Poll: Vote on Churchill's $50 Ky Derby ticket request fee

[Monarchos1]

In case anyone missed the announcement last week, Churchill Downs is now charging fans $50 just to REQUEST Kentucky Derby even if you are declined. The Louisville paper has been covering the story and has a poll here where you can voice your opinion: http://www.courier-journal.com/inter...-2012-tickets-

[skyfire]

I've gone twice, but no more -- corporate greed is ugly.

[rpncaine]

Currently %86+ voting to head to the casino with the $50...way to promote the sport CDI!

[freddymo]

its repulsive BUT without question worth it. I have been to the Super bowl with my NY Giants in it, I have been to WS with my beloved Yankee's I sat in the Izod center 2 hours before a stanley cup final game needing to drink triples because i was so nervous,I watch Larry Johnson make the L sign as the Knicks won a awesome game. I would toss them all in the garbage to watch Barbaro crush. Its the Deby it trumps all.. Its a 50 it sux they should be ashamed but I would gladly pay sorry you only have so many in a lifetime

[Monarchos1]

Originally Posted by freddymo

its repulsive BUT without question worth it. I have been to the Super bowl with my NY Giants in it, I have been to WS with my beloved Yankee's I sat in the Izod center 2 hours before a stanley cup final game needing to drink triples because i was so nervous,I watch Larry Johnson make the L sign as the Knicks won a awesome game. I would toss them all in the garbage to watch Barbaro crush. Its the Deby it trumps all.. Its a 50 it sux they should be ashamed but I would gladly pay sorry you only have so many in a lifetime

The pathetic part of this is that, based on the number of requests in prior years, most will not be given the opportunity to purchase tickets and simply lose the $50, getting absolutely nothing in return.

[Port Conway Lane]

Originally Posted by Monarchos1

The pathetic part of this is that, based on the number of requests in prior years, most will not be given the opportunity to purchase tickets and simply lose the $50, getting absolutely nothing in return.

Anyone as passionate as freddymo would never risk the $50 to have a chance at getting seats. He would simply pay the 20% and go to the front of the line.

Churchill Downs has a new ticket policy that allows fans to order tickets online for a $50 administrative fee, even if they don’t get seats. They also can go to the head of the line for seat requests if they pay an extra 20 percent.

I have no idea what the price range is for derby seats but if the lowball end is $250 nobody who is looking for cheap seats would ever pay the $50 for a shot at them unless they failed 6th grade math.

Very clever marketing ploy. Personally I would pay GA and attempt to crash the buffet.

[declansharbor]

Worth it or not, it's a joke that they would even implement this.

[3kings]

This is just the way of the sports industry, supply< demand.
In the NFL you have to pay full price for preseason tickets. At good college sports schools you have to donate to the school run booster club to get access to the prime football or basketball tickets. This is how the sports industry works. Buy more tickets than you need and resell the extra's to recoup your money. There is always demand for good seats, you will actually recoup the fee and defer a portion of the cost of your tickets.

[reese]

Originally Posted by 3kings

This is just the way of the sports industry, supply< demand.
In the NFL you have to pay full price for preseason tickets. At good college sports schools you have to donate to the school run booster club to get access to the prime football or basketball tickets. This is how the sports industry works. Buy more tickets than you need and resell the extra's to recoup your money. There is always demand for good seats, you will actually recoup the fee and defer a portion of the cost of your tickets.

The fallacy in your position is the demand for $100. tickets FAR exceeds the supply. If 10,000 people apply for 3000 limited 100seats, CDI collects 350k for nothing. You have NO control over who gets the $100 seats, or if you are ever in line for one.

THAT is not the same as PAYING for a guaranteed ticket...no matter where you get a seat...if you pay you get a seat or a refund if none available/acceptable.

CDI is a pure scam.

[joeydb]

Gee, is it safe to say that the tracks are not getting the message with regard to the relationship between customer service and actual customers?

[3kings]

Originally Posted by reese

The fallacy in your position is the demand for $100. tickets FAR exceeds the supply. If 10,000 people apply for 3000 limited 100seats, CDI collects 350k for nothing. You have NO control over who gets the $100 seats, or if you are ever in line for one.

THAT is not the same as PAYING for a guaranteed ticket...no matter where you get a seat...if you pay you get a seat or a refund if none available/acceptable.

CDI is a pure scam.

I'm not saying I agree with what they are doing. I plan on paying the surcharge, and picking 10 very good sections and taking the 6 tickets allotted. By paying the surcharge I'm pretty sure I will get tickets. I'm not sure how many tickets I will be using if any. I will let you know how it plays out.

[slotdirt]

I'd like to see the "terms and conditions" of this offer when November comes. Asher said in that Jennie Rees article that 20,000 tickets are going to be available via this program. Considering that there have never been more than just a few thousand tickets available to the general public, I'd have to imagine that 20k number has to be a little on the high end.

Regardless, I think the biggest problem here is transparency. As in, there isn't any.

Who is going to get s.hit-canned for this impending disaster? Why don't they just waterboard the customer service department?

[slotdirt]

Also, there will supposedly be 20k seats available via this method. Let's just say for kicks that the average request is for somewhere around three seats (I don't know this, but think it's a fair guess). That'd mean only around 1/3 of the requests will actually be filled. So 20,000 people could submit applications, and after around 1/3 of those requests are filled, another 13-14k or so are going to be out $50 regardless.

This could be even more of a scam than I originally thought.

[Port Conway Lane]

r

Originally Posted by slotdirt

Also, there will supposedly be 20k seats available via this method. Let's just say for kicks that the average request is for somewhere around three seats (I don't know this, but think it's a fair guess). That'd mean only around 1/3 of the requests will actually be filled. So 20,000 people could submit applications, and after around 1/3 of those requests are filled, another 13-14k or so are going to be out $50 regardless.

This could be even more of a scam than I originally thought.

It would be foolish to pay the $50 and wait and see what happens.
"Churchill Downs has a new ticket policy that allows fans to order tickets online for a $50 administrative fee, even if they don’t get seats. They also can go to the head of the line for seat requests if they pay an extra 20 percent."
I may have misinterpreted the above quote. At first I thought this meant you could bypass the fee by agreeing to pay 20% more for tickets.
Anyone who wants tickets will pay 20% to go to the front. Anyone who waits will get zilch. This is their strategy.

I don't know how it was determined who got the few thousand available tickets in years past but they've figured out that demand has been so high that not only can they find out how much and how many people are willing to pay they can collect at least another 200k in administrative fees.

I'm wondering if they suffer any loss of income from corporate sponsors who no longer own a large portion of those tickets.

For anyone who ever got shut out of tickets now would be the chance to get them if you are willing to pay.

[slotdirt]

And even if you pay the 20 percent, there's no guarantee you'll get tickets then either, no? What if like 6,000 people ordering 3.5 tickets apiece pay the 20 percent before someone submits an application? You're telling me CDI is going to knowingly accept this $50 fee for tickets they know at the time the application is submitted won't be available?

I think collecting an extra $200k in admin fees is on the really low end if ticket requests are as brisk as previous Derby editions.

[Port Conway Lane]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

And even if you pay the 20 percent, there's no guarantee you'll get tickets then either, no? What if like 6,000 people ordering 3.5 tickets apiece pay the 20 percent before someone submits an application? You're telling me CDI is going to knowingly accept this $50 fee for tickets they know at the time the application is submitted won't be available?

I think collecting an extra $200k in admin fees is on the really low end if ticket requests are as brisk as previous Derby editions.

I would speak with a live rep by phone to apply and get on the list immediately otherwise I wouldn't bother if they couldn't assure me I'd get tickets. If demand is enough to sell out there will come a time that a rep may not be able to guarantee anything. I would think that when they sell the final ticket the applications will end.

I was wrong, 250k would be the bare minimum ;4 tix per person x 5,000 ppl x $50. On the high end 10k ppl x 2 tix x $50=$500k, and none of that includes the fees from the people that wait and hope.

The whole idea is borderline extortion.