$5.50 for this?

NoLuvForPletch · #1 05-15-2008, 08:32 AM

Why do we moan on a daily basis about gas prices going to $4.00 a gallon, when we are paying $5.50 for the paper they refer to as the DAILY RACING FORM? How long ago was it just $4, and $3.50 on track? It couldn't have been that long ago. Now, don't get me wrong, I like the articles but they could be read for free (most of them anyway) online. And call me a nitpicker, but is anyone else getting tired of the insane amount of errors in this thing? What the hell is 5/16 medication? Did anyone else see that yesterday or was that just special for my FORM? Why is it that they can't get the appropriate trainer stats correct ALL THE TIME? Is it too much to ask that if a horse is running with blinkers for the first time that the trainer's stats for 1st time blinkers appear in the PP's ALL THE TIME? How about some additional improvements? Why not have the M/L next to the horses name in the PP's so I don't need to spend the 1st half an hour I sit down with the FORM transposing them from the Graded Entries? How about listing the conditions of the race on top of each page the race is associated with? Why not add somewhere if the race is 1 turn or 2 turns? Is it a secret that only the most knowledgeable horseplayer is allowed to know how many turns are in a race at all of the different racetracks throughout the country?

And finally, the CLOSER LOOK. Is it me or are these guys just mailing it in at this point? I will do my best to keep the players a secret because they may be friends of your's and I know they come on Steve's show every now and again. But the content is poor at best. Pochman is most definately the most entertaining and supplies the most useful information. But the collection behind him leave something to be desired. I used to pick on Jan Rushton because her segment on the NYRA broadcast used to consist of reading the CLOSER LOOK to the fans at the track and at home. But even she must find the content useless because I've actually seen her taking the time to gather information on her own from trainers in the paddock. Here is my latest example of the offense. I wont say who, what horse excetera, but this is pathetic.

In referencing the performance over a racing surface the writer notes that the horse's performance over this specific track was "not very strong". The horse had two races over the surface. The last time he raced over the track the horse lost his jock. The first time he ran over the surface was his 2nd lifetime race, a MSW for 2YO's, where he went off at 20-1 + odds and finished third, 4 1/2 lengths behind a horse that won a G2 stakes race the following year. Do you think this guy even took the time to look at why his record was such over the surface?

$5.50 for a newspaper that doesn't even give you what you deserve, that's offensive.

ArlJim78 · #2 05-15-2008, 08:39 AM

simple, don't buy it.

hoovesupsideyourhead · #3 05-15-2008, 08:42 AM

its filled with gold...worth it at 7.50 pay attention to this guy watchmaker..hes very good....he made big brown the favorite in the preakness.

#4 05-15-2008, 08:43 AM

Needs more Watchmaker.

MisterB · #5 05-15-2008, 08:46 AM

Save the $5.50 then. or $4.50 at the track. I think the price is in line with everything else in this country. Go buy a gallon of milk, then come back and tell me you gave up milk.

Gas was 32 cents a gallon when I started driving, and I could bring a date out for less than $5.00 bucks, and come back home with $2.00.

Many other on-line PP's for a 1.00 a card.

philcski · #6 05-15-2008, 08:54 AM

I dunno, I buy it for the pictures.

NoLuvForPletch · #7 05-15-2008, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MisterB

Save the $5.50 then. or $4.50 at the track. I think the price is in line with everything else in this country. Go buy a gallon of milk, then come back and tell me you gave up milk.

Gas was 32 cents a gallon when I started driving, and I could bring a date out for less than $5.00 bucks, and come back home with $2.00.

Many other on-line PP's for a 1.00 a card.

I think the point I am making is that the price of gas increases but you still get gas. The price of milk increases but you still get milk. The price of the DRF increases and while the quantity of content may have increased (trainer stats, Tomlinson (by the way how does he come up a Turf figure in the 180's for a horse who's Grandsire is Danzig?) River Downs PP's, etc...the quality has diminished considerably.

fpsoxfan · #8 05-15-2008, 09:37 AM

I buy it for the three news stories they give you.

"We landed on the Moon"

ShadowRoll · #9 05-15-2008, 09:39 AM

Fifty years from now, you can sell it on ebay and get your money back.

MaTH716 · #10 05-15-2008, 09:48 AM

The amount of information that you get for $5.50 is unbelievable.

freddymo · #11 05-15-2008, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MisterB

Save the $5.50 then. or $4.50 at the track. I think the price is in line with everything else in this country. Go buy a gallon of milk, then come back and tell me you gave up milk.

Gas was 32 cents a gallon when I started driving, and I could bring a date out for less than $5.00 bucks, and come back home with $2.00.

Many other on-line PP's for a 1.00 a card.

Yeah I like the work pattern for that one as well

cakes44 · #12 05-15-2008, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoLuvForPletch

Why not have the M/L next to the horses name in the PP's so I don't need to spend the 1st half an hour I sit down with the FORM transposing them from the Graded Entries? How about listing the conditions of the race on top of each page the race is associated with? Why not add somewhere if the race is 1 turn or 2 turns? Is it a secret that only the most knowledgeable horseplayer is allowed to know how many turns are in a race at all of the different racetracks throughout the country?

I agree 100% about the M/L needing to be next to the entries and well as the conditions on each page. However, the 1 or 2 turn thing is taken care of by the configuration of the track and start/finish position of each race to the right of the conditions.

Cannon Shell · #13 05-15-2008, 09:54 AM

If you are using the graded's ML as your ML you are in trouble from the start

-BT- · #14 05-15-2008, 09:55 AM

it's all in the ink

-bt-

NoLuvForPletch · #15 05-15-2008, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cakes44

I agree 100% about the M/L needing to be next to the entries and well as the conditions on each page. However, the 1 or 2 turn thing is taken care of by the configuration of the track and start/finish position of each race to the right of the conditions.

That would take care of the race itself, but I am talking past races...like 1 mile on the inner (which they don't run, but as an example) would be 2 turns, while 1 mile on the Main at AQU is 1...a mile and an eighth at AQU is 2 turns while at BEL it is 1 turn...so if you aren't someone who watches something involving horses on a daily basis, you might not know that when looking at PP's...what would be the harm in making some kind of designation in the PP's?

NoLuvForPletch · #16 05-15-2008, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

If you are using the graded's ML as your ML you are in trouble from the start

You have something against Hammersly's M/L's? Is there somewhere besides making my own that I should be getting them from?

And if that's the case, just another example of dimminshed quality? Not being able to use the M/L from horse racing's premiere paper.

philcski · #17 05-15-2008, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoLuvForPletch

That would take care of the race itself, but I am talking past races...like 1 mile on the inner (which they don't run, but as an example) would be 2 turns, while 1 mile on the Main at AQU is 1...a mile and an eighth at AQU is 2 turns while at BEL it is 1 turn...so if you aren't someone who watches something involving horses on a daily basis, you might not know that when looking at PP's...what would be the harm in making some kind of designation in the PP's?

They run 1 mile on the inner almost every day. It's so biased to the inside 3 posts it's laughable, however.

NoLuvForPletch · #18 05-15-2008, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philcski

They run 1 mile on the inner almost every day. It's so biased to the inside 3 posts it's laughable, however.

I didn't think they ran a flat mile, I thought it was like a mile and 70 yards...

philcski · #19 05-15-2008, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoLuvForPletch

I didn't think they ran a flat mile, I thought it was like a mile and 70 yards...

Both... used to be more of the mile & 70 variety but for whatever reason they've trended towards the flat mile the last few winters.

docicu3 · #20 05-15-2008, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philcski

They run 1 mile on the inner almost every day. It's so biased to the inside 3 posts it's laughable, however.

Happy 3 thousandth post Phil.......

The DRF is the Kleenex of daily racing publications. Although they haven't come up with anything new in many years to offset the tools challenging for market share such as TGH or Ragozin to name a few they remain the standard by which all racing information is evaluated while still putting out a very reasonable product that is about 20% of the cost of TGH for a single track.

You can do far worse than spending $5.50 for 5-8 tracks with several daily columnlist reporting the news and events of the industry....

Try playing this game without PP's and trainer angles and see how quickly you miss them.