MA casino lean likely dooms Suffolk (Update: Deal set for 2015-16)

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

A good, well run, off-track betting parlor is a much better outlet for developing a horse racing fan ...than a live-racing scene that showcases a terrible product. What's more, give that live-racing scene slots...and they'll showcase slots, instead of their bad racing product.

But hey, when people think of Off-Track horse betting...they generally think of New York State.

The off-track wagering parlors in New York State (or OTB's) are absolute sh!t-holes. I've never been in a New York State OTB that wasn't a complete disaster. What's more...they would rip you off on payouts.

The mentality of New Yorkers "the smart people and good handicappers go to the track" seems silly...but if you've ever been inside a New York State OTB, you'd understand that train of thought.

The old OTB in Erie looked like a University campus, compared to the OTB's in New York. They had 5 large comfortable rooms. Hundreds and hundreds of TV's. Two restaurants, a bar, and a concession stand. Hand the people in the back a VCR tape, and they'd tape a track feed for you, to anyone of about 30 different tracks throughout the country.

Even in the Mid 90's, you could bet on about 30 different tracks a day. Go to garbage pits in New York, and you'd have NYRA, but only get bits and pieces beyond that.

When I'd walk into our old OTB parlor, I'd walk into an environment where people cared about betting on horse racing. It was the only reason they showed up. I miss that.

I walk into PID and I'm immediately harassed by a security guard. Forced to identify myself. Once I do, a band is placed on my wrist. Occasionally, you'll get a security guard who is going for "Employee of the Month" who insists on searching my laptop bag, looking for a bomb. If you take off your bracelet, you get harassed. And when you take off your bracelet, it pulls off the hair on your wrist.

It's an impossible place to like if you're a simulcast horse player.

This is spot on. Make the OTB's into destinations by themselves and people will pick up the game. They also would be better congregation spots for regular horseplayers, since racetracks are usually out of the way and too hard to commute to regularly. NYCOTB did a ton to set back the game in public perception. Off-track betting parlors, when they're clean, have booze, good food and no riff-raff, will be places of interest in a city dying for somewhere to legally gamble and socialize.

I'm completely sympathetic to those who grew up with and loved Suffolk being sad to see it go. But the product was miserable and deteriorating further every year. The disappearance of a track from an urban area doesn't need to equate to the disappearance of horseplayers from there. It can mean just the opposite, if a track left behind by time and casinos is replaced by well-run OTB parlors that will get players off their ADW accounts now and then and can make playing the horses seem glamorous and cool again to the uninitiated.

[Arletta]

Article from our one and only Chuck Simon

http://agameofskill.com/small-track-...-horse-racing/

[Suffolk Shippers]

Steve, very interesting from Mr. Welch on your program this morning re: Suffolk and Stronach. Tim Rivto, speaking on behalf of Stronach saying they're looking at all "wayward" tracks (in terms of profitability) and coming in and running those tracks. Any number of tracks fall into that bucket, AP, SUF, Colonial, FG...

Sounds like if the casino law remains intact post-election, they could be interested based on the revenue that will be skimmed off the casinos and put into the horse racing development fund. I have heard media reports say that fund could reach $100m in the next decade. Very interesting development.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by Suffolk Shippers

Steve, very interesting from Mr. Welch on your program this morning re: Suffolk and Stronach. Tim Rivto, speaking on behalf of Stronach saying they're looking at all "wayward" tracks (in terms of profitability) and coming in and running those tracks. Any number of tracks fall into that bucket, AP, SUF, Colonial, FG...

Sounds like if the casino law remains intact post-election, they could be interested based on the revenue that will be skimmed off the casinos and put into the horse racing development fund. I have heard media reports say that fund could reach $100m in the next decade. Very interesting development.

How about that? Maybe I missed it elsewhere, but was news to me. And it sounded exactly as you suggest: That Stronach is monitoring and considering opportunities at any and all of the venues that are in question.

The development fund in MA is projected to reach $140,000,000.

[Suffolk Shippers]

The New England horseman have brought on former Suffolk COO Lou Raffetto to be their point person on working with the owners to lease the track and run in 2015. Raffetto revived the track in the early 1990's after it had shut down and then was running the MD tracks.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/201...MwN/story.html

He predates my knowledge of the game to any extent. Not sure if this is a good, bad or indifferent thing for Suffolk Downs.

[Alabama Stakes]

Lou Raffeto knows what he's doing. we might be all right

[Suffolk Shippers]

So, the first hurdle in the way for any kind of a return for Suffolk Downs was the ballot initiative on casino gaming. A yes vote would have repealed the law allowing casinos and a no was to keep status quo. "No" won handsomely, 59%-41%, I believe.

This means casino construction will move forward and the slots parlor at Plainridge Harness (run by Penn National) is set to open in 2015. This will start feeding money to the horse industry fund, which the New England Horsemen and Lou Raffetto hopes to use in some fashion to continue operations under a lease agreement with Suffolk's ownership team.

I believe the next "big" date is mid-November when the racing/gaming commission is set to award 2015 dates. The horsemen applied for one day in hopes to amend that and run around 60 days.