Bearing the whips and scorns of time

[my miss storm cat]

While Nerdy Trail is my horsie board home I do, on occasion, lurk on other boards to see what is being said, what the hot topics are, that kinda thing. The contrast always amazes me as each board has its own, distinct style.

Aqueduct has been the subject of quite a bit of discussion lately but, rather than talk about the attack, I have a different question...

This is more for the people who live there, go there, used to go there...

If it were up to you what should happen with it?

Should it be closed? Should it be fixed up?

What would you do?

This isn't because of some recent hit pieces.... this is just a question from someone who now has ten years (almost. I am from the Class of Smarty ) of hearing vague things about the track itself and I really do want to know.

For any New Yawkers who might get a little defensive I was born there, it is one of the greatest cities on the face of the earth and my favorite BC I ever had the good fortune to go to was at Belmont and not at SA (but I do love Santa Anita, for the record, so no east / west idiocy svp)!

I personally do NOT like using life support terminology for racing or for anything really - as some of you know - but it's all I can think of here so would you pull the plug and call it a mercy killing, let it remain in the state it's presently in OR would you go the and-now-for-something-completely-different route?

[Cannon Shell]

Your question is a good one but the issue with these scenario's is we don't really know the thinking behind the scenes of the real power brokers here, Genting and Cuomo. Obviously most pro racing people see the relevance of Aqueduct for the NYRA circuit and IMO most would support wholesale renovations and money being spent there. However in the real world if the plans for Aqueduct are it's eventual elimination as a racing venue than why would NYRA put any significant money into it? The one improvement that everyone seemed on board with, the new simulcast center/sports bar. supposedly is not close to being finished or even being worked on.

A big problem that NYRA faces right now outside of the opportunist NYC media which never fails to take a shot, cheap or otherwise, is that as we enter year 2 under the leadership of Mr Cuomo, no clear plan publicly exists. That is troubling for not only does a lack of a plan signal that they are either making it up as they go along which of course rarely is successful, or they have plans that are going to be extremely unpopular with racing interests.

We arent far from the end of the supposed 3 year state stewardship yet not a peep on how the process to return to "private" hands has been floated. While the board reshuffles the deck chairs with distractions like Belmont day changes and price increases the real issue of the future of Aqueduct, the improvements to Belmont that will be needed in the case of the elimination of Aqueduct and who is going to be in charge as we head into the next few years are questions that arent even being posed let alone answered.

As for what I would do to Aqueduct, the answer is probably not much until I knew how much longer the people in charge planned on keeping it open. If your town/state sent you a letter saying that a new highway was going to be put in and your house was in the path and would be torn down, would you put in a new deck?

[my miss storm cat]

I appreciate your answer and your insight.

How long have they been suggesting they'd be needing my land for their freeway?

I don't follow the day to day stuff and am, admittedly, not up to speed on the goings in terms of the big picture so when there are hit pieces in the media... I don't know, Chuck I read something like this...

'You bring a friend to Saratoga and you turn him into a racing. You take them to Belmont and he gets a great experience. You take him to Aqueduct and he never speaks to you again.'

(... said by Mr. Repole) it's sad!

I think of the whole incident with that poor woman in the bathroom and cannot figure out for the life of me why the track doesn't use this horrible thing and make something good from it.

I don't mean cash in on it... I don't mean to USE it... to lie and say they'll put attendants in the bathrooms (although...?) and, you know the bit about the pigeons pecking at the salad bar in the NY Post thing? I don't mean make it like it's an aviary or a place to come and enjoy nature.

Why, though, can they not see they should maybe consider grabbing this chance, doing like a back page on the front (NYT) section letter to the public and email campaign, a stupid committee, suggestions from the public, charitable things related to violence against women and the impaired... a special day for handicapped persons and their families...

Let the public know they will NOT stand for this kind of thing, any of it, the track will be made worthy of the people of NY... that they are implementing plans for safety, cleanliness, and this and that and the other thing...

This is a chance to wear the white hat and to actually do something.

I don't mean they have to pay attorneys fees for the poor lady but isn't there something they could do because basically they can either keep quiet and wait for it to go away OR take the lead. Who would you respect more? It is just sense here that they can have some good come out of this if they're the ones to be vocal now.

Do no people in racing understand the dynamics of pr?

If I'm being unfair and they have done or said something I apologize but I haven't heard it.

It just seems like from the (very) little I know that Aqueduct has always been the maybe track. Maybe it will stay or maybe it will go and now that we have lost Baze Meadows and HP out here on the west coast... maybe after being smacked across the face with reality it's the slightest bit easier to wonder if there are just too damned many tracks and the whole thing should be streamlined (?) OR if the opposite should be done all these places should finally be fixed up.

Sorry I know I am all over the map here BUT this is the only place where I can ask questions about the things I don't know in regards to racing and I have wanted to flat out ask about Aqueduct since waaaay back, on another forum, when this old guy from Brooklyn would...

You know how in The Iliad lines and phrases would be repeated? Well it was kinda like that only his were always about being the track in the dead of winter, the steam from Nathans hot dogs, the snow outside and the frost on the windows and okay... I won't go on but it was a sad refrain even back then so yeah... after ten years figured I would finally ask.

[pmayjr]

bracing for impact on this one, because from the Del Mar Dirt thread I saw how much of a sever minority I'm in (I kinda knew it already, it just confirmed it)-

If Aqueduct is going to stay open- they should make the Inner Dirt track synthetic.

As much as you guys are rolling your eye on this- it would do 2 things: First, if they do make that investment, it means the track is here to stay.

2nd, it would hopefully hold up better to harsh winter weather conditions?

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by pmayjr

bracing for impact on this one, because from the Del Mar Dirt thread I saw how much of a sever minority I'm in (I kinda knew it already, it just confirmed it)-

If Aqueduct is going to stay open- they should make the Inner Dirt track synthetic.

As much as you guys are rolling your eye on this- it would do 2 things: First, if they do make that investment, it means the track is here to stay.

2nd, it would hopefully hold up better to harsh winter weather conditions?

The inner track has been incredibly safe this meet (as it has long been). The 2012 meet was an aberration and many of the measures put in place to prevent something similar have worked well.

This has been a crazy winter, which has obviously taken its toll, but I don't think there's a better surface for winter racing than the inner.

[pmayjr]

I wasn't really alluding to safety issues. I'll agree that no one has really made a peep about that this winter.

I'm just wondering with a big winter storm that asynth track might hold up or recover quicker from those conditions?

Also because I like betting surface switches and would love outer-inner-outer trade off ;P