Lone Star

[jpops757]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Trinity Meadows is finished as a racing facility. The building has been sitting there rotting for over ten years now and the Texas Racing Commission has denied racing dates to that track multiple times. The "minor league" races that you refer to are always going to be a staple in Texas because of the caliber of racing. We're always going to have 5k claimers, 10k maiden claimers, a slew of Texas-bred races, and many minor stakes races.

Lone Star was very well run at its inception. A great deal of money was accumulated while having the Simulcast Pavilion open prior to the track's grand opening. When the track finally did open the purses were three times larger than that of Retama or Sam Houston. In 1997 Lone Star's maiden special weight average purse was just a tick lower than Oaklawn. In the ten years since the purses at Louisiana Downs have risen and a large amount of horses have been lost to that meet since it was expanded. Magna would thrive and the horseracing would remain status quo. Acrumb would be handed to the horsemen every now and then. I dont think you can show a place where slots were approved where it did much more than throw an occasional crumb to the horsemen in exchange for the right to take away some of there parimurual money to keep the slots running. So many looking for the slots quick fix and not concerned about the racing product. Im sure there are figures out there and if you would look LS is probably one of the highest handle of any as far as simo handle.

The racetracks in Texas either need to drastically slash all of their dates and try to run better mini-meets or continue toiling in mediocrity and red numbers. Take a jaunt up to WinStar or out to Shreveport and take a look at the license plates of all the cars in the parking lot. Billions of dollars from Texans are lost yearly to Oklahoma and Louisiana. Take a look next time, then try to tell me if Lone Star had slot machines the place wouldn't thrive.

NT

Magna would thrive and they would pacify the horsemen with a crumb.Making slots available at the track just takes away from the local handle. LETS BE CONCERNED ABOUT HORSERACING AND IMPROVE IT..Im sure that SA,Hol.Bel Del and all the higher quality tracks have the data ,and im sure that LS probably is very high on there list of handle on there races. I agree that there will always be 5k claimers around but Keenland dosnt run them. Im not saying LS is on a par with Kee but there is a place for 5k claimers and lets refurbish Trinity and run them there and make LS a better place with a shorter mor quality meet. Make the horsemen and not the casinos build the product.