An owners take on how the regular racing folks are treated during the superficial madness that is the Kentucky Derby.
I do not know if he is talking about seats or just plain access to the apron on race day. If it is seats I get it, if it is literally just a place to stand, CD has lost it.
" She told Victoria that I was entitled to no seats as an owner of a horse in a $300k G2 race on Friday. I was also informed that I did not even get a ticket to get in the track"
I know it’s a busy weekend (understatement), but that’s horrible. The one time I had a horse in a stakes race, I was given a table in the dining room, at the window, overlooking the finish line. This was for myself, my trainer, and a guest. It also included dinner (we did have to buy our own drinks, LOL). I thought that was standard practice. At the very least they should have been informed of the change in policy due to the date.
This infuriates me!!! But I have to ask, why couldn’t Mr. Duchossois (sp) help you this time???
He may not want to feel he is taking advantage of Mr. Duchossois’ good nature.
It is an outrage, I agree.
I don’t think irresponsible is an accurate description, asshat move would probably be better. It wasn’t irresponsible but it was short sighted. I once ran a horse on Preakness day in a maiden special weight. Horseman always get in free even on Preakness day so that wasn’t an issue and they give us two guest passes at the beginning of the year that we can use all year so that wasn’t an issue either. They did overnight me a packet with paddock passes and other goodies in it however. I can’t remember what all was in there but I was happy. I can only imagine how they treat the Preakness owners and those on the undercard, I don’t envision anyone writing any complaint letters however. They take good care of us.
[QUOTE=Laurierace;7555680]
I don’t think irresponsible is an accurate description, asshat move would probably be better. It wasn’t irresponsible but it was short sighted. I once ran a horse on Preakness day in a maiden special weight. Horseman always get in free even on Preakness day so that wasn’t an issue and they give us two guest passes at the beginning of the year that we can use all year so that wasn’t an issue either. They did overnight me a packet with paddock passes and other goodies in it however. I can’t remember what all was in there but I was happy. I can only imagine how they treat the Preakness owners and those on the undercard, I don’t envision anyone writing any complaint letters however. They take good care of us.[/QUOTE]
I’ve only heard good things about Pimlico, nice to hear it is true.
Doesn’t surprise me at all. We’ve been having issues with Churchill down here at the Fair Grounds for years.
That’s a damn shame. Fair Grounds is/was a nice track. Wish there was a way as horsemen to boycott Churchill’s monopoly, but it’d be hard to do with much less than a Derby contender to hold over their heads. The press from Fox Hill and more recently Carlo Vaccarezza (owner of Little Mike) have definitely been eye opening.
I did not know until this morning, when I read Vaccarezza’s press release about the out of competition testing of his horse, that Churchill owned tracks charge grooms and hot walkers rent for their dorms. That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. The dorms here at Lone Star are much nicer than any of the Churchill owned tracks’ rooms, and they only require a $100 deposit by the trainer, and that is refunded at the end of the meet.
Disgusting. Racing’s “image” cannot be improved if we do not take care of our own. Our big problem is the squashing of the grassroots. The welfare of the horses improves when their caretakers are taken care of. Tracks like this are suffocating racing from the inside.
I apologize for the tangent rant.
For what it’s worth, the prez/CEO or whatever of Churchill was on Undercover Boss a few years ago, and my impression was that he seemed like a real jerk.
Bob Evans, CEO of Churchill Downs has been quoted as saying, “Horses are our brand but they are not our business. Gambling is our business”. He has also said that he would like CD to only have one week of racing per year, scheduled for the KY Derby.
So that’s the mindset. CDI is terrible for racing. It’s unfortunate that they wield so much power.
Appalling.
Ron Turcotte issued a statement about his issues with Churchill as well.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/84712/turcotte-issues-statement-against-churchill
Bugsy, I was just coming here to post that.
Hopefully the 1 year conditional license CDI got in Louisiana will make them step up and make improvements. I’m very cautiously optimistic for next season. At least tgey are being forced to put a little back in.
[QUOTE=bugsynskeeter;7556537]
Ron Turcotte issued a statement about his issues with Churchill as well.
I don’t have words to express the distaste I feel after reading that article. Ron Turcotte is a national/Canadian treasure and should never have been treated like that. While they’re at it, why not make Ms. Tweedy walk about a mile from the far reaches of the parking lot?
[QUOTE=bugsynskeeter;7556537]
Ron Turcotte issued a statement about his issues with Churchill as well.
The ADA should be all over that one.
The ADA has nothing to do with it
the fact that Mr. Turcotte is or is not entitled to free entry to the biggest weekend in racing. The ADA has jurisdiction over whether or not the facility is handicapped accessible. For everyone who purchases a ticket on race day.
His complaint is more about “who he is” than simply his disability.
[QUOTE=LaurieB;7556507]
Bob Evans, CEO of Churchill Downs has been quoted as saying, “Horses are our brand but they are not our business. Gambling is our business”. He has also said that he would like CD to only have one week of racing per year, scheduled for the KY Derby.[/QUOTE]
In one sense, he’s absolutely right. I do not go to the racetrack to watch pwetty horsies run in an oval. I go (when I bother going at all; normally I have TVG and Xpressbet for a reason) to gamble. I’m even fine with shareholder passes (Mom gives me hers as she doesn’t use them while I can, if I want to make the effort, use them at Arlington Park) not being good for major event days.
However–what does he think we’re gambling on? If I just feel like flushing money down a toilet gambling on anything, there are ten casinos within an hour’s drive from me. I think I 'm going to have to dig out Mom’s annual report and find a way to write to Mr. Evans via a shareholder. I can always take my business as a gambler to other tracks. My own employer is in the gambling business and the #1 thing beaten into all of us who work there from our hire date on is “People can go lose their money anywhere. We want them to come lose it here.” That means we NEVER take guests for granted. Any of them. High-roller (ie owners of stakes horses, etc) or little guys (amateur handicappers like me.) We are selling the whole experience.
Stupidity on the part of CD.
If they don’t have owners and jockeys coming with horses - they don’t have much at all.
Really bad PR move!!
[QUOTE=bugsynskeeter;7556537]
Ron Turcotte issued a statement about his issues with Churchill as well.
It seems awfully shortsighted for Churchill to blatantly ignore a whole segment of the people who keep them in business in the first place. A relatively small outlay of time and money on their part can lead to a tremendous amount of goodwill and eventual profit–because the owners are the ones who invest time and money into making the Derby profitable.
The same many times over with somebody like Ron Turcotte. He isn’t asking for special treatment just so he can watch the Derby himself. He’s a personal advertisement for the entire triple crown series. The special parking permit, maybe someone available to wheel him around–I think that probably many Churchill employees would feel blessed to have that opportunity. Costs them little in the short-run, reaps huge benefits in the long run.
I see that they are virtually falling over one another to make amends. Too bad, the damaging PR is already out there for eveyone to see.
Well, was Turcotte there doing stuff for free and out of the goodness of his heart or was he doing paid promo work? My friend got me some signed “Secretariat” movie stuff (her company is based in Louisville and has CD boxes and such) and I did have the impression that he was there more to promote the movie than just for the whole love of the sport thing. I don’t know that the average Derby Day one-time track goer has any idea who he is or cares. Not giving him extra-special treatment, fine, I can see that, especially if he’s there promoting a so-so Disney movie (heck, network conflict, that’s ABC, CD’s Derby contract is with NBC.) Not letting him in free on a day NO ONE gets in free? Also fine. Not having decent wheelchair-accessible parking and facilities for guests who require it? Not cool and possibly illegal (the oldest parts of the track are likely exempt–many historic sites I’ve worked for don’t have to be ADA-compliant because it would compromise the integrity of the structures–but there’s enough new construction it’s not THAT big a hardship.)
And again, I kind of see not giving away free admission on Derby Day–it probably pays for the rest of the year and every single admission will sell. So I can see refusing to give premium tables/boxes to owners or allowing them guests on Derby Day, but one would think you would still let the actual owners in for free and guarantee some kind of seating. The owner already paid a big chunk of change to start their horse.
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