Is The Track A Depressing Place?
 

I have to say yes.

With the exception of Saratoga which is more of a vacation feeling than a racetrack feel. But other than that, I dread going to the racetrack. I would much rather place my bets at home. When I go, I see sad faces who will be losing today. Who bring their paycheck and curse the T.V. as they bet on any simulcast track they can get down on.

I feel the same way about casinos. I hate them. So depressing. You can feel the sorrow in the room. It isn't exciting at all. It's empty....I guess we are a long way from the 50's when a weekday card in NY could draw forty thousand people.

i don't find it depressing. what people do with their money doesn't concern me much...it's theirs.

i hate casinos tho. i went once, about ten years ago. too noisy, too many machines clanging, too mind-numbingly boring sitting their pushing buttons or pulling handles. yuk

I actually like it...

I like seeing the horses in the paddock more than anything, though.

Going to Keeneland, one doesn't usually feel that way. And sure, the majority of people lose at the tracks everyday. But those people are not your concern. You did not place their wagers with your money.

There are tracks one can still go to and enjoy. I love Belmont as well as Keeneland and Saratoga.

Yeah all of the tracks in North America are scummy and depressing...except for Saratoga of course. Mmmm doughnuts...

Some area's of the track are depressing, but Arlington is not, Hawthorne, is depressing. Arlington has that 'weekend' hangout place feeling going on and when it is nice out, it is alot of fun

There are places at Arlington that are scummy but I tend to not be around those

As a track, I love Belmont. Love betting it. But when it is mostly empty which is all the time, it has an empty football stadium feeling to it.

As for the money aspect, sure I'm not shedding a tear for them---but I guess sometimes I can sense how empty they are. They aren't excited as they enter, and they aren't excited when they leave.

now that is true.

i can't wait til july and arlington....

I have never been to Arlington Racecourse, and I want to go badly. Some time in the future, hopefully.

There are other tracks other than Saratoga that are far from depressing. And Saratoga is far from a great time when the weather's off. Try Oaklawn on a nice weather day. Arlington on any Friday in the summer. DelMar any day. Gulfstream any weekend day.

I think you're right, and I think many people WAGER money that they CANNOT afford to lose. It's like a dog chasing his tail.

THE vacation destination

Beulah Park, my home turf:p

If you love old green paint, you'll love Beulah Park!

santa anita on a good clear day is the most beautiful track in america so its not to bad.....but the hassle of going "live" has been tired for quite some time.

That's why I'm asking, I haven't been to many of these tracks....Just Saratoga, Belmont, Aqueduct, Monmouth, Meadowlands, and Colonial....But its hard to believe that if I travel around the U.S. I'd have that much of a different experience.

I say no.

I guess you are living in a Twilight Zone-esque alternate universe..

I see the warmest, funniest, most animated characters imaginable, joking and arguing with their racetrack or lifelong friends as they enjoy a routine they've repeated for years or are in the process of creating.

You aren't at the track on weekdays anyway.. You're being morose.. Have a Peep...

I separate beautiful from depressing....It can be both.

If you focus on the people, absolutely.

But when I go up to the second floor for two bucks, and sit next to my own little TV and can watch any race I want, or turn back to some other sporting event, it is a little piece of heaven.

The bathrooms are clean, I can get up and walk around and look at how the grass on the track is doing. The food is inexpensive and decent. I got my racing form in front of me with a nice cushioned chair... it really can make a nice day for me Randall. You can get out of the hustle and bustle of 3300 kids, always signing papers for 180 kids to go here and there, it is a quiet little relief for me. My wife still does not understand what it is like to have interplay with so many different people during a day. Its very taxing even though I love it (the teaching part).

Broke up a fight the other day and got blood all over myself. Had to write up this long winded report. Had to go by the nurse so she could give me a clean bill of health (the kids had opened big cracks on each others foreheads with blows and blood was everywhere). Very next thing I go into a parent conference about a kid who is taking his frustrations out on his parents divorce by doing poorly in school, whats your plan Mr. G...

so the track is such a gift for me.

LOL Steve, I will have 2 peeps.

Characters, yes and they are interesting...I've been to track on weekdays many times, though not lately so I know what that's like as well.

.....yeah, i know what you are saying. you go into the general adm. area at the anita and its pretty grim:rolleyes:

I could not agree more. The first floor at Hawthorne is one of the most depressing places I've ever been. It's awful, I can't stand it.

Arlington....hmmmm, I cannot think of one depressing thing about being at Arlington Park. Matter of fact, I also cannot think of one single place I would rather be at any moment than Arlington Park.

It is Duchessosis's baby and manicured to perfection (the outside flower bed spelled "ARLINGTON", really nice) It is extremely clean and well taken care of.

Some people say that it has turned into an amusement park and local bar scene and to an extent that is true. The bottom floor is that way, Alot of 30 somethings with their first born bring their kid out to the track and see the 'horsies' and push the stroller around BUT when you get upstairs, more so in the simucasting area and both Silks and Mr. D's, you get some hardcore gamblers. Both situations are great to be in, in small doses, I try to get both.

The finger snapping f-bomb dropping program throwing and then some milf checking/beer guzzeling/right on track/yapping with friends action

notta depressing place at all to me! you got more of the gambler mentality to you randy

It's horrible. No man should be subjected to that eyesore of a racetrack. All of the people gambling and showing emotion. Calgon take me away!!!

Two weeks ago I went back down to California for a visit and went to Bay Meadows on a Thursday (ok, I also went Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but that's not the point :rolleyes: ) - I got there early, got a clubhouse box on the finish line, sat in the sun and capped. Around the third race, my brother looked over at me and asked, "what the h*ll is that look on your face?" I realized I was at peace, there was no place on earth that I would rather have been at that very moment. Warmth, sun, horses running, a cold beer, my brother, my best friend... what more could I want? The track a depressing place? Far from it, to me it's heaven....

My name is DerbyCat, and I'm a Trackaholic.

dont bother..its a nice place..clean ect but the racing is the worst

I should note that when I wake up in the morning and know I am going to spend the day hanging with my friends at Beulah, I get all excited still. Yes, the place is depressing from the facilities standpoint. But, I don't go their for that. I go to watch and wager on the horses and enjoy the company of friends.

Now, The Little Brown Jug to me is heaven on earth, a real slice of American Pie. Churchill Downs in the morning as the sun comes up Derby Week will send chills down your spine. Keeneland is easy on the eyes and senses. Here is to my making a trip to Toga this fall.

Ever been to Les Bois?

When you see people that have no idea what they are doing, throwing money away while smoking with their kids in tow. Arguing about losing the paycheck... cant like that. So I go to the second floor.

Now on the beer nights when the college kids show up that dont know what they are doing, mixed with families eating ice cream not betting a dime, just to listen to the bands and ride the ponies or pet the animals in the little petting zoo.... thats a big carnival of cross cultures.

in Idaho?

guy i work with has a gambling addict for a father...man, the stories he can tell. guy would bet the rent money--he said he always hoped his dad would do well, so he could have an ice cream cone at the end of the day--no cone, bad day.

It doesn't bother me. Chances are their kids aren't going to amount to ****, might as well get a head start on failure.

That's the part about Santa Anita I don't like. That god damn inflatable slide in the infield blocks the view of the race. Same with that humongtard jumbotron.

See, it does bother me. I don't like seeing our young generation start out as failures.

The Track is depressing? Did I read this right? Have I thrown away my entire life?







To quote my hero.....









































thud

Why...yes....I believe it is.





Have ya been there??

I will be trying Oaklawn on what are hopefully nice days on Fri and Sat.... I do not plan on being depressed as I am driving about 6 hrs to get there :)

double thud

I have not...have you?

Well no.





But I only queried as I would think it would show a true admirer of t-racing.

( My wirelss failed me)

That's why we should execute their parents and put the kids in an orphanage. That way we at least give the tater a fighting chance.

your wirelss? hmmm...maybe check the battery.