It cost me $25 to get in to Churchill on Oaks Day and $40 on Derby Day. Not to mention they doubled the prices of every item in the concession stands. On Traver's Day I had to pay $5 and all the concessions were the same price. I could have brought in a case of beer if I wanted to as well. I definitely don't want to see Saratoga become like Churchill.

Give me a break. They got 70,000 at the Spa for blanket giveway day. The real attendance was probably 30,000. At Belmont on Oct 7 with 5 G1s on the card, they gave away the same blanket and with spinners the attendance was 16,500. There were not more than 8000 people at Belmont that day. I was there. Bunch of phony numbers if you ask me.

I think NYRA does a super job. The only thing I'd like to see is the poly at all 3tracks. If the NYRA was like Churchill you'd really see a HUGE decline in attendance. It would kill the Saratoga meet.

I was there, too. We arrived five minutes after the giveaway ended, so even though there were about two thousand left over blankets, our paid admissions got us nothing. It looked like a bigger wasteland than three years ago when we saw Mineshaft run away with the Woodward. NY fans are simply not supporting Belmont or Aqueduct. The Meadowlands and Monmouth have bigger crowds.:o

Belmont and Aqueduct are ghost towns. NYRA has done an absolutely miserable job marketing the two tracks with their stupid commercials about horse names. They have no concerts there, nothing. It is a complete joke.

They would draw zilch if Churchill or Magna ran the tracks.

You know this based on what? Atleast Churchill and Magna make efforts to attract people.

Saratoga is a goldmine. Even the idiots at NYRA couldn't screw that up.

The Meadowlands and Monmouth do not give away their signal for free the way NYRA does pretty much all over NY State. They also don't have OTBs next door to them, or even close, the way the NY tracks do.

Don't get me wrong, I wish more people went to Belmont and Aqueduct, but NYRA has gone out of its way to give its signal to those that want it and the betting figures reflect that.

Granted you are extremely qualified to identify idiots, but you love to throw out generalities ( obviously because you know no actual specifics ), and perhaps you would specifically like to identify these so-called " idiots ". Certianly you have learned by now that nobody is falling for your false generalizations.

It still is no excuse for not having concerts and poor promotion.

God forbid people went to the track then all the mobsters who own car dealerships wouldn't have anywhere to park the new cars they are selling.

Shut down that dump they call Aqueduct and build some more stalls at Belmont. There is no reason to have two racetracks. NYRA can sell the land they claim to own. LOL.

You're right. The same amoutn of people that are falling for my false generalizations is the same amount of people that go to NYRA's tracks. Zero. :eek:

You got your first thing right in this thread....you at least acknowledge you have zero credibility.

dont start with that polysh*t the death of racing

That coming from a guy who worked for NYRA is comical. Did you work for them before 2003? Were you one of the ones they got rid of for corruption. :eek:

kgar, can you fix your avatar. It doesn't come up at all. Just a big x there. Don't know if everyone can't see it either but I definitely can't.

is that better?

Well I can see it now. Not sure I want to though. LOL

Well it isnt a mystery that raises are less than inflation. Everyone is in the same boat. I think raises across the board increased 3.4% last year however inflation increased by much more that that. So you are like most workers out there. I don't think anyone is overpaid. I think people are paid they should be paid. If you think you are underpaid then you are over valuing yourself. If you think you are underpaid then you think you are worth more than you really are. And in regards to pension and health benefits, everyone is in the same boat. Who knows if it will be there or not. As of now, you have to assume it is but prepare for the worse. I for one could never be a teacher, just like i couldnt be a DR, mechani, pilot etc etc. The thing is to find what you are passionate about and do it. Ask yourself, what would u do for free and make that your career. My kids do not go to public school, they go to private. However, I think a strong public school system is vital to our society. In addition, I do not wany a teacher teaching my kids because of the money--I want them to teach because of their passion and their desire.

You really think it will be paid back--I really hope it is, but I think it will be like most situations -- it will be forgiven. The difference between loaning money to a non-prodfit and to a profit company is that the tax revenue is much higher for a profit company than a non-profit.