Welker at Churchhill

I don't have much to say, other than bravo. Mostly, I'm just posting to try to meet my gambling topic quota ;)

Welker overpaid, allowed to keep with an invitation back

Now that's lucky.

Wonder what PaiGowDan thinks about this. Haha.

I just thought it was nice to see a gambling house exercise the most basic of PR. With so many stories of asinine hassles, it's nice to see one that got it right (even if it was, really, a completely obvious call).

Quote: Face

I just thought it was nice to see a gambling house exercise the most basic of PR. With so many stories of asinine hassles, it's nice to see one that got it right (even if it was, really, a completely obvious call).

Churchill is definitely the classiest racetrack in the world. Also, $14k to them is like a rounding error anyway.

I thought the last sentence of the article was great. People wanted autographs and he asked if they would prefer a $100 bill. Why doesn't that ever happen to me.

Quote: GWAE

I thought the last sentence of the article was great. People wanted autographs and he asked if they would prefer a $100 bill. Why doesn't that ever happen to me.

Clearly he should have signed the benjamins before handing them out!

Quote: sodawater

Churchill is definitely the classiest racetrack in the world. Also, $14k to them is like a rounding error anyway.

Having gambled at virtually all North American tracks and raced horses at 10 different tracks including Churchill Downs, I'm a 100% sure that classey racetrack is an oxymoron......

" According to Kentucky administrative regulations, if there is an overpayment as a result of the calculation of a payout, the track is responsible and the patron holding the ticket does not have to refund the money. "

Gee, wonder if that influenced their decision !!!

Same wonderful track that just raised the take from 16 to 17.5% on WPS and exotics from 19% to 22%.


And upper management salaries only increased a mere 420% from last year.


CLASS MY ASS

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Aw come on. It's only been 10 years. Give that 6/5 boycott a chance to work !

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She's have to be topless and then $5 minimum bet.

Welker failed his drug test after taking ecstasy laced with amphetamines while at the Kentucky Derby, according to ProFootballTalk.com. That was the same event where Welker handed out $100 bills on his way out of Churchill Downs after a cashier mistakenly overpaid him almost $15,000 in winnings.

copied from
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24692023/report-broncos-wr-wes-welker-suspended-four-games

I guess that explains how he didn't know.

Quote: sodawater

Churchill is definitely the classiest racetrack in the world. Also, $14k to them is like a rounding error anyway.

That cannot be further from the truth.

Quote: FinsRule

That cannot be further from the truth.

How can you say that after this classy move ?

Churchill Downs will raise its takeout rates this spring to the maximum allowed by Kentucky law, officials confirmed Friday, a decision that will lower payouts on the track’s races by almost 16 percent in many cases.

Of course with the handle being only slightly over $1 BILLION, I mean they just had to raise the take !

Quote: Buzzard

How can you say that after this classy move ?

Churchill Downs will raise its takeout rates this spring to the maximum allowed by Kentucky law, officials confirmed Friday, a decision that will lower payouts on the track’s races by almost 16 percent in many cases.

Of course with the handle being only slightly over $1 BILLION, I mean they just had to raise the take !

Wow, these tracks are just killing business. With the rake now, racing is right up there with the lottery and keno.
Alot of competition for the gambling dollar these days.
I had a blast betting the pacers and trotters at Freestate back in the day.
Now days, never bet the horses. Just too tough with rake going up and up. It boggles my mind its going up again.

How nice that they followed the minimum requirements of the statutes and regulations, complying with what they must do by the law and administrative rules that allow them to have a license in that jurisdiction. And that they found a way to toot their horn while doing what they had no choice about. Fine.

Quote: FinsRule

That cannot be further from the truth.

Thank-you! Sheesh. Glad I wasn't here for the birth of this thread.

CDI is the "classiest" racetrack operator in the same way that Hooters and Slots-A-Fun and the Western (yes, I know it is closed!) are the most fabulous resorts in Las Vegas. They'd have to improve a lot to get back up to even mediocre standards within the state where they originated, and they are not even remotely close to running the flagship legacy track they've inherited at Churchill Downs in a way that would come anywhere close to the top Kentucky track that has far and away the highest quality and most financially successful operation, at Keeneland. They are not a respected operator anymore at all.

They've been brazenly dis-investing in their intentionally deteriorating tracks to such an extreme degree that Louisiana has threatened to yank their license to continue operating their track and has put them on a one year leash to prove they've taken meaningful steps to start cleaning up their act in New Orleans, a community which really cherishes the sport as a significant widely embraced part of their local culture, but now with riders and owners alike very publicly and almost unanimously angry that they've deliberately run it down to the point of endangering the lives of both the two-legged and four-hoofed competitors, for just one example among many.

They've made it very clear that they intend to milk what they've inherited from track revenue to become primarily an operator of grungy local slot machine degenerate's grind joints. They have become almost universally despised among those who care about horses and the sport, and are having a world of trouble trying to get horsemen to send decent stock to the tracks they own. That is, those which they haven't already officially destroyed and physically demolished, as they recently did with their grotesquely incompetent management of Hollywood Park, jerking it around and then indifferently closing it recently in a way that caused the maximum possible harm to the sport and the people and animals in it.

All of which is no doubt part of why their handle at the Churchill Downs spring meet plunged right into the toilet, and outside of exactly two days a year the quality of their race cards just plain sucks. If they did not, unfortunately, have their grubby sleazy hands on the one race that is most famous to the one-day-a-year type fans who don't know anything about it and aren't aware of it (or anything else that's not on TV at any particular moment) for the other 364 days, CD would be a minor track if not just plain out of the business altogether, and everyone else would be much better off for it.

That was the tactful polite version; I'm holding back on what I really think of these cretinous scumbags. Buzz & Mickey, when you have time would you please go see some fat guys in Louisville about a thing?

Quote:

Just too tough with rake going up and up. It boggles my mind its going up again.

I have a simple solution for you! Avoid the tracks owned by CDI (Churchill Downs, Inc), especially the one in Louisville (other CDI owned tracks of note include Arlington Park and Calder Race Course). If you do, it isn't going up. At the thriving New York tracks it went down a little on some wagers. And if CDI is competing for a new slot license where you live, I really recommend opposing them in favor of just about any other applicant, or none at all. Unless you hate horseys and throw rocks at puppies and strangle kittens in your spare time.

EDIT: A few references from the local New Orleans press to give a flavor of a part of what some of us grumpy sounding ones are talking about here, in case anyone is curious. From the major daily paper in New Orleans (I lived there once) which is the New Orleans Times-Picayune (or NOLA.com in their web version):

Under oath, Churchill Downs representatives pledge change to Fair Grounds by next season

Churchill Downs Inc. promises improvements to Fair Grounds by next season, despite skepticism by Louisiana State Racing Commission

Louisiana Racing Commission grants Churchill Downs Inc. one-year license on conditional basis

I have to support Arlington, because I care about Illinois racing. But I don't bet on Churchill tracks any other times (Except Derby Day).

Churchill just wants to operate slot parlors. I think everything is cyclical, and I think eventually people will get sick of slot machines, because they are simply boring and take your money. CDI has made a lot of money, but I think their strategy will ultimately be their downfall long range.

Well, I'm not under any illusions that calling for some kind of unified action and singing "Solidarity Forever" would have much value in these things. At least Arlington hasn't jacked up the takeout, yet. Tending to avoid most races specifically at CD outside of Oaks & Derby days has the virtue of being in every individual's self-interest, since that is where they've jacked up the takeout to ruinous suicidal levels. Outside of the two days in May when the parimutual pools are flooded with dumb money creating some unusual overlays, it just doesn't pay to play most races at the Louisville track now, and is no great shakes for horsemen running in most races there either. I hope somebody else gets a hold of Arlington. Don't know anything about that happening, but one can hope. It has history and I'm told it is a beautiful track the way Duchossois rebuilt it. And if Calder just goes away after being strangled to death by a superior racing product at Gulfstream, personally I can overcome my grief about that one in about the time it took to type this.

Arlington is beautiful (I had my wedding there). Calder - dump. Churchill - huge, nothing really special. Fairgrounds - Never been there, have heard it's nothing special either.

It has been a while for me, but Fairgrounds is something that I think can be kind of special, or kind of not, depending on who has their paws on it. It has a special place in the city. And it is right in the city, and people in New Orleans really do like having it there.

Quote:

(I had my wedding there)

Really?!? She was down wit dat? She got a sister?

http://totalfratmove.com/wes-welker-suspended-for-popping-molly-at-kentucky-derby/


Maybe taking Molly makes you better at picking winners! Then again, this may help the NFL when he sues them for being Brain Dead after all his concussions.

If I had to pick one racetrack as a destination to go to, should I go to Santa Anita or Keeneland?

Quote: teddys

If I had to pick one racetrack as a destination to go to, should I go to Santa Anita or Keeneland?

I like Santa Anita a lot, and have spent a lot of time there, and still feel a little thrill when I get near the big joint. But if you could only ever go to one: Keeneland. In my estimation (and a lot of things you could objectively count that tend to have dollar signs attached) Saratoga and Keeneland are the absolute tops on this side of the planet, and I think which wins out between those two is just a matter of individual taste, and Keeneland would win my vote for most holy shrine of the sport. But Santa Anita is still worthy of being mentioned in the same paragraph with those two, if you're making a top ten or even top five racetrack pilgrimage list, in my opinion.

ADDENDUM - Here's a nice collection of photos someone did for the 150th anniversary of Saratoga:
http://elariophotography.com/saratoga-race-course/

I think I've got something similar for Keeneland (my home office screensaver is a slideshow of Keeneland scenes) and I'll put that here when I find it. I'm not sure if I've got anything like that handy for Santa Anita.

Okay, here's a little photo gallery Keeneland has on their site, but you can probably find a lot more if you search around a bit:
http://www.keeneland.com/discover/gallery

Quote: teddys

If I had to pick one racetrack as a destination to go to, should I go to Santa Anita or Keeneland?

tough to pick one but santa anita, keeneland, saratoga and arlington are all high on the list.

Quote: DrawingDead

It has been a while for me, but Fairgrounds is something that I think can be kind of special, or kind of not, depending on who has their paws on it. It has a special place in the city. And it is right in the city, and people in New Orleans really do like having it there.

Really?!? She was down wit dat? She got a sister?

And she let me name my oldest daughter after the best filly/mare of all time (no, not ruffian), so I'm a pretty lucky guy. We honeymooned at del mar, 5 years ago. Good times.

Quote: teddys

If I had to pick one racetrack as a destination to go to, should I go to Santa Anita or Keeneland?

I'd go keeneland and take some tours of horse farms while you're there. Perfect time to go would be november 2015 for breeders cup.

Shame on you! You named that poor little girl Groupie Doll.

Quote: DrawingDead

Shame on you! You named that poor little girl Groupie Doll.

I would guess Rachel A....

My vote: Keeneland, in the Fall, with the leaves changing colors. Lexington is a special place for equine fans.

Delaware Park used to be awful pretty !

Quote: Keeneone

I would guess Rachel A....

My vote: Keeneland, in the Fall, with the leaves changing colors. Lexington is a special place for equine fans.

Of course I was kidding about Groupie Doll. I'm sure he named her Regret.