Lage is listed as claimer, new owner, and trainer of Blind Harry

Gotcha--thought I was reading it wrong. I usually try to buy 5%. Sometimes the group wont let you and you have to buy 10%. Either way it works for me. I havent been in the winners circle so far this year so I need a winner.

Thats too damn bad.
I get the feeling when I hear synthetic reports from some folks like I would if i was watching the weatherman here in upstate NY and he called for sunny skies every single day.

I totally appreciate it. Totally.

It's perhaps the best way to bring new money into racing. America has gambling/venture fever and horse ownership through partnerships/consortium/clubs/syndication or whatever you wish to call it is one of the avenues the industry should publicize. It could potentially draw billions to racing and revitalize the sport.

It's a hell of a lot more interesting than owning stock.

One of my gripes with poly has been the cost and that maybe that money should have been better spent on advertising. Increasing field size does not add to the sport -- it does not draw any new money to the game. It merely reallocates money between tracks.

The general non-horseracing public could care less whether you have Polytrack, Cushion Track, Tapeta, dirt, or turf. They don't even know there's a track to begin with let alone what surface the horses run on.

Take Cincinnati for instance. Throw some cheap TV and newspaper commercials showing people who have won $10k or so at Turfway or River Downs. That will immediately draw NEW customers to the track. People want to gamble -- they want to win money -- and the best way to get them to the track is to talk about winnings.

Show the public a person who won $100,000 or so at Turfway and you'll have many new customers. Most people in this area don't even know horse racing exists let alone that you can win money at it.

Show 'em on TV. Holding up a big check. Saying, "I'm Joe Blow and I went to Turfway last Saturday and I came home with $140,000". Pretty simple but effective.

Getting new customers to the track will save racing. If you don't do that -- you'll have empty grandstands facing a poly surface instead of a dirt surface.

I agree with you to a point. However, I wouldnt be so enthusiastic to have my face plastered on TV and in newspapers if I wont that much money. Marketing horse racing is very difficult concept. The game is very confusing. Once you get a fan to the track then what do you do?

If a horse has a history of respiratory issues or bleeding, it would not be unusual to scope the horse after the race. With horses that have bled in the past, it is not unusual to scope them after every race. If they start to come back clean every time, then the trainer will stop scoping them. But then if the horse has an unexplainably poor performance, the trainer will probably scope them again.

Out here in Southern California, my trainers will practically always scope a horse if the horse runs below his capability.

Thats standard procedure to scope after a subpar run

Well my idea is a little different than most.
I think that most racetracks have stigma attached to them(not all) that prevent the kinda folks we are trying to grab in the game from going to them.
I don't think track attendance matters as much as handle.
YOu build very nice restuarant/bar/betting locations in states that have racing.
You try and grab the crowd with bucks to spend who dont just wanna go to the track per say. Those who wanna watch games and have a few beers and a meal.
Here in NY State Capital OTB had a brilliant idea that is working out very well.
They closed some small OTB parlors in various locations and allowed bars/restaurants to become "EZ BET" locations. They get SAm machines and the satellite that allows them to show the tracks and take bets. They are also provided with pp's. They get something like 3% of handle in exchange for it. You buy vouchers from the bartender and you cash in when you are done there as well. Some decent places have picked this up and they do a good business. They get regulars who never bet before playing races.
You can get drinks and food thats good at real prices, not racetrack prices, and the crowd is neat and clean as well.
You have to take the racing to the public, and stop trying to get the public to come to racing.

"You have to take the racing to the public, and stop trying to get the public to come to racing." Oracle, this might be the most intelligent thing you have ever said. Not that is saying much. But very good.

Dude owning 5% of a claimer does not make you a racing authority.
Save the condescension for something you actually know something about.

Well tell us Oracle, how many horses do you own or own part of?

my **** is bigger than yours!

this is the world's most amusing pissing contest

Well actually I just bought someone half of an ownership in a broodmare. He was thrilled at the price, and rather than give me a piddly commission, he gave me a ten percent interest in the foal that will be produced from her mating this spring with First Samurai!! The foal will be a half sibling to the New York Bred stakes winner Imanumbersguy.
Kind of exciting. So no ownership yet, but sometime in spring of 2008 I will have an exciting day when the foal is born?
Thanks for asking!!!

Awww...very nice and congrats. And you know what...makes it so much better, you are using someone else's money and kindness. Let me you ask you something....have you ever done anything on your own with your own resources or do you just sit back and piggy back on other people's money and kindness?

Awww...very nice and congrats. And you know what makes it so much better, you are using someone else's money and kindness. Let me you ask you something....have you ever done anything on your own with your own resources or do you just sit back and piggy back on other people's money and kindness?

Now watch....some silly troll will probably register under the name Mike Hawk, and start to participate in this thread.

I think something to that effect happened here a few days ago. People can get to be so juvenile on these internet message boards from time to time.

LOL!!! Well I think when you do a good job at something and someone wants to offer you something like that its wise to accept it rather than a small commission up front.
I'm so very sorry that it offends you, oh wait a minute, nah I'm not.
If I ever wanted to own one or part of one I'd either buy a piece of a NY bred or a claimer.

I am trying to buy into a NY bred. The program is just too good not to be part of IMO. Do a good job--HA HA. That is funny. You are just a horse whore. Basically, you are someone else's bitch because they are too busy with more important stuff. So they hire a horse flesh whore like yourself to do their work for them. You dont care about this sport, you are in it for yourself and yourself only. You only care about getting yours, that is why you never have put any of your own resources into the game.

I respect everyone who owns no matter how big or small, including you, but if you think that buying 5% of a 5 claimer(which you have) and spending 250 bucks "puts something big" into the game, well I dunno.
Trying to use that as a stance to look down on others is pretty lame.
Do you really think that you aren't "in it for yourself" when you plunked down that 250 bucks?
You are delusional pal.

its one of the few downfalls of being super rich, you always are going to have people dragging on your coattails trying to get a buck or 3 thrown their way. no i am not near rich but i am surrounded by people who pay more for their plasma tvs than i do my car. lame way to go through life if you ask me. i would rather stay struggling. buy your own damn horse if you want to be a player.