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

[Papillon]

Outside of the derby, nothing they are doing is working either. Handle is way down over the past few decades. Retail handle way way way down and caw handle way up. Both breeds have enormous problems with their product

absolutely 100% true

when people look at "handle"--you cannot look at that number and come to any conclusions

if you dive deeper--retail handle is down exponentially while CAW handle is way, way up..and the differential will only increase

that is extremely bad news for both industries

[JT]

JT: Had to look it up to fact check your claim that the $1M purse in 2023 drew more horses in
the Jug. You are right. I only went back to 2013 [probably a good thing for your claim] and indeed
there was more BUT nothing really significant. 17 horses in the $1M year. Four years during those
years [2013-2024] there were 15 entered. In 2013 there were actually 19 entered. So was the added
@$350k really beneficial or just wasted tax dollars? I would say unequivocally the latter.

I don't mind being fact checked, but I'm not the type that throws BS on the wall to see if it sticks like some others on here.. not you but others lol. As far as the tax dollars go,some of that purse increase was from the occupancy bed tax in Delaware county and some from the state. The bed tax was specifically passed to improve the fairgrounds. In the big scheme of things 100 or 200 grand is chump change to the state. There was only 11 entered in the jug in 2022, the year before the million dollar year where it was 17.. Last year there was only 13. The purse was back down to normal levels $625,000. Point being bigger purse = more entries and interest.

[Bitter Truth]

I get you. It might draw in an extra entry or two but 'INTEREST'? I question that there were many who said:
"OOhh $1M purse! I wanna know more about this." I venture the same people that follow[ed] it before, were
about the only one's that watched, and/or wagered then. Granted perhaps a few but $350K worth? Do they
still follow it if they did? I'm biased though because as you know I don't care for those arrogant, greedy bastards up there.

[JT]

I get you. It might draw in an extra entry or two but 'INTEREST'? I question that there were many who said:
"OOhh $1M purse! I wanna know more about this." I venture the same people that follow[ed] it before, were
about the only one's that watched, and/or wagered then. Granted perhaps a few but $350K worth? Do they
still follow it if they did? I'm biased though because as you know I don't care for those arrogant, greedy bastards up there.

I dont like many on the fair board either. Some of them don't know which end a horse would shit out of, let alone anything about harness racing. My only point is like a previous poster had mentioned was if the triple crown races had more emphasis on them, with a sponsorship paid  bonus for winning all 3,  it might generate more interest in the sport and one way to do that is to have the 3 triple crown races as the three biggest purses of the year.

[Bitter Truth]

We've had this discussion on here before and hell I bet there are less than a handful [if that] that even
race in The Messenger, NAC, and M[1] Pace. Since the whole thing is a pipedream , I've always liked
the idea of a grand slam with NAC [7/8] M[1] Pace [mile] Adios [5/8] Jug [1/2] All 4 sizes of tracks.

[Brown jug]

i dont mind the grand slam idea but one horse winning all is very remote
what i could see is a $2m bonus to any horse that could win all 4 but if not that does not happen there is $1m distributed to the top 3 horses based on its earned in the 4 races, you must race in all 4 to be eligible for the payout , the $1m is in addition to purse money the 4 races offer

back to the jug, more horses =more interest =more wagering , not long ago( might have been 2023 ) they had 3 heats of 8

[Bitter Truth]

Brown Jug: Nope that was the $1M year..17 entered.. Divisions of 6-6-7. Like I had written, went
back to just 2013. That year [2013] had the most [19]. I'll have another look.

[Brown jug]

ok, thanks, at least it went to 3 heats from two the years before

[Bitter Truth]

Went back to 2000 . The heyday was 2000 thru 2010 . All but 2 [2009 + 2008] had 20 or more.
the most without listing them all were 2004[24] 2003[28] 2002[30] 2001[29]. So actually you
have to go back to 2004 to find at least three 8-horse fields.

[JT]

Went back to 2000 . The heyday was 2000 thru 2010 . All but 2 [2009 + 2008] had 20 or more.
the most without listing them all were 2004[24] 2003[28] 2002[30] 2001[29]. So actually you
have to go back to 2004 to find at least three 8-horse fields.

Thanks for the research .I like the grand slam idea. When I was a youngster my Dad would always talk about how big a race the Adios was. Before the million dollar year I think it'd been quite a while since they had enough for 3 divisions. Yes Brown Jug.. name is appropriate for this conversation lol.. I loved the three heat potential. Now most owners and trainers are reluctant to do two. One change they made that I do agree with is that every horse in the final gets a check now. They had alot of horses scratch if they drew the 7 or 8 hole in the final. At least it guarantees a full field for the final.

[Grandstand Handicapper]

https://paulickreport.com/news/ray-s-paddock/letter-to-the-editor-ludicrous-not-to-change-triple-crown-schedule

Letter to the editor.....Ludicr ous not to change the Triple Crown schedule.....