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NFT: Preakness Saturday

jtdukedfw : 5/16/2018 4:30 pm
Can anyone beat Justify? I think no way but right now 2-5 not worth the money.
It's a horribly weak field...  
bw in dc : 5/16/2018 4:39 pm : link
Pimlico should be embarrassed. And it's likely going to rain, so Justify appears to like an off track.

But with a much smaller field, I love Good Magic. He won't have any issues this time with traffic. He will sit chilly on the outside of Justify and then catch him down the stretch.
I will be attending  
Pete in MD : 5/16/2018 6:27 pm : link
for the first time in over 10 years. Hopefully the weather isn’t too bad. We have covered seats which helps. Anyone have any tips on the earlier races? I’d like to place bets on more than just Preakness.
RE: I will be attending  
bw in dc : 5/16/2018 6:57 pm : link
In comment 13966072 Pete in MD said:
Quote:
for the first time in over 10 years. Hopefully the weather isn’t too bad. We have covered seats which helps. Anyone have any tips on the earlier races? I’d like to place bets on more than just Preakness.


Good chance the weather is bad. It's going to rain all day Friday, too. Track will likely be poor or muddy.

Pimlico is a disaster. Too old, too poorly managed, too dirty, too many reasons not to go...

Once the card is released, I'll take a look and let you know what is worthwhile.

RE: RE: I will be attending  
Pete in MD : 5/16/2018 7:31 pm : link
In comment 13966091 bw in dc said:
Quote:
In comment 13966072 Pete in MD said:


Quote:


for the first time in over 10 years. Hopefully the weather isn’t too bad. We have covered seats which helps. Anyone have any tips on the earlier races? I’d like to place bets on more than just Preakness.



Good chance the weather is bad. It's going to rain all day Friday, too. Track will likely be poor or muddy.

Pimlico is a disaster. Too old, too poorly managed, too dirty, too many reasons not to go...

Once the card is released, I'll take a look and let you know what is worthwhile.

Yeah, Pimlico apparently needs $250 million in renovations but nobody wants to pay for them. They keep threatening to move Preakness to Laurel Park but I don’t think it could properly accommodate the event. If someone threatened to take it out of Maryland there might need finally be some changes made.
RE: RE: RE: I will be attending  
Now Mike in MD : 5/17/2018 12:49 pm : link
If Monmouth could handle the Breeders Cup, Laurel can handle Preakness IMO

In comment 13966108 Pete in MD said:
Quote:
In comment 13966091 bw in dc said:


Quote:


In comment 13966072 Pete in MD said:


Quote:


for the first time in over 10 years. Hopefully the weather isn’t too bad. We have covered seats which helps. Anyone have any tips on the earlier races? I’d like to place bets on more than just Preakness.



Good chance the weather is bad. It's going to rain all day Friday, too. Track will likely be poor or muddy.

Pimlico is a disaster. Too old, too poorly managed, too dirty, too many reasons not to go...

Once the card is released, I'll take a look and let you know what is worthwhile.



Yeah, Pimlico apparently needs $250 million in renovations but nobody wants to pay for them. They keep threatening to move Preakness to Laurel Park but I don’t think it could properly accommodate the event. If someone threatened to take it out of Maryland there might need finally be some changes made.
RE: RE: RE: I will be attending  
Jim in Fairfax : 5/17/2018 1:05 pm : link
In comment 13966108 Pete in MD said:
Quote:

Yeah, Pimlico apparently needs $250 million in renovations but nobody wants to pay for them. They keep threatening to move Preakness to Laurel Park but I don’t think it could properly accommodate the event. If someone threatened to take it out of Maryland there might need finally be some changes made.


As is Laurel probably can’t handle the event. But they have a good facility on a large parcel of land that can be expanded. They’re in a great location and have a viable business. Pimlico is none of those things.
My dad is a VP of a harness track in PA  
dep026 : 5/17/2018 1:13 pm : link
he said the Preakness to Laurel is all but a done deal. Crossing t's and dotting i's.
RE: My dad is a VP of a harness track in PA  
Pete in MD : 5/17/2018 1:51 pm : link
In comment 13966649 dep026 said:
Quote:
he said the Preakness to Laurel is all but a done deal. Crossing t's and dotting i's.

Any move technically needs to be approved by the Maryland General Assembly. They are the big “all but” part in the deal. Laurel is currently trying to host a future Breeder’s Cup, which gets a third of the crowd that Preakness draws (often much less.) If they can pull that off, Preakness becomes more of a reality. The owners (who also own Pimlico) would rather have a smaller event, get the DC crowd, and charge three times as much for tickets and concessions.
RE: RE: RE: I will be attending  
bw in dc : 5/17/2018 3:57 pm : link
In comment 13966108 Pete in MD said:
Quote:


Yeah, Pimlico apparently needs $250 million in renovations but nobody wants to pay for them. They keep threatening to move Preakness to Laurel Park but I don’t think it could properly accommodate the event. If someone threatened to take it out of Maryland there might need finally be some changes made.


That's right. There is now way MD antes up $250M for race track renovations.

Laurel is too small and also in need of a face lift. The parking is bad, too.

I've never looked closely at the economics, but I guess that one day each May must still be a boon for the Baltimore and the state to keep the Preakness. The locals do pretty well renting our lawns/driveways/side streets for parking.

Otherwise, I would work out a deal with another state and sell off the right to the Preakness. Monmouth would make a lot of sense...
RE: RE: My dad is a VP of a harness track in PA  
bw in dc : 5/17/2018 4:04 pm : link
In comment 13966682 Pete in MD said:
Quote:


Laurel is currently trying to host a future Breeder’s Cup, which gets a third of the crowd that Preakness draws (often much less.) If they can pull that off, Preakness becomes more of a reality. The owners (who also own Pimlico) would rather have a smaller event, get the DC crowd, and charge three times as much for tickets and concessions.


There is NO way Laurel hosts a BC. NFW. That is a big even that has a lot of pageantry. The site needs to be nice and so does the overall location with hotels, food, entertainment, etc.

Laurel offers none of that.

Keeneland, one of the great tracks on earth, had to make some material changes to host the event. As did Del Mar recently. And they really - as I'm sure you know - get the sport and know how to market and cater to their customer base. Laurel would be an unmitigated disaster for the BC.

The BC has the pick of the liter each year - San Anita, Churchill, Belmont (it's been too long for them), Gulfstream, Arlington, etc. I've been to all the major tracks in America and they crush anything Maryland has to offer - by far.

Saratoga should host the event.
I totally agree.  
Pete in MD : 5/18/2018 9:31 am : link
Pimlico is a dump but what makes Laurel a desirable alternative? The mall nearby? The fact that middle-class white people aren't afraid to go there? The Olive Garden? It's small, old, and in the middle of suburban hell.
Some handicapping advice for you  
Post Time : 5/18/2018 2:33 pm : link
For what it's worth
link - ( New Window )
Thanks Post Time!  
Pete in MD : 5/20/2018 1:37 pm : link
I hit a trifecta in race 10 based on that article.
RE: I totally agree.  
Jim in Fairfax : 5/20/2018 2:17 pm : link
In comment 13967305 Pete in MD said:
Quote:
Pimlico is a dump but what makes Laurel a desirable alternative? The mall nearby? The fact that middle-class white people aren't afraid to go there? The Olive Garden? It's small, old, and in the middle of suburban hell.

The fact that it’s an economically viable racetrack. They have @ 160 days of racing vs Pimlico’s 12. Pimlico would have zero if it didn’t have the Preakness tied to it. Even if your spent millions turning it into a palace, it still wouldn’t be viable. It’s in a bad neighborhood nobody wants to go to. And it’s not very accessible for the few who do.

Laurel is too small as is, yes. But it has a large property and so coukd be expanded if the Preakness were moved. Given it’s accessibility and more desirable location to fans, it’s a far better choice to plow money into,
They are tattooing this guy now  
Greg from LI : 5/20/2018 3:23 pm : link
.
RE: RE: I totally agree.  
bw in dc : 5/20/2018 3:52 pm : link
In comment 13969052 Jim in Fairfax said:
Quote:

Laurel is too small as is, yes. But it has a large property and so coukd be expanded if the Preakness were moved. Given it’s accessibility and more desirable location to fans, it’s a far better choice to plow money into,


When is the last time you went to Laurel?

I've been there quite a bit over the last 15+ years - I usually bet via TVG, but once in while like to reconnect with characters of the game ;) - and let me tell you something - that area isn't being confused with San Diego or Palo Alto.

That entire area is just crummy and old. It's still stuck in the '80s.
RE: RE: RE: I totally agree.  
Jim in Fairfax : 5/20/2018 4:35 pm : link
In comment 13969151 bw in dc said:
Quote:
In comment 13969052 Jim in Fairfax said:


Quote:



Laurel is too small as is, yes. But it has a large property and so coukd be expanded if the Preakness were moved. Given it’s accessibility and more desirable location to fans, it’s a far better choice to plow money into,



When is the last time you went to Laurel?

I've been there quite a bit over the last 15+ years - I usually bet via TVG, but once in while like to reconnect with characters of the game ;) - and let me tell you something - that area isn't being confused with San Diego or Palo Alto.

That entire area is just crummy and old. It's still stuck in the '80s.

Sure. By desirable location I didn’t mean it was located in an aesthetically nice area or with anything awesome is around it. I meant it’s located in a area easy to get to: midway between DC and Baltimore, right off I-95, train station at the park. Plus it’s not a major crime area like North Baltimore.
RE: RE: RE: RE: I totally agree.  
bw in dc : 5/20/2018 5:56 pm : link
In comment 13969192 Jim in Fairfax said:
Quote:

Sure. By desirable location I didn’t mean it was located in an aesthetically nice area or with anything awesome is around it. I meant it’s located in a area easy to get to: midway between DC and Baltimore, right off I-95, train station at the park. Plus it’s not a major crime area like North Baltimore.


That is true. Laurel is pretty easy to get to and it's very near BWI.

I have to imagine, however, there would be a material attendance drop off. Pimlico got something like 134K yesterday, which has to include the infield. Laurel has something resembling an infield but not really enough real estate.
Laurel?  
UESBLUE : 5/20/2018 7:28 pm : link
I say move the Preakness to Yanny.
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