i'm almost done with this shit....

[CHOWDERMAN]

thanks thorograph for the holiday present....at least you guys know what you\'re doing...great gift for loyal customers and a chance to cultivate some new ones...

why can\'t nyra do the same....am a nyra rewards member for 7 years....what the hell is my reward?   i don\'t even get the nyra calendar for free....maybe i\'m too soft, but all i want is a calendar and my belmont stakes tickets to be comped....that\'s right for free....i take  2 to 3 friends to the belmont stakes every year for the past 15 years, my treat......my bill came to about $280 this year.....

they should be giving me the exact seats i want like season tickets in any sport....

am not a whale but a weekend warrior 52 weekends a year...doesn\'t matter if i can afford it, they should be doing this....

thanks for letting me vent....greatly appreciate your holiday offers...

maybe you can forward this to bobby flay...maybe they\'ll offer me one  free chicken wing......

[Tavasco]

Chowderman, As you may have noticed many share your frustration with NYRA. Clueless Clowns seems a well deserved moniker.

I began my NY racing boycott on Dec 1, 2013 with an email to their contact us: Customer Service. Including an angry critical e-mail. Any response, even eat ... and die would have got me back. I think they ignored me because I told them I was out-of-state and a customer who thought raising prices demonstrated management didn\'t know their business.

So many of us are frustrated and I\'ve deduced the following:

1. NYRA does not consider the players to be customers. Because our frustration is their doing and it\'s by their design as hard as that it is to comprehend. My frustration wanes as I accept NYRA doesn\'t think players are important.

2. I say NYRA thinks their patrons are the horse owners (Bobby Flay included). Since the management positions are political appointments, management caters to the monied horse owners/breeders. NYRA management cares only about their salaries and those depend on favors granted to special interests.

3. The first thing a business turnaround artist does is fire the dead wood and cut costs, cut costs and cut costs. Businesses fail because they overspend. I.E., Spend as a % of revenue for those who are not economically oriented. Politicians are fiscally irresponsible as a group. They can not and will not fix NY racing. Enjoy it while it lasts.

4. Aqueduct purses seem high to me. $75K for slow rats (a term I picked up here) MSW races is a good use of funds because It attracts one or two competitive entries. Oh boy another 4/5 winner. Cut purses by 50%. Cut Aqu card size to 5 races per day. Eliminate off track betting. Eliminate turns. Give jockeys numchuks instead of whips. Rant & Rave. Why are so many NY Jockeys from South America?

5. The players are being scammed because gambling is thought to be an addiction so NYRA assumes gamblers will be around till they bust out. No need to cater to degenerates, exploit them. Remembering NYRA doesn\'t care about your/my wants/needs reduces frustration. Thank goodness they don\'t want my money I\'ll enjoy spending it elsewhere.

6. Of course Saratoga isn\'t about players either because you can\'t get there on the subway. It\'s about swells (a Virginia redneck term) wearing fancy hats on a summer holiday. The Saratoga phenomena is a tribute to Saratoga Springs and a Grand Sport. Since it works they\'ll probably cancel it. Till then I\'ll dig it.

7. Belmont is about Triple Crown hype and the power of advertising. Its also about the Todd Pletcher gang and the big sandy robbery. Can\'t play him can\'t play against him. I wish he\'d just go away like Todd frickin Hoffman. Boycott races with TAP.

8. Young men today have turned to poker (in large numbers) as an opportunity to win money via intellectual effort. I believe a key reason they play poker is that they perceive horse racing to be rife with cheats. As old guys we horse players know collusion is as old as poker. But the key here is perception, that is why the integrity of Horse Racing is paramount. Accept that no new players are coming.

9. However, NY players are the best. Just last Sat or Sun the Aqueduct bettors picked seven winners out of nine, none of which was as pricey as 2/1. They are to good for me to compete against. Just another statistical anomaly?  Go Rudy, Go Jacobson, boycott, voila no frustration.

I share your appreciation CHOWDERMAN, Thorograph is a welcome oasis in a sea of bureaucrats working themselves out of business.

Side note - Anybody have any ideas about Turfway are speed figures even relevant there?

[belmont3]

Chowder,

Re/ Belmont tickets

First live Belmont was Canonero. Took my Dad the next year (his birthday was June 5 so always close enough)....and it quickly became an annual family affair. As a tribute to family members that have passed, I have not missed a live Belmont for some 40+ years.
Have had parties of up to 20 and, lately, just myself or a few locals that I travel with from Pa.
For many years, would arrive early, place a Racing Form on my seat in the grandstand and..... good to go.
Then, the reserved seat fiasco started. One year, (Easy Goer -1989 I think-) just my Mom fresh off a surgery) and I attended. Waited for an hour in line...the seats were top row Section OZONE PARK. Problem was, the seats themselves were gone. Just a frame! It actually was comical and the Usher and I had a good laugh.

Took the trek back to the Earth...I mean the ticket booth. Another long wait in line. Post a teary eyed story of my stroke ridden Mom, an exchange was granted and we went from the OZONE to FINISH LINE seating!

Missed the first 3 races. Always wondered why those seats were held back.

Tix for Belmont Stakes Day have been a joke for many years.
Continues today.

Best of luck getting those freebies!

Bob