Will Fort Erie Race In 2009? The 11th Hour Is Approaching Fast

Fort Erie Update

Interesting. OLG in Fort Erie has advertised for a Customer Relations Manager. It comes with a one year contract. I'm wondering if the contract is automatically terminated if there are no customers.

Nordic has until March 16th to announce whether or not there will be racing at Fort Erie in 2009. Their ability to run as a racetrack terminates March 31st if they state there will be no racing.
As stated previously on this blog, I can't see how the slots will be allowed to operate without live racing. It would be a terrible precedence where a track can say they lose money overall because of live racing. This opens the door to many tracks in Ontario to shut down their track operation and keep the profits made on slots.
So is the fact that a Customer Relations Manager is being sought a positive, do they expect live racing to continue? Or does this mean that the former CRM left the ship and the OLG is filling the position by law? Or does it mean that the OLG will keep slots going regardless of whether live racing in Fort Erie takes place?
Nordic would love it, if they just had slots. They would be making a profit.

Ongoing negotiations are still going on. It is approaching the 11th hour however. Nordic is impossible to deal with it seems. And the government hasn't helped because they've put Nordic in a power position by not announcing that slots would officially close without live racing.

Is Woodbine waiting in the lurk? Is it possible that they can come in and lease the business operation for at least 2009? Maybe Eugene Melnyk can come in and buy the place, and change the name to some street in the Bahamas.

Of course, the OLG can get racing to go for the foreseeable future by upping Fort Erie's take from the slot revenues.



Kentucky drops bills that would increase takeout.

Don't think for a second this move has nothing to do with HANA, and especially the top 20 racetrack list where Kentucky tracks received prominent ratings (thanks to their lower takeout rates compared to the rest of North America). Of course, Keeneland was number one. They put a quick 15 second promo on TVG up mentioning this:




Beyer article on Magna bankruptcy. Stronach might have had good intentions, but he was a terrible visionary. And now he left the racing industry in a carpet bombed state (my words, not his).

The Business of Horse Racing makes a good case to show that Stronach is still not letting go. Far from it. What the bankruptcy of Magna Entertainment really means.

For a lot more on the bankruptcy, go to Equidaily and scroll to around the middle of the page.

Ray Paulick has details on the creditors and also mentions that major MID shareholders aren't too happy with the go forward plans.



Business likely to struggle badly in a recession? Especially those involved in a dysfunctional industry to begin with aka horse racing.



Turfway cuts purses. Low field size, brought on by low purses to begin with, the likely culprit.

HANA'S Number One Rated Track? Hint: It Isn't Woodbine

Keeneland is number one out of the 65 rated tracks. Their brass took the results pretty seriously too. Keeneland President and CEO Nick Nicholson seems very pleased that his track was rated on top:

Nice field sizes, but more importantly, the lowest takeouts in North America pushed Keeneland to the top. To put things in perspective, a triactor at Keeneland that pays $810 for a deuce would pay $717 at Woodbine, if the betting on each were proportionally the same.

If you are a horseplayer who wants the biggest bang for your buck, please join HANA, it is free.


Fort Erie Update
Tim Hudak was adamant that slots should go if Fort Erie doesn't have live races.
No slots and no racing at Fort Erie would make the racetrack almost worthless. The land can't be worth that much if Woodbine sold it for $10 and the transfer of a $3 million debt just over 10 years ago.
'The Ontario Racing Commission (ORC) appeared before the Standing Committee on Government Agencies Tuesday.' I watched most of it on TV (channel 67 on Cogeco). Rod Seiling seemed to be optimistic that racing would happen this year at the Fort. Only he knows what he knows.
There is a lot of quiet optimism happening right now. Is a deal imminent? Will Fort Erie be saved?

Also, OHRIA will probably be getting more power soon and take away some of the pressure from the ORC. But if they think that they can go ahead and campaign against what they call "illegal offshore betting," good luck to them.
OHRIA, WEG, and every other racing entity in Canada had better learn that their days of monopoly are over. It is time they compete for the bettor's action.


Andrew Beyer Gives Maryland Hell For Raising Takeouts

'Executive 1: "The economy is killing us. Customers are deserting us. Our business is terrible. What are we going to do?"

Executive 2: "I've got an idea. Let's raise our prices!"

Executive 1: "Raise prices! Brilliant!.....

....Whenever I visit tracks in other countries, I observe the relationship between the takeout and the health of the sport. Gambling-mad Hong Kong and Australia produce per-capita wagering that dwarfs the United States. Their takeout rates are around 16 to 17 percent, and in both places I met pros who bet astronomical sums and make a lucrative livelihood beating the game by a couple of percentage points. By contrast, when I visited Argentina last spring, I did not hear of a professional horseplayer in a country with a rich horse tradition. The takeout rate of 28 percent made serious betting impossible. Somewhere between 17 and 28 percent is a crucial tipping point.'

New York Breeding Program Finally Paying Dividends
Hey, don't they have state bred claiming races? How come Ontario doesn't?



Maryland Rejects Magna Entertainment's Slot Proposal
H/T The Paulick Report


Speaking of Magna and Frank Stronach, this is one of the funniest pieces having to do with horse racing that I've ever read:
Economy Hits Magna: Stronach Announces Jockey Layoffs

'Magna CEO Frank Stronach announced in a teleconference held yesterday that the latest cost cutting measure by his beleaguered racetracks and company will include the layoffs of jockeys.

“The economy has adversely affected out bottom line at Magna, and we are forced to make some tough decisions, including the layoffs of all jockeys at our tracks as of Feb. 18,” Stronach said.'

Read the rest:)

Does Dutrow Know How Speed Figures Are Made?

Richard Dutrow upset over Beyer article
Yes, there are ways to improve horses, and sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't. But Dutrow looks like an idiot when he says, "And his whole premise was made on the basis of his numbers. Who said his numbers have to be right?"

Dutrow shows complete ignorance on how Beyer, or any other speed figures are computed. It makes me wonder about his overall knowledge of the game, which makes me tend to believe he is in fact a juicer. Then again, I believe anyone who hits consistently at over 18% as a trainer, is using something undetectable, or something that isn't tested for.

FYI, Brisnet and Ragozolin numbers confirm that This Ones For Phil ran between 12-20 lengths faster than he ever ran before.


Andy Beyer speaks about his controversial article on Dutrow and "super" trainers in general. The audio is around an hour long, but it is well worth the listen. He also gets into the $20,000 he got screwed out of, at the bankrupt New Hampshire ADW, at the end of the interview.


50 more layoffs at Fort Erie-many of them mutuel clerks
The government should just OK the $3.2 million Nordic is trying to extort. The economy is in dire straights, and unfortunately Nordic is in a position where they can basically negatively impact a whole town of 30,000 people.
If there is a workable solution, find it, but stop keeping the horsemen hanging. Giving the owner (Nordic) and the horsemen an extra 7.5% each of the casino winnings, seems to be a no brainer at this time. Even if it is for 2 or 3 years, and then open for review thereafter.

Wasn't slots put in to help the racing industry? And I just can't see slots remaining open if there is no racing. That means another 200 plus casino jobs in the toilet. And it also means that the government will be out the 80% profit minus expenses that the government rakes in from the $40 million in slot revenues.

The track isn't worth anything close to $35 million, and I think the EDTC made this issue worse by offering that price. It gives Nordic the idea that there are dupes out there who might pay an outrageous price for the joint, and it will probably keep Nordic hanging on to the track, when it would be to everyone's best interest if they just got the heck out of Dodge.



Missing cabbie in Dartmouth blew a lot of money gambling, racked up huge debts, went bankrupt in 2006


Veteran Alberta Horseman Rod Hennessy still has hope for the industry's future. He does realize changes must be made:

"Maybe we have to take 5% of our purses, or some amount like that, and spend it totally on promotions. We have to get younger fans and younger owners interested in what we do."

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I feel sorry for the harness racing industry. It always will be in the shadow of the thoroughbred industry. And the numbskulls calling the shots in that industry are like captains of a sinking ship, who just don't want to come to the realization that they need a new boat.



116 year old race track in BC looking at eviction notice
H/T Equidaily



Reality show Jockeys set for debut on Animal Planet. Chantal Sutherland is one of the jockeys featured on that show.
Here is the longer version promo:




Canadian born comic Norm MacDonald is addicted to online poker



How the recession is affecting the gambling industry

"People have not stopped gambling, they just are not gambling in traditional casinos. They are gambling online."

Horseplayers Association of North America (HANA) continues with the top 20 bettor friendly tracks countdown. Today's featured track is Fairgrounds which comes in at number 12.