need confirmation

[LAW AND ORDER]

Just got off the phone with a horseman friend of mine. He says that at YR, without slots, if the purses were generated solely by handle, they would be identical to or possibly worse than Monti's. Can this be true? I guess when you think about it, it must be

SAME IS TRUE FOR HOOSIER. WHEN HARRAHS PULLS THE PLUG HOOSIER PURSES WILL 1000$ EVERY RACE.

[Fuguzzi]

D’Amato , Hopkins etc

EXACTLY!  GOOD JOB. THOSE ARE THE SCUMBAGS THAT RUINED THE GREATEST HARNESS FACILITY THAT EVER EXISTED!

[theokodjak26]

This all very interesting. I think the sport has come full circle. When tracks like Monticello used to have $800 purses there weren’t chemists so much fixing the outcomes, it was the drivers making bets or just stiffing a horse so the next week it would drop from C-2 to C-3. Now in recent years the big drivers have no need to bet to make money. The purses are too big to throw your living away. So if we go back to putrid purses guess what will happen assuming the tracks survive.

[harnessfan2023]

You can thank the idiot horseman reps for making stupid decisions when the casino contracts were negotiated.  They allowed the casinos to make short term agreements because they were short sited and only seen the money.  They didn't think long term.  Now the casinos are in and have there gaming.  They don't need horses any more.  When it comes time for legislators to vote who you think they are gonna back?  Casinos who are paying all the tax money or horse racing that loses money through the agricultural budget? 

[SeattleSlew]

EXACTLY!  GOOD JOB. THOSE ARE THE SCUMBAGS THAT RUINED THE GREATEST HARNESS FACILITY THAT EVER EXISTED!

George Trias was the "lynchpin" as the four sharpies who bought the track from Gulf & Western couldn't rub two nickels together, but connect the Town of Hempstead into backing an IDA bond for $54million.  Trias was the Town of Hempstead person who either got conned or got paid.
He died in 2015, so no one will ever know the exact "deal".

[Venting]

Name me one thing that Pompano racetrack and Yonkers have in common? And look how racing is heading now 👎

[theokodjak26]

Both of their grandstands have been torn down.

[Fuguzzi]

George Trias was the "lynchpin" as the four sharpies who bought the track from Gulf & Western couldn't rub two nickels together, but connect the Town of Hempstead into backing an IDA bond for $54million.  Trias was the Town of Hempstead person who either got conned or got paid.
He died in 2015, so no one will ever know the exact "deal".

You are Slew. D'amato, as crooked a politician as ever lived was definitely a big part of that scheme too. Hopkins? POS! I think D'amato got his brother involved too, if memory serves. It may sound funny but back as early as 86 when I was stabled at YR, I would ship into Roosevelt a couple of mornings a month to get horses shod by John Santoro since there were very few Blacksmiths at YR that were acceptable. All the talent and big barns were at RR still. I'd often train a few trips or jog ob the old sand track to make the trip more worthwhile. Anyway, I would use the old ship in barns near the stable gate and I began to notice over time how they let the maintenance crew go one by one and all of the debris would be flying around, garbage pails overflowing, stalls would have caked straw sitting cleaned for weeks and so on and I once remarked to my Dad who liked to come along sometimes, "This place is gonna close down" You can see they didn't care anymore. Well, by Spring of 88, as you kpow it was gone. The greatest harness track ever was gone for good.