Uncle Mo didn't hurt Tampa handle; helped GP
 

Gulfstream Park was up a ton yesterday. Last year was an off-the-turf day, however, and the Uncle Mo race itself handled huge in part because of the show pool. The eighth race in 2010 handled $1.3 million. This year it handled $2.3 million.

I know the creation of the race and everything that came with it was not welcomed with open arms by hardcore fans, but it made great business sense and obviously paid off.

Uncle Mo staying in Miami pinched Tampa Bay from a quality perspective, but they still pushed-out an increase on the day of 1.32%. Thumbs-up to the little racetrack that continues to prosper.

Edit: The title of this thread is poorly written... what I meant was he didn't deter them from having a good day handle-wise.

Fighting over crumbs. That's the company line.

It's not sustainable. That race wasn't good for horse racing. It was good for short-sighted people.

exactly....... it shows a sucker is born every minute.....it was an exhibition race that got 2 million bet on it. it is not sustainable...its a gimmick. so what they got people to bet one race. the idea is to have a series of races between the contenders to build the sport and the big race....of course serious fans know its fraud....how could you possibly bet on that race? even more so when seeing the way it was ran? the horse actually ran for about a quarter and the others were either so bad or not trying that they walked through harness horse fractions.first quarter in 26 after this horse misses the break. then i read some "great" article about how this horse "looked the part".....looked the part of what????? a horse thats many lengths better running in a workout that fools bet 2 million on.........i can hardly wait to bet against this horse...put him in a real race. oooh, i bet on uncle mo when he was 1-9......yeah ok........good for you....

$10 show on the 2nd place finisher. It was sad when I recalled the day's bets and it was the only one in the win column.

I find it hard to believe that there were less people at Tampa Saturday than there were last year.

This was my 23rd Tampa Bay Derby and that was easily the biggest crowd I have witnessed there. They desperately needed more tellers and concession lines were unreal.

The other jocks were riding for second. Mo was the biggest lock in several years.

I don't disagree, and I know what you're saying.

But I also see it from the other side... I'd have a hard time believing anyone on this message board would have said in a meeting, "You know what, as much as I want Uncle Mo to race here... it's not in the best interests of the game longterm. Let's pass."

This all magnifies one of racing's 1,000 challenges -- there are lots of hands in the cookie jar, with everyone having a different reason for being there, but everyone wanting the same cookie.