JC / Railbird

How Things Change

Jeremy Plonk has a realization re: how betting is changing at Woodbine:

It reminds me a lot of playing online through Xpressbet and other ADW outlets. We trust ourselves and trust the technology every single day we play. We just don’t typically do it at the racetrack, because we’re often too stuck on tradition to realize how society has changed.

Journalism changes, too: Steven Crist on 35 years at Saratoga.

Posted by JC in Racing on 07/12/2013 @ 6:35 pm / Tagged Betting, Media, Portabubble, Press Box, Saratoga, Technology, Woodbine / Follow @railbird on Twitter

Odds and Ends

Exacta-mundo on the current state of turf blogging: “… I can’t help but think we’re now truly in a time when there’s no one left to ask the needed questions without feeling like they have something to lose.”

If you’re in Massachusetts, you still stand to lose 5% on winning wagers paying more than $600: An amendment striking the new withholding requirement, which went into effect this spring, didn’t make it into the final version of the supplemental budget bill passed by the state legislature. How many Bay State bettors have been affected? Racing director Jennifer Durenberger told the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in this morning’s meeting that the state’s three simulcasting licensees report a total of 860 instances of state withholding since May, compared to 10 for federal withholding.

Another kind of loss: “… last Saturday at Hollywood was either a celebration or an early funeral.” (For consolation, see the coach.)

Posted by JC in Racing on 07/11/2013 @ 3:19 pm / Tagged Blogging, Hollywood Park, Massachusetts, MGC, Turf Writing, Wagering / Follow @railbird on Twitter

Missing Juveniles

Jennie Rees wonders:

What happens to all the 2-year-old maiden winners? Not long ago, Churchill had three stakes for 2-year-old colts in the spring. Now there’s only the Bashford Manor (plus the Debutante for fillies). And there’s virtually no such thing as an allowance race for 2-year-olds. How is this, with so many 2-year-olds on the grounds?

Posted by JC in Racing on 07/02/2013 @ 10:01 am / Tagged Juveniles / Follow @railbird on Twitter