Brilliant moves by Churchill
 

This is how to turn the tide in racing. Piss off the owners piss off the bettors and get ready to close the doors. Brilliant corporate decisions by people who don't have a clue.

http://foxhillfarmstable.com/2014/04...sible-mistake/

CD runs a business and has to run it as such even it is at the expense of pissing off bettors and owners. It seems they are slowly getting away from the old day to day horse racing business model and getting more into making CD a location for concerts and other events. Most tracks do this as well to bring in people to the track and not necessarily attracting them to the sport (concerts, film festivals,food trucks etc). You can bring your friends to the Breeders Cup and Kentucky Derby but you cant convince them to be excited for a 20k Maiden Claimer on a Thursday. As a fan of the sport, I dont like the changes but I can understand how they need to evolve to be competitive and profitable.

If they keep pissing off the bettors and the owners, they won't be running much of a business in Louisville.

this guy sounds like a real stooge. how'd he get to be in charge ?

Bettors will bet and owners will run for the best purses. Hard for me to feign outrage for someone who obviously has a sense of entitlement. Entitlement only applies to the other guy I guess. I am sure he has no problem with other companies in his portfolio maximizing revenue for their shareholders.

:tro:

the 'don't you know who i am?' syndrome....

but i want to bring a bunch of guests, why can't you accomodate me?

I gather this isn't the sort of treatment that other tracks are giving to the owners and rightfully so...

Other tracks aren't running the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks where seats are sold out 8 months in advance.

Cry me a river, Porter.

What difference will a couple seats make vs. the dollars bet because he runs his horse?

If they have seats for B list celebrities that even People magazine doesn't care about, they should be able to accommodate the owners entering horses in their races.

Exactly.. Saratoga isn't much better, so much red tape for anything as well. It's a joke. I just always assume when my horses are running that I will get screwed by calling for anything so why bother. Like I said, it's a joke.

Takes a miracle for anything to happen. even getting down the stairs into the paddock is a at aqueduct is a pain in the ass with my 3 little kids, somebody always giving you a hard time over something. MAKES YOU JUST FEEL THE LOVE.

Porter sounds like a rich, entitled, whiner to me

Couldnt agree more.

To be fair Larry Birkhead is a Z list celebrity

I see both sides, but I agree that he does come off as someone believing he is "entitled". If you own stakes horses racing for hundreds of thousands of dollars, what's a few hundred in seats going to hurt. CD does plenty wrong, and perhaps they should accommodate for a reasonable price.

Maybe if he didn't come off as such a doosh and entitled I'd be a little more sympathetic. I'm tired of millionaires like him whining. This is the way it's been for a long time and he knows it quite well- this isn't a change. You run on Derby Day, don't expect tickets. He's an assclown, even if I generally like his horses.

The funny thing is he promises the Vets the tickets, and expects somebody else to pay for it with their dime. Nice job of trying to make yourself look important.

Exactly - has he ever been denied free seats on any other Saturday when he's got a horse entered in an N1X? I doubt it.

But you still run your horses at Saratoga?

that's just it...just about any day of the year, they can accomodate you. but on these two days, one must expect it will be different.
i know he doesn't want to be around the unwashed masses, but does he really expect churchill to give away seats when it's their two days that carry the year?

I have run horses that I have owned in partnerships at Saratoga, haven't been fortunate enough to run horses I own by myself there yet. I have a two year old that should run there this summer if all works out. I will run there yes and will certainly will just show up with my family and enjoy it.

I ran at Fairground this past year but I prefer to sit in the stands anyway, there I usually just hang out in the Star Guitar bar between races and enjoy the view of the paddock if it's just my wife and myself. It's nice if you have a larger group to have access to some private seating or at least a bit easier than they make it

I enjoy the sport regardless obviously but I do think it's a pain in the arse at the bigger tracks.