Fun in the Miami Sun

[Calzone Lord]

The HPBA and Calder had some agreement that expired. Now, Calder races aren't being shown on TV, you can't even bet them at brick and mortar places, and now even the offshore sites are starting to pull Calder.

The result has been races with microscopic money in the pools. The greyhounds at Derby Lane take more action than some of these Calder races.

For instance, Race #1 today had a grand total of less than $5,000 in the ENTIRE Win, Place, Show pool.

Felixia won the race and paid $3.40 to win and $6.40 to place. Whenever you can get a $6.40 place mutual on a 3/5 favorite, you're doing pretty good.


Race #2 had a grand total of $3,560 in the entire Win, Place, Show pool.

The winner paid $55.00 to win. $6.00 to place. $3.00 to show.

The $2 exacta paid $52.20 ... yes, you got paid less for a $2 exacta than a $2 win bet.


But, it gets better!

Race #6 was won by a 3/5 favorite. He paid $3.20 to win. $8.20 to place. and $7.00 to show. Again, anytime you can get $8.20 place mutuals on your 3/5 favorites, you're doing pretty good.


On three separate instances today, horses who closed as odds-on favorites paid better than even money to place.

How benevolent.

[justindew]

Why does the HPBA have the authority to control Calder's signal?

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by justindew

Why does the HPBA have the authority to control Calder's signal?

Who knows.

My understanding was that some agreement expired and the HPBA has the legal ability to do this.

The same thing happened in the second season at Presque Isle Downs. It dragged on for months and basically derailed any momentum from the tracks super-juiced-up meet the first year.

The nickname of Pretty Irrelevant Downs stuck and even a lot of the local bettors who showed up would bet simulcast and ignore the live racing going on in front of them.

Still, what happened today at Calder looks a little suspicious. PID had similar pools when they had the HPBA pulling the plug ... but rarely would you see odds on favorites paying crazy place prices like what happened on a bunch of occasions today.

[Gauchos0522]

Originally Posted by justindew

Why does the HPBA have the authority to control Calder's signal?

The Interstate Horseracing Act stipulates that you need approvals from the host track, the host track's racing commission, and the host track's horsemen in order to export your signal. HPBA pulled their approval due to the dispute. Think this answers your question.

[Kasept]

The FL HBPA will not budge until Calder removes wording in the agreement that threatens trainers' CRC stalls if they run at Gulfstream this summer once GP opens.

This may not get resolved until next week after Derby when CDI & Stronach Group officials reconvene the talks that are expected to see Stronach Group acquire Calder from CDI.

[Calzone Lord]

Isn't there a better way to go about it?

For the locals in Miami, they've sabotaged the racing product into being much less relevant than the buggy races at Pompano Park and the greyhounds at Flagler. I guess they still might have a narrow edge on Dania Jai-Alai.


As for everyone else who doesn't live in Miami ... it's not so bad. Calder simply disappears and doesn't exist.

If a tree falls in the forest and no one sees it ... does that mean Calder ran another horse race?

Presque Isle let this nonsense go on for several months in the second year. It was a toxic situation.

I get that the horsemen are trying to use all the leverage they can ... but when you see stuff like this ... and you see so many tracks stuggling to card interesting racing ... it's just such a complete waste.

[Gate Dancer]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

For instance, Race #1 today had a grand total of less than $5,000 in the ENTIRE Win, Place, Show pool.

Welcome to Great Falls, Montana............

[Calzone Lord]

More fun at Calder today!

Now, Miami is a big city...and the Kentucky Oaks day should bring a few people to the racetrack.

Race #4: Is the first hysterical result chart of the day:

http://www1.drf.com/drfPDFChartRaces...=20130503&RN=4

The winner goes off at odds of 13/1. The second place finisher goes off at 18/1. The third place finisher goes off as the 4/5 favorite.

Naturally, the heavy favorite pays $5.60 to show. The two double digit longshots pay just $4.60 to show and $5.40 to show.


Race #5 is won by a horse who pays $16.00 to win. Race #6 is won by a horse who pays $5.60 to win. The $2 Daily Double coupling these two winners pays just $12.00


In three different instances today, a winning horse paid more to show than he did to win:

Race #7: http://www1.drf.com/drfPDFChartRaces...=20130503&RN=7

Race #10: http://www1.drf.com/drfPDFChartRaces...20130503&RN=10

Race #11: http://www1.drf.com/drfPDFChartRaces...20130503&RN=11

One of the Daily Double pools only had $212 in it.

Again, I ask ... if a tree falls in the woods, does that mean that Calder ran another horse race?

What an unbelievable waste. The greyhound tracks had bigger pools again.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

Isn't there a better way to go about it?

Yeah Calder and CDI should stop screwing the horsemen at every turn. Greedy bastards are making $$$ BECAUSE of the presence of horseracing and yet only a few years after getting the legislation that the horsemen helped fight for they want to nickle and dime horseman despite CDI making more money than ever. Now they want to threaten horseman who have the audacity to perhaps run their horse in a better spot across town because Calder can't work out a deal with GP?

Is this an ideal situation to shut off the signal? Of course not. However when you are dealing with CDI there is basically no other options as they have proven time after time that they prefer war with horsemen (See virtually every year in IL) and other tracks (Hawthorne/Gulfstream) because it feeds the corporate mentality that horseracing isnt worth the trouble and eventually they will use these instances of unrest as a basis to argue to politicians to escape being tied to racing.

Remember that the tracks ONLY treat us as "partners" when we need to provide something for them. They would have had nothing to sell without us and in the case of racino tracks in almost every occasion would not have been able to become wildly profitable with slots and other games if it weren't for horseracing.

[Calzone Lord]

At the very least, Calder management should allow it's locals to set up a bookmaking ring outside of the paddock like in the glory days of the sport.

Get a chalk board, a bunch of chalk sticks, a couple of stands, and let the local customers have at it with each other.

If these clueless dopes in management at CDI think keeping takeout rates at idiotically high levels is good business, which they do, why not also charge draconian stall rent to the trainers?

It's basically the exact same thing.

However, the only difference, is that the horsemen can apparently screw them back.

The bettors simply slowly diminish over time and bet less and less.

Thanks to a TON of huge improvements in technology that make wagering on horses easier and more convenient, and thanks to inflation over the years ... tracks can post handle figures that look ok.

Just think how big the sport could be again if they ever figured out that they're sucking the life out of the sport with their excessive takeout rates and that they're getting precious little out of the technology that exists.

There is no exchange wagering anywhere in the USA. There is no In-race betting anywhere in the USA. You think people who made bets on the Kentucky Oaks wouldn't want to make more bets after what happened at the start of that race? The trading that would have gone on a few seconds into that race would have been frenzied!

I know I'm probably preaching to the choir with you ... but the same a/effect you would get from charging all trainers stall rent everywhere is the same a/effect tracks have got with the bettors when they started raising takeout rates from 5% over a century ago, to 8% in the early pari-mutual age, to the ridiculous levels they're at right now.

All the marketing efforts, and all the BS about how they need to get fans to the track and have fun, it worked about as well as a Daily Double pool with a grand total of $212 on it, on Kentucky Oaks day, at the only horse track running in the city of Miami.

You want to see horse racing gain a massive public popularity boom and reestablish itself firmly in Sports Culture ... start lowering takeout rates, start using technology more competently, start allowing exchange wagering, start allowing in-race wagering, and open up the platforms to let users make their own props.

When a track manages to at least achieve the first one, it's like a minor miracle worthy of celebration in my opinion.

[tector]

Calder has become a joke. And I say this as someone who has been going there since the 80s. It is practically useless except for its barn space and viability as a training site.

There needs to be less, and better, racing in South Florida from May into the fall. Whether it is conducted at GP, CRC or some mix thereof, there should 3-4 racing days per week. Most of those "days" should be nights (which would require a change in state law, which idiotically prohibits thoroughbred races from starting after 7pm).

Since I detest CDI like a sickness, I'd prefer to see Stronach run this operation. I have my doubts about his operation after he is gone, but it is hard to see how it could be much worse than the gang of turds who run CDI right now.