It happened again! (End tote malfunction)

[blackthroatedwind]

That doesn't sound like one of Tom's more well thought out answers.

[golfer]

It's time to take a stand. I will not be betting today in protest!!

(this has nothing to do with getting my ass handed to me in yesterday's wagering)

Who else is with me?

(imagine the sound of crickets chirping)

[fpsoxfan]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

That doesn't sound like one of Tom's more well thought out answers.

You know how us teachers can be.

He did kind of just throw it out there. Seth Morrow was on as a guest and they had no callers on the line, so I thought I'd a throw them a bone to chew on. Nobody (Nick, Tom or Seth) came up with a real good remedy other than shutting down betting a few minutes before post. They did however thank the caller for an excellent question.

[blackthroatedwind]

The answer is very simple....spend the necessary dollars to update the system. That's the answer. It's up to the racetracks to give this the serious attention it needs.

Not to defend NYRA per se, but at least they said the right things the other day and were up front about it. However, if they don't change the system then it's just more lip service.

[golfer]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

The answer is very simple....spend the necessary dollars to update the system. That's the answer. It's up to the racetracks to give this the serious attention it needs.

Not to defend NYRA per se, but at least they said the right things the other day and were up front about it. However, if they don't change the system then it's just more lip service.

When Steve had John Lee on the show the other day, he repeated the information about only $80 or so dollars being bet on track after the race started. He perhaps conveniently left out the rest of the story, that they had no idea how much if any money came in outside of Aqueduct itself.
Which, when you think about it, doesn't make much sense (this information certainly could have been obtained).

[blackthroatedwind]

I don't think John is a duplicitous guy and probably was simply giving the only information they had for sure.

It may or may not be " easy " to find out what betting from off-track was after the bell. The final money that comes in is probably batched so knowing at exactly what moment it was actually bet might be problematic. This would be yet another reason they have to insure that no money can come in after the bell.

[golfer]

I don't know this for certain, but I think every wager is time-stamped, or certainly could be (if it isn't this would go in the category of updating the technology).

I can understand why John Lee would have only stated what he knew. In his situation, I probably would've done the same thing.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

The answer is very simple....spend the necessary dollars to update the system. That's the answer. It's up to the racetracks to give this the serious attention it needs.

Not to defend NYRA per se, but at least they said the right things the other day and were up front about it. However, if they don't change the system then it's just more lip service.

The funny thing is that they (tracks in general) will sink money into synthetic tracks with no thought at all because they think it will save them money but wont spend the money to update the tote system or force the tote companies to modernize.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

The funny thing is that they (tracks in general) will sink money into synthetic tracks with no thought at all because they think it will save them money but wont spend the money to update the tote system or force the tote companies to modernize.

Well, I guess this helps feed the horseplayer's paranoia.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Well, I guess this helps feed the horseplayer's paranoia.

The general trend in racing over the last 10 years or so has been to cut expenses, cut expenses, cut expenses, which most certainly has to do with so many tracks now being publicly held and beholden to shareholders. The big 2 (Magna and CD) are increasingly using the "bottom line/shareholder" excuse as the reason to raise prices, cut services, lay off competent employees in favor of cheaper, inexperienced (and sometimes moronic) replacements. CD charges horsemen for paint if we want our barns painted and we have to do it ourselves. The days of real track execs running racetracks are sadly ending. Lou Rafetto is a perfect example of a guy who gets it on both the frontside and backside who winds up unemployed in favor of a far less qualified replacement who will be willing to follow the company mandate without regard of the side effects. Churchill has changed almost all of it's executive staff twice since I've stabled there in 1999. Evans public statements have been less than encouraging for both horsemen and players since he took over. They hired a guy from the Marine Corps to run Arlington. A Thistledown guy and former steward are running racing at Gulfstream with a guy who doesn't like racing as their boss. Stronach changes CEO's like some people change their underwear. It is only a matter of time before one of them decide that takeout is too low and do a Hialeah.

The fact that someone is blaming the track composition for the problems at SA is laughable even if it is true. They could have at least used the seismic activity shifted the base or something like that. They dont even know how to shift blame properly.

[blackthroatedwind]

Makes NYRA sound pretty great. Their top people love horse racing, own horses, and like to bet.

[ArlJim78]

the problem at SA is strictly one of mismanagement. the events of the past week or so reek of incompetence, and it doesn't surprise me one bit.

whats funny is, I work in a different industry, manufacturing, and we do business with this company, and another large Canadian automotive parts supplier. Both of them have eastern europeans at the helm, and they act in a similar way. They're aggressive, they bid really low to get projects, they contract to start up the projects in ridiculously short periods of time. Then when the crap hits the fan they pummell their suppliers to no end. They waste tremendous amounts of money using expediting services, premium charges etc. Then to top it off, the projects that they won are often ones that they do not even understand or have the expertise to run. In short, everything is in chaos all the time, so even though they are large customers its business that you almost regret having because to service them is such a drain on your resources. I'm sure the folks at the Cushion track company are experiencing this same situation.

thats why I say this looks all too familar. that somebody felt it was a reasonable alternative to offer the all 5 1/2 furlong card today with all the scratches, is a complete embarrassment.