Colonial Downs v Horsemen; Jacobs takes players hostage

[luvalab]

I live in NC which does not allow pari-mutuel wagering. Colonial is the closest track to me when I want to enjoy live racing. When their first post time was at 5pm I used to be able to get to the track around 12pm, play Belmont all afternoon. Then I would play the Colonial card in the evening and enjoy being at the track. However, in recent years they closed the track to simulcasting until 1 hr before the first post at Colonial. I guess they were trying to force people to go to an OTB (which is cheaper to run), then come to the track. I didn't feel like driving to the OTB and then to the track, so I just stopped playing those earlier Belmont races.

There are definitely some nuances to the Colonial course that can help you cash a ticket, esp. if it gets really hot during the day. And, I've never had an issue with field size at Colonial. Below are field size stats for the last 3 years at Colonial. These are just for the turf races, none of the very few dirt races they run are included:

2011 - Avg Field Size: 9.3 - Total Horses: 2177 - Total Races: 235
2012 - Avg Field Size: 8.5 - Total Horses: 2311 - Total Races: 272
2013 - Avg Field Size: 8.9 - Total Horses: 1670 - Total Races: 187

Total Races Run in all 3 years: 694
Total Fields in all 3 years with 7 or less horses: 199 (29%)
Total Fields in all 3 years with 8 or 9 Horses: 243 (35%)
Total Fields in all 3 years with 10 or more horses: 252 (36%)