Twilight At The Spa ... Or Twilight For The Spa?

Attendance for yesterday's twilight experiment was 18,000.

How does that compare to the comparable day last year ... and/or ... to this year's attendance trends? Was the experiment a success?

At first blush ... 18,000 doesn't seem abnormally high.



Heavenly shades of night are falling
It's twilight time.
Out of the mist your voice is calling
It's twilight time.
When purple-covered curtains
Mark the end of day
I'll see you, my dear ... at twilight time.

[Nostradamus]

Twilight racing at Belmont is great, but what is the point at Saratoga?

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

Twilight racing at Belmont is great, but what is the point at Saratoga?

Ummm ... the point is to ... like ... try to get more people to come to the track.

Just wondering if it succeeded.

[Nostradamus]

Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite

Ummm ... the point is to ... like ... try to get more people to come to the track.

Just wondering if it succeeded.

Why would it work? People that have jobs don't get out at 3pm and the only additional people that might show up would be people who live there.

They are trying to tap into more simulcast money, from people that get out of work at 5pm on Friday's with a paycheck in their hand. The attendance means nothing. They are just trying to increase handle.

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

Why would it work? People that have jobs don't get out at 3pm and the only additional people that might show up would be people who live there.

They are trying to tap into more simulcast money, from people that get out of work at 5pm on Friday's with a paycheck in their hand. The attendance means nothing. They are just trying to increase handle.

Yeah ... that too.

Bumping this thread ... to see if anyone knows the answer.

[paisjpq]

from the NYRA website...attendence up 29% over same day last year and year before
06--17,993
05--13,960
04--13,794

[Danzig]

well, bb...i've been looking.

saratogas streak of 10,000+ attendants ended on wed, august 31. that was due to bad weather from katrina. they had 7734 that day. now, one would assume that friday the second would be higher...but i don't know that it would have topped the 18k from yesterday. as some fans said, they were able to get to the track at the time that racing would normally have been over....
i'll see if i can find the actual # from the 2nd.

[Danzig]

well there ya go!

thanks pais...

[paisjpq]

Originally Posted by Danzig188

well there ya go!

thanks pais...

And add one to yesterday because I never paid to get in....

[Danzig]

lol
well good for you...

Originally Posted by paisjpq

from the NYRA website...attendence up 29% over same day last year and year before
06--17,993
05--13,960
04--13,794

Thanks ...

... that appears to be a significant success ... and they didn't even give away any T-shirts.

Prepare yourselves for Midnight Racing ... coming soon to a Spa near you.

[Danzig]

just saw this on drf:

The first twilight card held at Saratoga in the modern era was deemed a success after attendance and handle figures were both up compared to the last Friday of last year. Friday's card began at 3 p.m., two hours later than usual.

A crowd of 17,993 attended Friday's races, and the ontrack handle was $2,962,568. Last year, the final Friday crowd was 13,960 and the ontrack handle was $2,489,554. Last year's final Friday card had 10 races, although one was a steeplechase.

All-sources handle for Friday's card was $15,204,204 compared to $14,015,696 last year.

NYRA president and CEO Charlie Hayward said he was "very pleased" with the twilight card. While no decision has been made on running future twilight programs at Saratoga, it is likely that next year's final Friday program will be run at 3 p.m. Hayward said he wanted to meet with members of the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce and local business people before making that decision.

Hayward said operators of local restaurants and bars expressed concern about the late-starting card, because it would cost them business in the early evening.

"We agreed we'd meet sometime in late September or early October and get some kind of consensus," Hayward said

Originally Posted by Danzig188

just saw this on drf:

The first twilight card held at Saratoga in the modern era was deemed a success after attendance and handle figures were both up compared to the last Friday of last year. Friday's card began at 3 p.m., two hours later than usual.

A crowd of 17,993 attended Friday's races, and the ontrack handle was $2,962,568. Last year, the final Friday crowd was 13,960 and the ontrack handle was $2,489,554. Last year's final Friday card had 10 races, although one was a steeplechase.

All-sources handle for Friday's card was $15,204,204 compared to $14,015,696 last year.

NYRA president and CEO Charlie Hayward said he was "very pleased" with the twilight card. While no decision has been made on running future twilight programs at Saratoga, it is likely that next year's final Friday program will be run at 3 p.m. Hayward said he wanted to meet with members of the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce and local business people before making that decision.

Hayward said operators of local restaurants and bars expressed concern about the late-starting card, because it would cost them business in the early evening.

"We agreed we'd meet sometime in late September or early October and get some kind of consensus," Hayward said

Ugh, Bold Brooklynite I like you and we have met, and you are a gentleman. But your agenda to bash NYRA, even in light of something successful, is just absurd.
I've been there every day this past week and its been a graveyard. Every day except Friday that is. Friday we had more folks there than paid to get in I suspect. They stop charging for admission after the 6th or 7th race and they were still flocking in then. The place was full of folks having a good time and they gave people a price break on food and everyone I know had a great time.
There were definitely more people there at day's end than reported. The reason for that is pretty simple. By 6 o'clock or so there weren't charging to get in anymore, and folks who had come after work were still arriving.
After i walked to my car and attempted to drive away, I was caught in a traffic jam that lasted me about 25 minutes to go about a half mile to the highway from where I had parked. Trust me, that jam was caused by more than 18,000 people.
NYRA tried something new that inceased attendance and handle over last year on the same comparable day, and they deserve credit for trying it and KUDOS for its success.
Your intelligence is certainly not lacking, but anyone reading this thread who didn't know you would certainly question it. Starting threads that are just plain inaccurate because of your contempt for NYRA is beneath both your dignity and intelligence.

[Nostradamus]

I don't love NYRA but I didn't think it would work. I give them credit if handle and attendance were up. I still don't think a track like Saratoga needs gimmicks. They just need better luck with weather.

[Danzig]

i don't think twilight racing is a gimmick, i wish more tracks had more racing at that time of the day, help us day-workers out!

[paisjpq]

I like the idea of twilight racing but I think it makes more sense to do earlier in the meet when the days are longer (and warmer) the last post was 7.17 and the sun sets at 7.25, it was getting dark. I would guess next year they will do it earlier since the experiment seems to have worked.

[ironprospect]

what about the working people who stopped in an OTB at lunchtime, expecting a normal day AND WTF

bad move NYRA

do it every friday, or not at all

only a moron would do it once

what's the point? the meets over

[ironprospect]

don't post much

but weanling is kind of insulting

[Danzig]

lol
we all started out that way, it won't be long and you'll be a yearling!