal\'s
vet concluded that the horse showed \"no signs of lameness prior to injury\" yet, to
quote the report \"during the last 25 days of his life, [Coronado Heights] received
24 separate intravenous, intra - muscular or intra - articular injections.\" I
guess the comment here would be that education, albeit in limited doses (no pun
intended), can be a good thing.

What increases handle? Penn National ran two top quality races last Saturday night
which drew top horses and top jockeys. (One of the races was even honored with TG
ROTW treatment) The handle (on track and overall) far surpassed all existing
records. It didn\'t have anything to do with gimmicks, giveaways, or talking heads.

[Boscar Obarra]

I\'d much rather see someone like Brad Thomas in NY than an egomaniac , (or even the Mountaineer guy who would have a field day) but as far as Maggie goes, you\'re really missing the boat if you aren\'t incorporating her opinion.

 No one is always right, but if you appreciate the nuance of condition and aptitude for surface, her read is quite good.

[richiebee]

Boscar:

I was not knocking Maggie, and I know that JB has a very positive opinion of her
observations.

I was questioning whether her presence boosts handle or attendance. Would you bet
less or not at all on NYRA races if Maggie moved on to greener pastures? You value
Brad Thomas\' opinions...would you wager more at NYRA if Thomas replaced Andy
Serling?

My original argument (and I concede that it would be hard to measure statistically)
was that none of these people draw additional people to bet the races, or cause the
people who are already betting the races to bet more, although it seems that many
will not begin their weekend wagering without listening to TGAB\'s radio spot (take
that, Jimbo).

[TGJB]

Richie-- you are confusing \"increases handle\" with \"increases handle on the race they\'re talking about right now\".

People bet when they have opinions, more when they have strong opinions. The more people know (or even think they do) the stronger their opinions. There is no telling how much handle John Madden created by making people think they knew enough to coach in the NFL. (Hence the term Monday morning quarterback).

[razzle]

What are the chances someone will request publication of testing protocols?

[TGJB]

Raz-- that would be good but I\'m not going so it wont happen. Bob? Richie?

If that gets done it will be because the Jockey Club has some influence with the new NYRA board, and I have a small amount. (No modesty, I know one guy).

[magicnight]

I RSVP\'d, but I have not yet received the confirmation email yet. I\'m guessing they are a little busy and will send it sometime next week. Richie, have they sent you confirmation yet?

I\'d be willing to entertain possible questions, if people want to make suggestions.

[razzle]

Magicnight, if you get the opportunity, and aren\'t overwhelmed with requests, I would also suggest publishing vet names.

[richiebee]

Magic:

No word from NYRA yet. They must have found out that I am what Norman Fell in \"The
Graduate\" called an \"outside agitator\".