tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266573065584680131.post7919952506293161191..comments2023-05-23T06:58:05.579-04:00Comments on Fugue for Tinhorns: All hail Hialeah, may she live to race againGlenn Cravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09760553404742644042noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266573065584680131.post-75296314528450639662009-06-11T20:47:09.884-04:002009-06-11T20:47:09.884-04:00I did read your QH post over at your site, once it...I did read your QH post over at your site, once it got through my thick skull that you were The Dresden File guy and I hadn't read your page in the last week or so. I should've commented in the thread to let you know I was there.Glenn Cravenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09760553404742644042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266573065584680131.post-53656176572764482572009-06-11T18:18:58.240-04:002009-06-11T18:18:58.240-04:00I generally agree with your "If they pay it, ...I generally agree with your "If they pay it, they will come" - approach. I've recently <a href="http://thedresdenfile.blogspot.com/2009/05/quarters-to-square-rectangle-and-other.html" rel="nofollow"> written</a> about the QH situation at PrM. <br /><br />Admittedly, my MN info is a bit older, but the bottom line is the same: wherever QH racing doesn't have at least either tradition or its target audience, the sport attracts far less attention than the T-breds. It's still attractive for racinos because of the lower cost, but unlike Prairie Meadows or Canterbury, a Hialeah QH track would have to compete with established racinos/pelotinos at Calder, Dania, Flagler, Miami JA, Hollywood DT and Gulfstream.<br /><br />More importantly, Hialeah is by default a premium provider (you can't run a bottom product meet in high-end surroundings), so a QH meet will just seem unfamiliar to both audiences.malcerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02913127739083446726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266573065584680131.post-42927836910241244962009-06-11T17:11:19.140-04:002009-06-11T17:11:19.140-04:00I agree with your assessment that QH racing will d...I agree with your assessment that QH racing will do better in the panhandle of Florida. Those folks are a bit more country than South Florida, to say the least.<br /><br />Is Quarter Horse racing doing that badly in Iowa and Minnesota? They aren't Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and parts Southwest, but I thought it was holding its own.<br /><br />I know they have three QH trials tomorrow night at Indiana Downs, small purses ($6,250) but that's the way it is outside of the QH meccas, so to speak. And they have 8, 8 and 10 entries in the three races. They're at the end of the card.<br /><br />Canterbury Park has at least five QH trials this weekend, with 9 and 8 entries on Friday, 7-7-7 in three races on Saturday. Purses there are lower, at $3,000, paltry even by Canterbury's TB standards. But they do have entries.<br /><br />Prairie Meadows' QH meet (combined with TBs, which are already under way) runs from July 27 to Sept. 19 with five days of racing per week. The stakes schedule features 21 races during that span, some IA-bred and others open and ranging up to G2, with purses from $20,000 to $70,000 (Bank of America Central Championship Challenge).<br /><br />I'm a firm believer that anything there's money for, there'll be competitors for, and competition begets betting. If Skoal sponsored a $100,000 purse for the champion at spitting for distance, there'd be a Vegas line on it.Glenn Cravenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09760553404742644042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266573065584680131.post-80183427373760451562009-06-11T16:43:42.067-04:002009-06-11T16:43:42.067-04:00Hope springs eternal, but QH racing has been unabl...Hope springs eternal, but QH racing has been unable to gain a meaningful customer base in easier confines, such as Iowa or Minnesota, which have more of a western tradition, and no competition from Jai Alai pelot-inos (I claim copyright on that word!) and Greyhound racinos.<br /><br />I just can't see that Florida fanbase with decades of watching Thoroughbreds to suddenly embrace QH racing. Not to mention that QH and a beautiful but somewhat regal facility like Hialeah don't quite match, IMO.<br /><br />I have nothing whatsoever against QH racing (although I'm not interested in it at all), but I'm pretty sure QH fans will agree that it's a differently-spirited sport with a different target audience, not just a cheaper alternative for the T-breds. Actually, I think it may have more potential in the North/Panhandle areas of Florida.malcerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02913127739083446726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266573065584680131.post-5670134644133403612009-06-11T15:46:01.673-04:002009-06-11T15:46:01.673-04:00Maybe you're right, and maybe it is a "Ha...Maybe you're right, and maybe it is a "Hail Mary." But slots and a poker room could add up to pretty good revenue, and since stables would have to be built for the Quarter Horses, that opens the way to stabling Thoroughbreds there at other times, for other dates.<br /><br />I wouldn't dismiss Quarter Horse racing as not being able to build a fan base. If the track is open for other wagering, or just for people to drop by and look at, some folks will start watching the Quarters. And this isn't the first location to make an attempt to race Quarters. I'm not sure what-all is holding up the Hamilton Downs track (the endangered "gopher turtles," I hear) but if there were two facilities -- one extreme north, one in the south -- the game has a chance.<br /><br />There's an organization promoting it, anyway: http://www.fqhra.com/Glenn Cravenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09760553404742644042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266573065584680131.post-79354763512258445542009-06-11T05:56:22.406-04:002009-06-11T05:56:22.406-04:00I'm with Minor on this one: it's only a th...I'm with Minor on this one: it's only a thinly veiled attempt to get some slot revenue, or at best a helpless Hail Mary attempt. <br /><br />Given the already existing over-saturation of the South Florida casino market it's extremely unlikely that this source of income will be sufficient to grow Hialeah back into a meaningful racetrack. As a sporting event QH racing has no potential whatsoever in a state with a rich history in other modes of racing, but no QH fanbase to speak of.<br /><br />I have no reason to doubt Brunetti's honest love for Hialeah, but I also have no reason to believe in a future for the track as long as he is running it.malcerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02913127739083446726noreply@blogger.com