Why is there no Pimlico Special again?

[letswastemoney]

I'm just curious

[cmorioles]

They are trying to save money. They only have to card it every other year to maintain the graded status I believe.

[Suffolk Shippers]

Maryland is out of money basically...no slot revenue coming in, states surrounding it like WV, PA, DE all have slots, so most horses head for those bigger purses.

The MJC feels that spreading $500k to an outsider on one race isnt justified, and spreading that cash into the overnight purses for the local horseman is the route to go. Tough to disagree with them.

Sadly, this is the reality in Maryland now a days.

[sumitas]

If those are their constraints it seems they are managing this tough situation well.

[phystech]

Originally Posted by Suffolk Shippers

Maryland is out of money basically...no slot revenue coming in, states surrounding it like WV, PA, DE all have slots, so most horses head for those bigger purses.

In theory, you are correct. However, those that are left in MD aren't beating the same path to Delpark this year as they have in the past. You still see a number of shippers heading over the mountain to CT most days but those aren't very good horses to begin with so we're not really losing much. I can't say I see all that much shipping to Philly as their purses aren't any better - yet.

Originally Posted by Suffolk Shippers

The MJC feels that spreading $500k to an outsider on one race isnt justified, and spreading that cash into the overnight purses for the local horseman is the route to go. Tough to disagree with them.

Again, in theory you have it mostly correct. I'll nitpick a little and point out that the winner's share of the $500k purse is 60%, not the whole shabang, but the thought of an out of stater winning the bulk of the purse surely doesn't set well with a lot of people. Funny thing is, perhaps AH DAY might have given everyone a run for their money and King could always use a big MD payday.....

Originally Posted by Suffolk Shippers

Sadly, this is the reality in Maryland now a days.

The timing of the cancellation of the Pim Special this year directly coincided with the State General Assembly holding a hearing in Annapolis during which track officials were testifying before the GA. It was mostly a political move - another shot across the bow, as it were.

I may have this part wrong but I'll throw it out there anyway - I don't think the MD horsemen's purse account paid for the Pim Special purse last year. It seems like the bulk of the funds either came directly from Magna or from a special fund which had been set aside a few years ago when Joe DeFrancis lied about making improvements to Pimlico and got the GA to agreed to raising the takeout to fund said "improvements". Again, I could have this mostly wrong and I'm not inclined to go hunt the info down so take it for what it is worth.

The whole point for mentioning the above is that, if I'm accurate, then cancelling the Special this year won't mean any addtional funds to the MD horsemen's overnight purses, I don't believe.

MD has the tools to be able to remain a viable racing product but, for whatever reason, they choose to stick out their hand, much like the street beggar/bum, instead of doing what they can to help their product. Magna is to blame but a lot of the blame rests at the feet of the MD horsemen too.

In the end, I agree that it is quite a shame to see the Pimlico Special cancelled. I've always enjoyed being able to go see some of the top horses run at my home track.

[Suffolk Shippers]

Originally Posted by phystech

In theory, you are correct. However, those that are left in MD aren't beating the same path to Delpark this year as they have in the past. You still see a number of shippers heading over the mountain to CT most days but those aren't very good horses to begin with so we're not really losing much. I can't say I see all that much shipping to Philly as their purses aren't any better - yet.



Again, in theory you have it mostly correct. I'll nitpick a little and point out that the winner's share of the $500k purse is 60%, not the whole shabang, but the thought of an out of stater winning the bulk of the purse surely doesn't set well with a lot of people. Funny thing is, perhaps AH DAY might have given everyone a run for their money and King could always use a big MD payday.....



The timing of the cancellation of the Pim Special this year directly coincided with the State General Assembly holding a hearing in Annapolis during which track officials were testifying before the GA. It was mostly a political move - another shot across the bow, as it were.

I may have this part wrong but I'll throw it out there anyway - I don't think the MD horsemen's purse account paid for the Pim Special purse last year. It seems like the bulk of the funds either came directly from Magna or from a special fund which had been set aside a few years ago when Joe DeFrancis lied about making improvements to Pimlico and got the GA to agreed to raising the takeout to fund said "improvements". Again, I could have this mostly wrong and I'm not inclined to go hunt the info down so take it for what it is worth.

The whole point for mentioning the above is that, if I'm accurate, then cancelling the Special this year won't mean any addtional funds to the MD horsemen's overnight purses, I don't believe.

MD has the tools to be able to remain a viable racing product but, for whatever reason, they choose to stick out their hand, much like the street beggar/bum, instead of doing what they can to help their product. Magna is to blame but a lot of the blame rests at the feet of the MD horsemen too.

In the end, I agree that it is quite a shame to see the Pimlico Special cancelled. I've always enjoyed being able to go see some of the top horses run at my home track.

Thanks for all the info, there...as you can see I was only blabbing in the theoratical in this instance In the end, there is no Pimlico Special, which is a loss for everyone involved.

Similar conditions up here at Suffolk Downs, and the Mass Cap getting cancelled more often than not as of late.

[Bobby Fischer]

They decided to use the race as a bargaining chip for slots.