2014 admission hikes for Belmont, Saratoga: GA $5, Clubhouse $8

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

I didn't realize you were specifying New York. I love visiting, but I would NEVER live there.

I thought we were discussing the NY market. Teams here seem to raise prices every year regardless and there havent been many parades.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

I thought we were discussing the NY market. Teams here seem to raise prices every year regardless and there havent been many parades.

New York City has a population 28 times larger than Pittsburgh.

Even though Pittsburgh has better sports teams in every major sport that doesn't involve large black men running over hardwood, it would stand to reason that ticket prices should be much higher in NYC than Pittsburgh.

There's only so much good seating at a major sporting event. I've been to Belmont Park on a major racing day before, it was the opposite of crowded. It was extremely comfortable.

How many racino's charge admission?

The people who are saying "the admission prices were the same over 100 years ago at NY tracks" are technically correct ... but that was an entirely different game. You had a bunch of on-site bookmakers working on razor thin margins, and you could pick and choose the best deals. Adjusted for inflation, "Plungers" bet today's equivalent of hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single race, sometimes.

You can gauge on admission when the takeout is about 1% and sometimes flirting with positive expectation, instead of 16%

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

I thought we were discussing the NY market. Teams here seem to raise prices every year regardless and there havent been many parades.

But tickets keep selling, totally different thing. Obviously the prices are market driven. We'll see if that works at the track. The times I've been to Belmont on non-Belmont Stakes days, I was nearly run over by a few tumbleweeds.

There is a pretty good secondary market for sports tickets in New York. That means tickets could very well be under priced. That isn't remotely close to true for horse racing.

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

But tickets keep selling, totally different thing. Obviously the prices are market driven. We'll see if that works at the track. The times I've been to Belmont on non-Belmont Stakes days, I was nearly run over by a few tumbleweeds.

There is a pretty good secondary market for sports tickets in New York. That means tickets could very well be under priced. That isn't remotely close to true for horse racing.

Completely right. I find it hard to believe that people will become die hard race fans if they don't come to the track. It's not a fortune but there are a lot of people who come to Saratoga who live upstate and have very little. They aren't going to the clubhouse. Ever.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

But tickets keep selling, totally different thing. Obviously the prices are market driven. We'll see if that works at the track. The times I've been to Belmont on non-Belmont Stakes days, I was nearly run over by a few tumbleweeds.

There is a pretty good secondary market for sports tickets in New York. That means tickets could very well be under priced. That isn't remotely close to true for horse racing.

The secondary market often sells tickets for less than face value which is why the yankees have tried to set up their own with mandatory minimums. I went to a day game last year at Yankee Stadium and got 2 club level tickets with a $90 face value for $40 each. Of course I had to pay close to $40 to park.

This price increase isnt going to affect Belmont because pretty much no one goes there anyway. Most of the time when I stop by Belmont I see very few people that dont old racing licenses that gets them in free.

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

This price increase isnt going to affect Belmont because pretty much no one goes there anyway. Most of the time when I stop by Belmont I see very few people that dont old racing licenses that gets them in free.

Nice long term plan for fan growth

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

Nice long term plan for fan growth

Can we not act like NYRA isn't being played like an accordion by the state here? The hatchet man they brought in is trying to come up with a 2014 budget that allows them to "make money" without the VLT revenue at the states bequest. Long term growth, fans, players, horsemen, breeders, horseracing, etc is not the focus here. Lets stop pretending that NYRA is run like some Fortune 500 company ok? It is a political pawn in a play to steal the VLT money currently going to it. It will be harder to take the money if the numbers dont show that they CAN make a profit, regardless of what tiny % that it is. The underlying theme is that they are going to try to make NYRA more "attractive" for the privatization but that is clearly just blowing smoke.

They are raising admission prices, it happens everywhere. It costs $14 to go to a movie on Long Island. It costs $15 to go over the Verrazano Bridge. It costs $40 to park at Yankee Stadium. Plus does anyone believe that if CDI winds up running NYRA that this will be the last rise in fees? Especially if the VLT money is cut?

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Can we not act like NYRA isn't being played like an accordion by the state here? The hatchet man they brought in is trying to come up with a 2014 budget that allows them to "make money" without the VLT revenue at the states bequest. Long term growth, fans, players, horsemen, breeders, horseracing, etc is not the focus here. Lets stop pretending that NYRA is run like some Fortune 500 company ok? It is a political pawn in a play to steal the VLT money currently going to it. It will be harder to take the money if the numbers dont show that they CAN make a profit, regardless of what tiny % that it is. The underlying theme is that they are going to try to make NYRA more "attractive" for the privatization but that is clearly just blowing smoke.

They are raising admission prices, it happens everywhere. It costs $14 to go to a movie on Long Island. It costs $15 to go over the Verrazano Bridge. It costs $40 to park at Yankee Stadium. Plus does anyone believe that if CDI winds up running NYRA that this will be the last rise in fees? Especially if the VLT money is cut?

I would move my training tack to Europe. More sustainable.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

I would move my training tack to Europe. More sustainable.

Yeah if you train for the Queen