BEYER: Crown thriving but tinkering could be in order

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

Which was my point exactly. There really aren't purses to be raised in Maryland these days. If Andy Beyer wants to contribute from his retirement account to the Gallorette, that'd be great, but otherwise, Maryland racing is pretty close to being at rock bottom right now.

Did you read what he wrote? If MID is willing to pay the insurance premiums on a potential $5.5 million bonus they could divert those funds to the purses on Preakness day.

There's always going to be a "red headed step child" factor to the Preakness undercard because there's more to winning the Churchill Downs than the Maryland Sprint Handicap. The problem that the Preakness undercard has is that the races are rarely competitive and lead to the parade of favorites that has occurred each of the last two years.

[jms62]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Did you read what he wrote? If MID is willing to pay the insurance premiums on a potential $5.5 million bonus they could divert those funds to the purses on Preakness day.

There's always going to be a "red headed step child" factor to the Preakness undercard because there's more to winning the Churchill Downs than the Maryland Sprint Handicap. The problem that the Preakness undercard has is that the races are rarely competitive and lead to the parade of favorites that has occurred each of the last five years.

ftfy

[Cannon Shell]

I think "tinker" is underused word.
Preakness under card hasn't been the same since Northern Wolf

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Did you read what he wrote? If MID is willing to pay the insurance premiums on a potential $5.5 million bonus they could divert those funds to the purses on Preakness day.

There's always going to be a "red headed step child" factor to the Preakness undercard because there's more to winning the Churchill Downs than the Maryland Sprint Handicap. The problem that the Preakness undercard has is that the races are rarely competitive and lead to the parade of favorites that has occurred each of the last two years.

I doubt that putting the money spent on the insurance premium (I'm guessing $100K) would meaningfully change the purses offered for the undercard.

The relative weakness of the Preakness undercard is a reflection of the frequency with which horses are raced, the fact that Maryland is generally not a stop on the "good horse" circuit (Gulfstream/Keeneland-Churchill/Belmont-Saratoga), and the weakness of Maryland racing to the extent that Pimlico cannot round up enough competitive local horses to take on the limited number the "stand out" shippers (like a Ventana) to make for good betting races.

[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by parsixfarms

I doubt that putting the money spent on the insurance premium (I'm guessing $100K) would meaningfully change the purses offered for the undercard.

Given my limited conversation with insurers for horse racing bonus, if they insured a $5.5 million bonus for $100k, they got away with a steal.

[King Glorious]

How would the Maryland horsemen react to money being found to enhance the purses of a few races on one day that will go to a bunch of people that ship in for the races while nothing is done for their everyday races?

[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

How would the Maryland horsemen react to money being found to enhance the purses of a few races on one day that will go to a bunch of people that ship in for the races while nothing is done for their everyday races?

Happens every year at all small tracks, including Pimlico, LAD etc. The argument the other way is legit: Part of the brand of that track, from a simulcasting perspective etc., is its marquee day. Marketing the track, attracting visitors all play a role.

[PatCummings]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

How would the Maryland horsemen react to money being found to enhance the purses of a few races on one day that will go to a bunch of people that ship in for the races while nothing is done for their everyday races?

Weak, weak argument. You want, you NEED your home track to have a big day. Bad days lead to more bad excuses. The obvious is accurate - the bigger the opportunities on the ONE day when people are paying attention to Pimlico, the greater the chances of people playing and playing more on your track.

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by PatCummings

Weak, weak argument. You want, you NEED your home track to have a big day. Bad days lead to more bad excuses. The obvious is accurate - the bigger the opportunities on the ONE day when people are paying attention to Pimlico, the greater the chances of people playing and playing more on your track.

I wasn't making an argument. I was asking a question. I would, however, think that if I was a Maryland horseman, I'd probably be a little upset about it. Yes, you want the exposure but the eyes of the racing nation are already upon Pimlico for that day anyway. Making the purses bigger for the Shaeffer and the MD Breeders' Cup and the Dixie aren't going to make a single person decide to play Pimlico the following Wednesday if it's not a track they already play. The bigger purses might attract better fields that day but I don't know that they make people more interested in Pimlico during the rest of the year. I am not sure I'd be ok with them coming up with a lot more money just to give it away to foreign shippers who have no vested interest in Maryland racing while those of us that do get nothing. I agree that you want your home track to have a big day but I think that you want your local horsemen to benefit from it, not everyone else.

[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

I wasn't making an argument. I was asking a question. I would, however, think that if I was a Maryland horseman, I'd probably be a little upset about it. Yes, you want the exposure but the eyes of the racing nation are already upon Pimlico for that day anyway. Making the purses bigger for the Shaeffer and the MD Breeders' Cup and the Dixie aren't going to make a single person decide to play Pimlico the following Wednesday if it's not a track they already play. The bigger purses might attract better fields that day but I don't know that they make people more interested in Pimlico during the rest of the year. I am not sure I'd be ok with them coming up with a lot more money just to give it away to foreign shippers who have no vested interest in Maryland racing while those of us that do get nothing. I agree that you want your home track to have a big day but I think that you want your local horsemen to benefit from it, not everyone else.

I'm speaking from direct experience. When the Super Derby undercard features a name - a horse, trainer... you name it - the card does better from a business standpoint. The more names you have, the more people feel comfortable playing the signal, and thus the better it does.

If the Preakness undercard was for MD-bred horses only, would it do as well? Definitely not. Would people turn on the signal before the Preakness? Doubtful. Big undercards help. Fact.

Now, do horsemen love it? No. But horsemen do love the exposure the track gets, and it does nothing but help the track long term, definitely not hurt.

[slotdirt]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Did you read what he wrote? If MID is willing to pay the insurance premiums on a potential $5.5 million bonus they could divert those funds to the purses on Preakness day.

There's always going to be a "red headed step child" factor to the Preakness undercard because there's more to winning the Churchill Downs than the Maryland Sprint Handicap. The problem that the Preakness undercard has is that the races are rarely competitive and lead to the parade of favorites that has occurred each of the last two years.

What do you really think the insurance premiums on a $5.5 million bonus are? Certainly not enough to make a big dent in purse prices on any given day.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

What do you really think the insurance premiums on a $5.5 million bonus are? Certainly not enough to make a big dent in purse prices on any given day.

I didn't write the column. I merely stated what Beyer was saying that seemed to be getting missed.

I can tell you that it's more than 100k. Generally the insurance premiums on a bonus like the Preakness 5.5, at its current three-tiered structure are in the neighborhood of 5%. If MID is willing to put any kind of money towards a bonus then they just might have the capital to put towards purse structure on the biggest day of a given meet.

All Beyer was attempting to do was amplify the point that when your customers are hungriest for your product, you might as well make it as good as you possibly can. While the Preakness day handle was good, with that type of attention being paid to your signal it can always be better.

MID has never done much with cross-promoting their races. Incentivizing horses running in the GP Sprint or Potrero Grande and Maryland Sprint Handicap with some type of bonus is a good idea. If the Preakness 5.5 and Black Eyed Susan 2.2 are the start of them getting towards that goal then that's a good thing.