”Just the Facts Mam”

Well the meet is now half over and I thought that now would be a good time to go over some facts and figures.

As of July 3rd, day 35 of the meet there have been 269 races run. Total starters are 1914. The total amount of different runners is 636 including 49 two year olds that have run at least once. The field size has slipped as of late to 7.12. The total handle to date is $14,409,888. The average handle per race is $53,475. Adding to the above there were 377 different owners that have had at least one start with a horse so far this meet. The leading owners half way are Glen Todd and Patrick Kinsella with 35 wins. Swift Thoroughbreds are second with 13 wins.

Last year we ran 538 races and 38 stakes. This year we have budgeted for 539 races and 41 stakes. At the half way mark we are 14 races short when compared to the coresponding date last year. I hope that those races can be made up somewhere during the remainder of the meet.Even better extend the meet to at least Thanksgiving, October 10th.

The handle figure indicated above is off about 7.80% but when you factor in 14 missed races then we see a different picture. Now we are down just 3%. I find this to be quite remarkable considering the bad weather, the horse owner/shortage and having to go head to head with several scheduled events. The purse account is in good shape with a surplus. But remember we don’t want it on the plus side come the last day of the meet……….we want it flat meaning all purse money available for 2011 was paid out to owners.

Last Friday’s racing handle was not good and this was in spite of the fact that the crowd for the holiday racing day was really quite large. Why this was is difficult to pinpoint. Last year, July 1^st fell on a Thursday but both Hollywood and Emerald Downs had evening post times. This year both tracks also had evening starts. There were 9 races last year with three stakes races as opposed to two this year. This year we had two 5 horse fields but so did we last year. Is it possible that the young crowds that we now attract just do not wager like we would like? That would explain why our live bet was off this year.

Finally and this talks to a previous blog which I wrote with regards to our “Racing Secretary”. If on a Monday through communication from trainers, or jockey agents, Paul would have had a better idea of horses ready to run then perhaps he would have been able to write two different races other than race one and two last Friday which both went with 5 horse fields. So far this year we have run 25 of these short field races. This is awful. Now I am well aware that sometimes we need to run a race for owners rather than have their horses sit in the barn. This is important. Scratches also happen and this is a part of racing. But if with very little effort we were able to cut back on just 20 5 horse fields during a meet it would make a material difference. Here’s the math. Running 20 races with 7 horse fields instead of 5 would increase the handle per race by approximately $9,000. You would gain on the mutual pools and the triactor and exactor bets. Also you would now gain back the superfecta bet that you lose with a 5 horse field. That is another $6,000. So that is approximately $300,000 over a year. Now it adds up. It certainly is worth trying and if it does not work out try something different. But what I do know is that there is one thing worse than trying and failing and that is not trying at all. We have an owner/horse population problem. We need to deal with it! Let us at least become highly efficient with what we do have.

One last point. I am hopeful as more and more two year olds come back to the track and are made ready for the races late July that this will help take some of the slack off from the older horses. We will need a lot of help on BC Cup Day in August. So far to date 158 winners or 59% of all races run have been won by BC Breds.

And now once again I am going to harp with regards to the Standardbred situation. Next year they will run 82 days over 10 months. The two months they will not run is undecided nor which days of the week. The Standardbred people have asked for Fridays and Sundays. This is in spite of the fact that their handle is down dramatically. My point in all of this is that I as a thoroughbred owner will not accept one day less of racing next year. For every 4 days that are cut, an owner loses 1 potential start. On the contrary I would like to see the meet run to mid-October and gain the same amount of days as the Standardbreds which is six. So as a minimum I am looking for a 77 day meet next year. I have requested much more information on this matter from the “powers to be” and will expect to hear back from them shortly.

Stay Tuned. You all may be very surprised at what I have to say on this topic in a future blog.

Michael R Bye
G&G Stable