If the goal is to bring in younger fans and subsequently increase handle and ensure future handle when all you old folks are gone, then why can't we just admit that? It's not like the event is going to hurt anyone, and I'm sure it'll bring in a little temporary money for NYRA and provide some eye candy for Scav, but in the end it'll be just another misguided attempt to reach a group that those in charge don't really understand.

Two golf claps:tro: :tro:

I hear you. Those poor innocent babes are binge drinking like there's no tomorrow. They have less healthy habits than gambling already.

It's been a problem for me for years. My state figures we'll all end up in the gutter if we have gambling (nevermind that there's a Harrah's down the street on the reservation). Since I can't get TVG or HRTV (again, cable company doesn't want me to use it as a gateway to, I dunno, heroin) I have to scrounge around the internet as best I can nowadays. Can't have a satellite dish in my current situation. I'd probably have trouble hanging out at a racetrack, even if we had one, without folks thinking I was a degenerate. They freak about poker as it is. I'm wary about telling people horse racing is my favorite sport because they flat out judge you, even as they plunk down cash for the NCAA tournament.

It's hard to dispute how integral betting is to the sport and how fun it can be to have an "I told you so" where you earn money, but then amongst ourselves we talk about improving the breed and things that are chalk full of romantic ideals for this sport which to me could use a different pitch maybe then strictly 'hey kids come gamble!' Is there a way we could romanticize it just a smidge? For me? I want them feeling something more than 'yes! I won $500!' when they watch something incredible, e.g. when Tiznow won the 2001 BC Classic. Something should stir in there. Let them know it will, that we don't just want their money (even though we could really use it and who are we kidding we do really really want their money). Tell them there's magic to be had, or at least mention it a bit instead of expecting them to stumble on it once they get there. Of course sometimes I wonder if enough people are into that as much as they are just getting the cash out of the college kids' wallets.

All those kids are betting on sports and poker but racing is a no-no.:rolleyes:
The attitude is the same as the state's which encourages lotteries (I think there are about 5 different lotteries in NY) and is happy to have slots revenue and racing revenue, but which then passes legislation restricting tracks and OTB's. For example, the slots were humming along on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday while tracks and OTB's are forced to be closed.

I would cheerish a reply from Steve Crist and Andy Beyer here!!;) :D

hey that $1,000 for tuition thing is a good idea.

I'm actually really impressed that the NYRA would do this. College kids that gamble are going to gamble no matter what anyway, whether they fly to Las Vegas, or do it at the racetrack. I think giving away the tuition money at least shows they care somewhat about their futures.

Also very smart. They need to make sure these kids stay in school, graduate, and then get high paying jobs so they can continue to gamble on horses the rest of their lives :D

3 claps.