JC / Railbird

Big Days

Crammed

Jeff Scott is another questioning the “Big Day” trend:

So-called “mini-Breeders’ Cups” are a growing trend, but are they always a good thing? With the Saratoga meet extending over 40 days, does it make sense to cram nearly half the Grade 1s (6 of 15) into a three-hour period on a single one of those days? At a time when attendance has been in steady decline, wouldn’t it be better to keep the major attractions more evenly distributed, to give people — especially close followers of the sport — more of a reason to come to the track all seven weekends of the meet, not just four or five of them?

Posted in Racing on July 21, 2015 / Tagged Big Days, Graded Stakes, NYRA, Saratoga

Cutting Down (or Not)

Steve Davidowitz on the too many races, too few horses situation:

In my own judgment, racetrack managers in most states have failed to see the problems they have created for themselves. Fact is, there are so many tracks open for so many months each year, the majority have had to cut down on the number of races they offer each day.

Instead of a five day racing week with nine and 10 races per day, Santa Anita just ran four-day race weeks, with eight races on Thursday and Friday. That pattern is repeated in many states that used to operate five and six days a week with plenty horses left over after running nine and 10 races a day! Even Gulfstream Park had eight race cards …

And yet, when Saratoga opens for 2015 on July 24, it does so with 427 races planned, or about 14 more than 2014, when NYRA slightly reduced the total. The schedule calls for nine-race cards on Monday, 10-race cards Wednesday-Friday and Sunday, and 11-race cards on Saturday, excepting the Travers and Woodward cards (PDF). This is also during a meet in which most graded stakes have been moved to weekends and stakes that previously headlined days — such as the Personal Ensign and Sword Dancer — have been bundled into a “Big Day.” As Mike Watchmaker, taking on the super card trend, observes, “The daily stakes schedule at Saratoga does look pretty lean in the middle of this upcoming meet” (DRF+). Saratoga is great, and it can be a grind. I fear this year it’s going to be more of the second for even the most devoted fans.

Posted in Racing on July 1, 2015 / Tagged Big Days, NYRA, R360, Saratoga, Too Few Horses, Too Many Races

Plainly Said

Dick Powell:

I love the Met Mile (G1) and hate that it is run on the Belmont Stakes undercard. It is a race worthy of its own big stage and should not share it with anyone.

Seconding the sentiment. It pains me to see a race as significant and historic as the Met Mile crammed into a bloated Belmont Stakes “Big Day” card between the Just a Game and the Manhattan Stakes. Restore it to Memorial Day!

Posted in Racing on June 5, 2015 / Tagged Belmont Park, Belmont Stakes, Big Days, Met Mile, New York

Nothing to See Here

Charlie Hayward on “Big Days” at racetracks:

I believe that consolidating stakes too aggressively can have the opposite of the intended effect — actually reducing customer interest and wagering activity on regular and weekend race days throughout the rest of the meet. “Big Days” are exciting for the casual racetrack customer. However, I would suggest that offering consistent weekend race cards combined with a takeout reduction would be a better way to grow the racing business and make our product more competitive with other gambling and entertainment offerings.

Yes. How easy is it to find something else to do when even a holiday weekend card is full of short fields and/or lacks a classy feature? The many factors making super-cards a trend “may have reached critical mass with Saturday’s card at Belmont,” says Mike Watchmaker, running down an afternoon of racing that’s “a little scary” in its lower-level quality. (Sunday isn’t better.)

Posted in Racing on May 22, 2015 / Tagged Belmont Park, Big Days, Business of Racing, R360, Saturday Horses, Stakes Races