the racino will be the death of racing. At venues now, the race track is secondary with Hollywood Casino at Chrlestown, or the tribal casino at Will Rogers Downs. When there are fixed assets at one inestment (casino) and variable assets at the other (racing) which one do you thnk the investors will support the most??
I do think this situation is quite fishy as to Veitch. But what I want to comment on is the part about Delaware Park. This is what happens when horse racing has to depend on casino revenue for purses etc. this is what happens when the racing product doesnot sell. Every horse racing fan should be chilled by the headline in the NY Post when Genting opened at Aqueduct-- the headline was "who needs horses". That is clearly the sentiment at DP and other tracks. This is what happens when horses do not race and generate a large fan base.
The customer service available to the horse players has been famously horrible for years in the racing/OTB section of the facility, but as an example as to how far it has regressed RECENTLY for players, as well as the disregard for dedicated employees, they closed ALL the program stands. If you show to catch NYRA's Pick 6 etc. you will have to pray for any availability first, the maybe buy your Form or simulcast program at the hot dog stand! And when evening closes in and CA. starts, or CT, or Penn, for a MAYBE program, you must go to a teller! Pathetic. DP is hardly even recognizable as a RACE TRAK any longer.
Also, once I dig into the available info, and get some much needed clarity, I hope my curiousity is sated, and that the info allows me to be objective in my thoughts, instead of purely emotional. Veitchs firing has stirred pure emotion in me for good reason. My beloved track, the one I have been entrenched with for 25 years, Delaware Park, continues to clean house by "letting go" key employees. It has been going on for almost 5 years. Two weeks ago, they cut 6 employess that all had families, one week before Thanksgiving. Yes, they received 6 months of salary, and insurance, which is a consideration many DO NOT get. BUT, right before the holidays? They could not wait until January? I personally know two of them. The 3 head honcho's there are crass, pompous, and until brought in to manage the facility, all 3 had no experience in TB racing management, possessing just casino backgrounds. Despite slot revenues, which we had the first jump on nationally, and revenue from football betting and table games, the horsemen, and seasonal employees such as valets, have continued to watch all that they worked hard for, slowly being chipped away. It's quite sad.
Thank you for the information skipaway2000. I do appreciate it, and I am heading there now.
friends of the family say that this is far from over...Chapter two in this outing is in the works
Does the firing of John Veitch incite any conflicting thoughts to my fellow HRN users? Speaking for myself I understand that any "closed door" information regarding the Life At Ten investigation would not neccesarily be trumpeted for all to know, but the lack of literally no public outline of information (except for censored CD statements) regarding the investigation disturbs me immensely. Is CD (CDSN) NOT a publicly traded NYSE commodity? The investigation ultimately led to applications of new BC race day guidelines, rulings on jockey race day interviews, the resignation of a key CD counsel, and now John Veitchs dismissal. I distinctly remember the "interview" given to Bailey by Valasquez, but for many, myself included, for at one time being both a groom, and the spouse of a jockey, (stories per horse/race day abound) EVERY horse is different. When race day soundness is predetermined by state vets, and race day Lasix is administered correctly, the trainer states POST incident the horse, PRE incident was "listless", (but raised no alarm) THE OWNER says the horse had in prior races displayed the same tempermant, AND as seen by fans a bazillion times, NO jockey change because of a refusal to ride, and no vet scratch at the gate. (and believe you me, most jockeys do sense warm up difficulties that are both physical and mental, and most of the time vocalize this, sometimes result in a rider change, or gate scratch!) So, it seems to me, that outside of it being a showcase event, (once again subjecting racing to ignorant opinion and scrutiny) and a COMMON issue UNCOMMONLY spoken for the viewing world to hear, once again, WHAT/WHERE IS/WHY has this dragged out for SO LONG? And resulted lastly in John Veitchs firing? I know I am going on forever. I do that, sorry. All I can think of is, A. He was consulted prior to the start, and said something really ignorant, like "F her, let her run". B. He was very disliked, and this was an instrument in getting rid of him. Or C. He made too much money, and this was an opportunity to trim costs. Either way, this curious mind really wants to know the reasoning behind his firing. He had a wealth of knowledge and experience. How do you justify getting rid of that?