the number one thing that would help this big event is tv. get better ratings, you get better ad dollars. so, they need to make themselves more appealing. number one, that means shorten the telecast. number two, get rid of two days, which makes no sense viewer-wise. the super bowl runs about 3.5 hours over one day. the races need to be closer together, to get rid of all the dead time, and to have the exciting moments much, much closer together. bettors will bet regardless. you have to get the t.v. viewership first and foremost. tracks aren't going to turn down having some of the races, since they'll share in the revenue and boost attendance and revenue. the bc needs to take more of the ad money, and less of the handle-leaving the tracks more inclined to partake. have the bc at the tracks that produce the most handle-churchill automatically becomes #1.

BC is a bad idea already but it is here too stay. I like BC day, but I like Tuesdays in Feb at Aqueduct. The point of having it at CD every year is to build the day, make it a destination event. With it all over the place it is harder to market. Plus the configurations of different track make things even more dodgy. CD does a great job with the Derby and the weather in KY can be suitable. I really dont care if it is a rotation or at CD, or even dropped for that matter, but it would be a lot easier to market if it was in one place.

i like your DROPPED idea the best at this point.

If its going to be put at a permanent spot.. it wont be at CD, it will be at SA.

The Breeders' Cup has made a lot of good moves... yeah, the two day event wasn't completely won over at first, and it still has kinks, but its young. Ultimately, the amount of money wagered on those two days is a significant number to plop into the BC.XLS spreadsheet.

That said, I think where the BC is pinched right now are the fields.... some of the races this year were rather "lame" races to bet. Yeah, lots of quality, but I never was excited to bet the F&M Turf for example. With the BC I want 14 horse fields, some craziness and good times.

I think one of their initiatives should be growing the event state-side in addition to worldwide. 7 versus 14 horses is a massive handle difference that equates to millions in revenue.

i sure hope not.

That is what I heard too...

Assuming a traditional dirt surface is brought back to SA, how will making SA the permanent site sit with the Euros. I thought they preferred the East Coast or Midwest venues because of the cooler weather and greater chance of getting soft turf in late fall.

Not to mention they like the synth too.

The Euro's have been doing pretty well on SA turf!

If they make SA dirt I think I'd be okay with that. The BC has fallen so far down my list of exciting racing events anyway.

I enjoy the TC races, TC preps, all 36 Saratoga days, JCGC and many other events much more than the BC lately! Who knows though if it goes back to dirt I might get interested again.

Paul Moran seems to think if this happens NY will counter.

The Breeders' Cup only works if it maintains a monopoly and should someone in authority at NYRA decide to add some cash to the pot and do a bit of autumn rescheduling, it is not far-fetched that the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational, Beldame, Flower Bowl Invitational, Vosburgh, Kelso Handicap, Champagne and Frizette could be run on the same day at Belmont Park, effectively mirroring the entire Breeders' Cup spectrum with the exception of the Dirt Mile. All but the Grade 2 Kelso enjoy longstanding Grade 1 status. No one in this industry owes allegiance to the Breeders' Cup, which would most certainly render itself vulnerable to competition were it to station itself permanently on a synthetic surface. The schism would be irreparable.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/hor...aul&id=4742192

another facet to the issue. having rotations keeps other tracks involved, albeit not every year. remove that carrot of being a future host, the track won't have a reason to avoid competing with the card. and as was mentioned above, not everyone likes cali tracks, or cali weather. several horses don't come from overseas each year due to the warmth in southern cal, as well as the firmer turf surface.

There are an awful lot of people who run in the BC because it's the BC - I don't think that tactic would work. There were only about 4 horses that were witheld from running in the BC.

There are not enough top horses in training to support this proposed card and the BC card so what they would get is a bunch of allowance type horses running for a lot of money in NY. Unless Jess Jackson gets a stable full of Champions of course.

This would be awesome.

Yes...But I don't think they would do it.
Besides, isn't the perm site supposed to be CD?

I love it. Fight back NYRA.

While I would love this to happen NYRA is a broke..Love what NYRA has done of late, and hope they contine to succeed in their efforts to make racing better. They are hardly in a position to spend tens of millions on staging a war. Maybe after the slots come? If they come?

They really wouldn't need to spend that much. As it grew established the BC would continue to lose revenue as breeders stopped paying the nomination fees. BC purses would plummet over time. They are already having the races, why not just market them as a championship day and maybe boost the purses a little at first and then more each year if the day continues to generate additional handle.

It's a war period..Owners, Breeders, horseman, would all have to choose sides..Racing doesn't need a continental divide, unity would server all better. Revolution works it just kills millions in the process. Too me it makes more sense to work together.

A girl can dream, can't she?

Bring back a true Fall Championship meet at Belmont!

When is the decision to be made??

Satish was on again yesterday and we went through the topic again. There is no set timetable. Churchill is hosting in 2010, and tracks will be submitting proposals for partnership with the BC and they'll go from there...

And those that are convinced somehow that Santa Anita is already the decided upon locale may want to listen to Sanan's responses...

Our Industry with Satish Sanan 12/16/09

Right but since the BC takes virtually all of the revenue under the current setup, what's in it for CD?

exactly! part of the bc's issue is they take every bit of the bc handle. that's why i don't see monmouth trying again any time soon to be host.

Although he went out of his way to say 1) there is no deal at present 2) they have spent a ton of money and time looking at these sites:

a) CD
b) SA
c) Belmont
d) Woodbine

3) They have spent more than enough time and money to solve this for the long term sometime in calendar year 2010.....

He made a couple comments that left you with the idea that CD has no interest in making a long term commitment to something that does not give them control of it.

It just seemed from listening to him yesterday, without saying it emphatically, that the permanent home will end up being SA and that the silly putty track will be ripped out for dirt as a condition of the agreement.

I would be very surprised if others listening didn't come away with the same conclusion.

At least he didn't cus like a sailor this week, you can hear the frustration in the poor guys voice when he talks about the continued lack of uniform agreement among the holy 47.

What's in it for Santa Anita? The host tracks doesnt make a windfall off of the event so why be the permanent host of an event that takes a tremendous amount of work to pull off but isnt compensating you? I just cant believe anyone would want to be a permanent host under the current setup.

they never have to see Jess

That is just residual value

Wouldn't CD lose their tax break if they didn't get the BC again? It may not benefit CD directly but it benefits the city of Louisville who in turn passes some of that benefit on to Churchill in tax breaks.

No, I believe that situation has changed.

Belmont is the only place to have it. The new york media is the world's "best/worse" and the jump off point for the Euro's and Middle East connections. Screw the rest of the country! (JK)

Yes ................but NO