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.

[phystech]

Originally Posted by Bobby Fischer

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

And they grossly miscalculated - again.

The only bargaining chip Magna has is the Preakness. And I doubt that too many in the MD legislature really give a crap about that either. Too many past corruption situations involving the tracks, one of which was directly related to Bowie and jailtime for a former Gov.

Throw in the hatred many still have for DeFrancis and the fact that when he sold Lau/Pim to Magna, he retained a sweetheart deal for himself if slots ever do come ( he gets a large share of the proceeds from slots revenue) and I just don't see MD racing getting much, if anything, from slots. The state is facing a huge structural deficit in FY 2009 so if slots get passed in the 2008 session, I see the bulk of the money going to state coffers. And all that Magna and the MD horsemen have waited for is going to evaporate right before their eyes.

In the meantime, they will have pissed away a great opportunity to capitalize on the tremendous turf course Laurel has installed. For the two years the turf course has been open, we have seen an increase in handle, which directly leads to bigger purses, due to the big fields that want to run on the turf. Laurel needs to change their meet dates so that all of the their meet runs during a time when the grass actually grows, instead of the current meet where they can't use the turf for over half of the dates during the winter.

The MD horsemen need to find a way to get the new Keno game called Racetrax (computer generated horse racing) out of restaurants and bars, and figure out a way to get a simulcast product in those places instead. DeFrancis never did a thing with his monopoly on OTB's and phone wagering in the state so it's time for the horsemen to capitalize on that. First thing they should do is get the legislature to rescind the restriction on no OTB's within 25 miles of any racetrack ( I think it's 25, could be a little more). Then they need to get live racing into bars/restaurants along with Autotote's and let these numbers/keno players bet into the pools. That money alone could easily pay for a Pimlico Special purse.........