Smarty Jones Classic

Q: Did he win all of those as a front runner? He must have been like War Emblem on a steroid program or something...

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

And, by the way, calling it the largest on site attendance in New York Sports is a skewed approach, as while leaving out the fact that the announced attendance was a lie, it is only a " record " because of the amount of people Belmont is able to hold as opposed to other sports arenas....

Well isnt that true of any attendance record???

ANd it was a record for Belmont, therefore it certainly means something in terms of the history of racing at that venue. Right? I mean the above reasoning cannot diminish the record in terms of BEL's history right?

It sure seemed like a lot that day in 2004, I was there in 2002, and 2003 and the crowd seemed noticeably bigger for 2004. The bathroom lines while even more crowded now had female guests, which is always upsetting when you are holding your pecker in your hands.

They announced it as 110,000+ I believe, not 120,000.

It was also a different type of crowd, down near the rail, we chanted "FUnny Cide, Funny Cide.." as he got to the track but w/ Smarty it seemed like a foregone conclusion we sort of were just expecting the TC and wanted to be there. The tension wasnt nearly so much..

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by easy goer

Q: Did he win all of those as a front runner? He must have been like War Emblem on a steroid program or something...



Well isnt that true of any attendance record???

ANd it was a record for Belmont, therefore it certainly means something in terms of the history of racing at that venue. Right? I mean the above reasoning cannot diminish the record in terms of BEL's history right?

It sure seemed like a lot that day in 2004, I was there in 2002, and 2003 and the crowd seemed noticeably bigger for 2004. The bathroom lines while even more crowded now had female guests, which is always upsetting when you are holding your pecker in your hands.

They announced it as 110,000+ I believe, not 120,000.

It was also a different type of crowd, down near the rail, we chanted "FUnny Cide, Funny Cide.." as he got to the track but w/ Smarty it seemed like a foregone conclusion we sort of were just expecting the TC and wanted to be there. The tension wasnt nearly so much..

120139 in attendance at Belmont Park that day---

[mes5107]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

120139 in attendance at Belmont Park that day---

I'm trying to understand why NYRA, or whoever reports the attendance, would flat out lie about the attendance. There are rotating gate counters at all of the entrances. Perhaps 20,000+ went out to their cars and came back in during the race and it skewed the numbers, but why would somebody look at a 90,000 attendance, and say "That's not right, let's add 30,000."?

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by mes5107

I'm trying to understand why NYRA, or whoever reports the attendance, would flat out lie about the attendance. There are rotating gate counters at all of the entrances. Perhaps 20,000+ went out to their cars and came back in during the race and it skewed the numbers, but why would somebody look at a 90,000 attendance, and say "That's not right, let's add 30,000."?

I don't know I wasn't at that one b/c of the weather and the crowd....But last year felt like more than the 60 something they announced. It was very crowded where I was and the people were obnoxious and drunk....These idiots are not fans, they are a bunch of drunks who ruin big days.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by mes5107

I'm trying to understand why NYRA, or whoever reports the attendance, would flat out lie about the attendance. There are rotating gate counters at all of the entrances. Perhaps 20,000+ went out to their cars and came back in during the race and it skewed the numbers, but why would somebody look at a 90,000 attendance, and say "That's not right, let's add 30,000."?

Most tracks most likely lie about their attendance on big days to make it appear to the others in the industry that they are doing better at drawing people to their tracks than they are.

Does this really surprise you considering the overall industry? If it does....wait until we tell you what really goes on at the yearling sales!

[sumitas]

one word---Birdstone

[mes5107]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Most tracks most likely lie about their attendance on big days to make it appear to the others in the industry that they are doing better at drawing people to their tracks than they are.

Does this really surprise you considering the overall industry? If it does....wait until we tell you what really goes on at the yearling sales!

If that is indeed the case, I would think that lying about attendance on an "off" day would be far more productive. Belmont was doing something on this day in particular that no other track can replicate. Lying about the attendance this day offers no incentive. Also, while drawing people to the tracks is nice, the handle is the number they look at.

[paisjpq]

Originally Posted by mes5107

If that is indeed the case, I would think that lying about attendance on an "off" day would be far more productive. Belmont was doing something on this day in particular that no other track can replicate. Lying about the attendance this day offers no incentive. Also, while drawing people to the tracks is nice, the handle is the number they look at.

they probably do lie about attendence all the time...they just don't claim new attendance records...because then they would be found out.

[mes5107]

Originally Posted by paisjpq

they probably do lie about attendence all the time...they just don't claim new attendance records...because then they would be found out.

If this does indeed happen, who are they kidding? When you have a business, the main thing is the bottom line. Falsifying attendance figures, while it may look like you are doing better to other tracks, doesn't help you one bit. I'd rather have accurate numbers to look at while making my business plan than to sort through phantom figures.