Monmouth Park
A Few Quick Links
… and notes before I check out for a few days …
Jittery Saratoga fans? Reports the Troy Record: “[Tom Federlin] brings in about $1.3 million annually renting homes during track season. This year, for the first time, he has had to include escape clauses in the leases guaranteeing renters refunds if the track doesn’t open.”
Thank you, Saratogian editorial board: “For the umpteenth time, NYRA isn’t looking for a bailout. It’s looking for a loan for operating cash that it wouldn’t be asking for had it been receiving the money owed by NYC OTB as well as its promised cut from the so-far nonexistent slots at Aqueduct.”
Not quite right, Associated Press: “NYRA, plagued for years by poor management and sinking revenues, emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2008 with the help of a $105 million state bailout that sent $75 million to creditors and $30 million to help NYRA until the Aqueduct ‘racino’ opened.” Take note, anonymous reporter, that was no bailout in 2008 — it was cash for land, and the state got a sweet deal on valuable parcels as part of the franchise agreement it made with NYRA.
Regarding a similar error in a story about the current situation, Ed Fountaine asks, “Is this use of the incendiary term ‘bailout’ just shoddy journalism, or a willful disregard for the truth?” Neither answer is a good one, for anyone who cares about journalism or New York racing.
In New Jersey, Monmouth Park has momentum and attention. Saturday, opening day for the rich experimental meet, drew a crowd of 17,903 (an increase of 74% over 2009) and attracted $9,357,444 in handle (more than double last year, and a record for a non-Haskell day). There was more good news for the track on Sunday, with 8500 in attendance and $7,046,389 in handle (an increase of 126% over the same day in 2009). Trainers are enjoying the “bargain hunting possibilities” brought on by horses priced so low, running for so much. Out of six claiming races on Saturday, 11 horses went to new barns. The pace picked up on Sunday, with 19 horses claimed out of five races.
Goldikova returns triumphant: Watch the Prix d’Ispahan replay. The 6-year-old mare will start next at Royal Ascot. “I think she’s better than last year, when she just hated the heavy ground,” said trainer Freddie Head.
Belmont buzz horses: On Saturday, Afleet Express, a 3-year-old son of Afleet Alex, made an impression winning a seven-furlong allowance by 7 3/4 lengths in 1:21.72 as the 7-5 favorite for trainer Jimmy Jerkens. He was given a Beyer speed figure of 115, the best for any age sprinting, and second, at any distance or age, only to the 121 given Quality Road for the Donn Handicap. [5/25/10 Update: BSF revised to 107.] On Sunday, Flawless debuted with a 13 1/4 length win in a seven-furlong maiden special, zipping through a first quarter in :22.80 and a half in :46.57 as the even-money favorite. And get this: “She wasn’t cranked,” said trainer Bill Mott.
A Show of Support
On-hiatus Handride checks in to declare,
I’m doubling down at Monmouth Park. I’ve heard that Monmouth needs to double its handle to turn a profit this upcoming Summer, and while that number is even being debated, I’m here ready to do just that.
Me too. Let’s be honest: The racing at Saratoga was a little ho-hum last summer, with an abundance of turf sprints and NY-breds knocking around. The expansion to 40 days this year doesn’t bode well for race quality or field size. The Jersey shore beckons: If Monmouth attracts top stables and draws competitive 9-10 horse fields regularly, as officials hope, the Spa’s history and ambiance won’t be enough to keep my betting dollars loyal.
Links for 2010-03-11
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"Speaking on condition of anonymity, highly placed industry sources are telling HRI there is no way Monmouth Park can reasonably expect to double its handle, something it would need to do to remain viable, given a purse structure that will distribute an average $1-million daily." As long as New Jersey is experimenting, why not court bettors as aggressively as connections? Slash takeout, offer free data, target whales.
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A bit of candor: "If this is the death for the small horsemen, it’s because he doesn’t have the kind of horse that America wants to bet on."
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"The goal is simple: to replicate the company's smashing success in the financial world, where the $1,500-a-month Bloomberg terminals are in many ways the lifeblood of the industry, into the sports world. Bloomberg is starting with baseball. The company has just launched its fantasy product, which costs $31.95 for the year." Watching with interest …
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More details from the December 2009 deal announcement: "For the MLBAM-Bloomberg product being sold to MLB teams, Bloomberg will take MLBAM’s real-time statistical feed from every game, as well as location-based data already being developed in partnership with Sportvision, and apply an almost limitless amount of analytical tools." Neat! Visuals (via).
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"Here’s my point: businesses don’t get to pick the timetable for when their preferred model takes a permanent dirt nap. It’s insane to me that these businesses’ fans see this so much more clearly than their actual stakeholders do. The fans want desperately to see these places stay alive, and many … pay tons of actual cash … to support that."
Peerless
Rachel Alexandra and Calvin Borel win the Haskell. (Uploaded by Rock and Racehorses to Flickr.)
She’s beaten the winners of the Illinois Derby, Arkansas Derby, Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Tom Fool Handicap. She’s won eight consecutive races, four of those Grade 1s, one a Classic, at six different tracks, and she’s done so by a combined 69 3/4 lengths. Her winning time of 1:47.21 for nine furlongs in the Haskell Invitational came within one-fifth of a second of the Monmouth stakes record; her preliminary Beyer speed figure for the race is 116, which is the highest yet given this year to any horse of any age at any distance over any surface in North America. The leading contender for Horse of the Year, she’s the best of her generation, male or female, and quite possibly, the best American thoroughbred in training.
She’s Rachel Alexandra, and she’s great.
Superlatively speaking: Her Haskell win was preternatural … awesome … surreal … easily the most scintillating seen this year … spine-tingling. (For more, including photos and the race replay, visit R360.)
Meanwhile: Earlier in the day and across the ocean, Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Goldikova turned in a flawless front-running performance to win the Fr-1 Prix de Rothschild. Writes Sue Montgomery in the Independent,
Unlike those commercially driven, demeaning occasions now prevalent at feature race meetings, yesterday was a ladies’ day with a degree of dignity attached. At Deauville, the four-year-old filly Goldikova won the European weekend’s most valuable prize because of her deeds, not her looks. Her class as an athlete was being judged, not the style of her plaits or the colour of her saddlecloth.
Sing it, sister.
The brilliant Goldikova is expected to return to Santa Anita this fall to defend her title. “We’ll follow the same plan as last year,” said trainer Freddie Head.
And at Del Mar: Perfect Zenyatta breezed five furlongs in 1:00 in prep for the Clement Hirsch (video). Could the champion beat Rachel Alexandra, if the two meet? That’ll be the question for the rest of the racing year.
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Jessica Chapel writes and edits in Massachusetts. Railbird is a Thoroughbred horse racing blog published from June 2004 to July 2019. More / Contact
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