[theiman]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Your question was about Goodell? His quote was indeed not as egregious as Perle's, but it struck a similar tone.. The grandest idea these guys have had from the start of the process is to paint as broad a brush as possible with soundbite smears and innuendo versus NYRA in a political atmosphere. They have failed to offer any constructive suggestion as to what they have to offer as solutions to the problems that face ALL of racing except to say "we can do great things"...

Comparing any American racing venue to Aussie racing is ridiculous. Does Australia have major league baseball, football, basketball, NASCAR, PGA golf, et al competing for TV airtime and headline space? Does Australia have a casino every 27 miles competing for its' gambling dollars? Does Australia have a fractured OTB and TV licensing problem like the US? The answer to these questions is no. My complaint with his approach to the issue is that like Perle, he can only keep dragging out old news that is no longer germane to the discussion as opposed to giving specifics as to why Capital Play is a viable alternative worth considering.

The fact is that when there was NO racino dollars in the mix with the franchise, NYRA was the ONLY party interested in running racing in NY. Anyone that wants the racing itself to be the focus of the franchise holder is backing the Association.

And a point as to the comments above...

"A chimp could run Saratoga and be successful"? Really? Any recognition for NYRA's role in making Saratoga so successful? You think that what goes on at Saratoga has been happening forever? No one seems to remember when Saratoga was a money pit for NY racing, attendance was modest, or worse, and there were calls for the meet to be abandoned in the 60's...

This may be news to you and others as it's rarely brought up. But before Saratoga as a town began its' renaissance, the track was a burden to the Association costing a fortune to maintain and drawing little in the way of the acclaim it enjoys now. It was NYRA, with Gov. Harriman, that legislated that Saratoga race a minimum of 24 a year, assuring the permanent status of the Spa, and began to heavily market the "August place to be". That's when the phenomenon of Saratoga began.

You cite Remington and Arlington as feathers in the cap of MEC and CDI, but offer no credit to NYRA for Saratoga being the crown jewel of race meets in the industry. Interesting rationale..

Just a followup on some of the things you mentioned.
You are correct about Saratoga in the past, however in recent years and I am talking about the last 20-25 years, it has been the shining jewel vs a burden. It would be hard to screw that up right now by just keeping it status quo. Something on the outside could hurt it, like gas rationing, another 9/11 situation, etc, but if Saratoga keeps offering the same stakes schedule and the same marketing promos, it is a no lose situation. When I said a chimp, it was on the current Saratoga.

Australia does have sports competition with racing. Aussie Rules Football, Rugby and Soccer are big down there and pack them in to the stadiums and are on TV. They are sports we dont see up here, and probably dont care for, as I am sure they could care less for our baseball. They also have auto racing down under. Ask any Aussie who "Brocky" is and they know. FYI--Brocky was an autoracer in OZ that was killed in an accident about 2 years ago. He was as close to what the USA had in Dale Earnhardt.
As for racetracks and OTB's, the Aussies do have TAB's(which actually are regionalized by three areas in the country)So there are two of the pools that dont go into the main track pool. Aussie tracks also have on the premises licensed Fixed odds bookmakers, which drain handle from the regular pools. They pay a fee to be there but I dont know whether the fee is something simiilar to a track in California paying a fee to NYRA for taking its signal.
Yet, it is a problem for them to deal with too.

As for my mention of SA, Remington and Arlington it was a response to another poster who said what does Magna and CDI know about racing, thus I posted 3 recent tracks that had plus meets.

Finally, I doubt there would be any company or organization that would want to own and run the NY tracks if there were no slots in the future. If they did it would only be to possibly sell off one of the properties to make a killing (that is assuming the property was theres to sell)

How many tracks can you name in the last 10 years, that are new, that dont have a racino on them? Racing by itself is a tough business and a sell. Saratoga and DM are unique meets that make money by opening their doors. Thus, NYRA, being the current operator, will probably continue as the management of the tracks. Hopefully someone else, with top experience comes in to run the slots and the deal being made is a fair one for both sides.

Seems the companies bidding for NY racing are like the politicians, negative campaigning. That sucks, but I guess its what we have come to expect.

By the way, I appreciate your forum and the fact matters can be discussed and debated without personal attacks.