New Wagering Records Set On Kentucky Derby and Derby Day Card--Wet Track!

[Harness racer]

I think it was Visa that offered it.  But I think the Derby purse was much lower than it is now. 

[Calhoun]

Sovereignty suffered a minor hoof injury and that's excuse enough for Mott to skip the race. That said, if the Preakness was 4 weeks after the Derby, perhaps he goes.

I would make a lot of changes to the racing schedule:

May - First Saturday: Derby
June- First Saturday: Preakness
July - 4th of July - Belmont
Aug: G2 races plus some displaced G1s like the Foster, Haskell, etc.
Sept: Labor Day - Breeders Cup - I'd run it at Saratoga or Keeneland or DelMar or Woodbine.  I'd add a 3yo only race - The Travers Breeders Cup ( and the3 yo fillies race as well).  I'd reduce the number of 2 yo Breeders Cup races and add ...
Oct: 2 yo Prep races
Nov/Dec: 2 yo Chamionship races, G2s for other ages/sex plus we bet Northfield without a program.


 

[Brown jug]

you are right mike , the current regime only looks out for themselves, they think small and regional , the sport has allowed regional sires stakes to overtake the grand circuit and some of the bigger races get knocked down a notch , trainers pass up some of the bigger races because they can win a sires stake leg or final

grandstand, that's a good idea, get a major sponsor to give a decent incentive if any horse wins the new triple crown , sponsor gets advertising on all tracks and telecasts , gets to bring people to vip at each track and race

i think we have done more here that any usta etc marketing has done in years !!

[Grandstand Handicapper]

Sovereignty suffered a minor hoof injury and that's excuse enough for Mott to skip the race. That said, if the Preakness was 4 weeks after the Derby, perhaps he goes.

I would make a lot of changes to the racing schedule:

May - First Saturday: Derby
June- First Saturday: Preakness
July - 4th of July - Belmont
Aug: G2 races plus some displaced G1s like the Foster, Haskell, etc.
Sept: Labor Day - Breeders Cup - I'd run it at Saratoga or Keeneland or DelMar or Woodbine.  I'd add a 3yo only race - The Travers Breeders Cup ( and the3 yo fillies race as well).  I'd reduce the number of 2 yo Breeders Cup races and add ...
Oct: 2 yo Prep races
Nov/Dec: 2 yo Chamionship races, G2s for other ages/sex plus we bet Northfield without a program.

Minor hoof injury? That's too bad. Would really like to see him healthy and run in the Belmont (even though it's at the Spa and shorter, LOL).

[pocketrocketwinner]

Harness racing spending 1 second of time trying to emulate any aspect of the krnctucky derby is a complete waste of 1 second

[Papillon]

you are right mike , the current regime only looks out for themselves, they think small and regional , the sport has allowed regional sires stakes to overtake the grand circuit and some of the bigger races get knocked down a notch , trainers pass up some of the bigger races because they can win a sires stake leg or final

grandstand, that's a good idea, get a major sponsor to give a decent incentive if any horse wins the new triple crown , sponsor gets advertising on all tracks and telecasts , gets to bring people to vip at each track and race

i think we have done more here that any usta etc marketing has done in years !!

big cash incentives certainly work

1985 Garden St Park offered a huge bonus for any horse to win The Cherry Hill Mile, The Garden St Stakes, The Kentucky Derby, and The Jersey Derby---causing Spend A Buck to skip The Preakness

this upset many in the industry--Spend A Buck was all out at 1-20 odds to win The Jersey Derby

in 2004-Oaklawn Park(the Cella family) offered a big bonus for any horse that swept The Southwest Stakes, The Rebel, The Arkansas Derby and Kentucky Derby....Smarty Jones completed the sweep handily

footnote--Mr. Cella was on the hook for the $2mil bonus--so he bet north of $500k to win on Smarty Jones to cover his ass--significantly dropping the odds from around 8/1 to 4/1--with minutes till post time--i doubt nowadays a $500k win bet will move the odds as much as it did then

[seriously]

Harness racing spending 1 second of time trying to emulate any aspect of the krnctucky derby is a complete waste of 1 second

Sadly, I have to agree.   

[Kenny]

you are right grandstand, appears there is life in horse racing

The other side is how much has attendance at an event like the Little Brown Jug declined over the last 15 years?

[Kenny]

Look, there's no way #'s like that can ever get duplicated. The Derby is the Derby. It's an anomaly. Maybe the Breeders Cup can equal that, but that's about it. However, like I said, if you build it, they will come. I cringe when I hear things like marketing. Market what? A damaged sport with a broken business model? No, not yet. Clean up the sport, give people reasons to be interested, learn, watch, etc., and this business will do more than survive; it will thrive. Yes, less tracks. Yes, less races. Yes, less on-track handle. But the bottom lines in each line of business don't lie.

"if you build it, they will come"

That is not true. Harness racing is still going on almost every day of the year and the attendance is getting smaller. You have to "build" something people want.  the racing industry is not offering a product people want so the people are gone.

[Kenny]

you are right mike , the current regime only looks out for themselves, they think small and regional , the sport has allowed regional sires stakes to overtake the grand circuit and some of the bigger races get knocked down a notch , trainers pass up some of the bigger races because they can win a sires stake leg or final

The duel eligibility in KY is only making this worse. Now many horses can race in two different sire stakes programs and skip much of the grand circuit. Over time the top broodmares will end up in Ky and most horses will be duel eligible. 

[JT]

The other side is how much has attendance at an event like the Little Brown Jug declined over the last 15 years?

Having gone every year for 50 years.. ALOT.

[JT]

you are right mike , the current regime only looks out for themselves, they think small and regional , the sport has allowed regional sires stakes to overtake the grand circuit and some of the bigger races get knocked down a notch , trainers pass up some of the bigger races because they can win a sires stake leg or final

grandstand, that's a good idea, get a major sponsor to give a decent incentive if any horse wins the new triple crown , sponsor gets advertising on all tracks and telecasts , gets to bring people to vip at each track and race

i think we have done more here that any usta etc marketing has done in years !!

BINGO. The sires stakes have definitely taken away from the big grand circuit races. A financial incentive for winning the triple crown is a good idea. Those should be used as prep races for the best of the best for the grand circuit and their calendars should be adjusted accordingly. The last few years the KYSS finals were the weekend before the jug. Bad planning. Why race 2 heats at the LBJ for a total purse of $600,000 when you can race in a sire stakes final for $400,000. If it were me NA Cup 1st, Cane 2nd on Hambletonian weekend with a much bigger purse. I think there was 5 entries last year for the Cane. That's pitiful.  3rd The LBJ. 3 different sized tracks rather than going different distances other  then 1 mile. As the saying goes money talks and bull shit walks. If the triple crown races had the 3 highest purses along with the Meadowlands Pace with an extra incentive for winning the crown it definitely would  help the sport. The LBJ had a 1 million dollar purse 2 years ago and it was the most entries they had had in years

[Kenny]

Having gone every year for 50 years.. ALOT.

I have not being going that long but I think the attendance was around 55,000 the first year and is now around 43,000.

[Scooteroo]

Other than the Little Brown Jug, almost no trainers will run their top horses on 1/2-mile tracks, and a few even skip the Jug because of the heats. It wasn't like this in the old days when there were alot more 1/2-mile tracks.

[JT]

I have not being going that long but I think the attendance was around 55,000 the first year and is now around 43,000.

It's easy for me,  the fairgrounds is 5 minutes from my house.