Philadelphia Park to Uncle Frank? Handle is Sure to Zoom

Philadelphia Park to Uncle Frank? Handle is Sure to Zoom Apr 2, 2016 10:46:16 GMT -5

Quote

Post by Jon on Apr 2, 2016 10:46:16 GMT -5

Good or bad?

Philadelphia Park to Uncle Frank? Handle is Sure to Zoom
PTP

John Pricci broke some news yesterday - Philly Park is supposedly under consideration to be purchased by Frank Stronach.

This purchase, if it goes through, would likely inject some energy into the mid-Atlantic region of tracks, and create a circuit, which should increase field size and improve racing quality. In addition, Parx under the Stronach umbrella would likely complete revamp the betting menu, moving takeout to reasonable levels.

That should, in my view, massively increase handle. We have some history to go by.

When Gulfstream took over the Calder meet, handle soared (for the apples to apples 40 day meet) from $58 million to $142 million. This was achieved through consolidation of the circuit, changes to the betting menu and using the GP brand to re-brand Calder. It is also pertinent to note, this was done with Calder not even having a grandstand.

Philadelphia Park (OK, Parx, I can't help myself), has some serious revenues. About $500 million dollars are earned through their slot machines per year, resulting in massive purses for the Keystone StateI would predict that if Frank ends up owning and managing the track, we'd see a consolidation of racedates, and if the betting menu is revamped, a doubling of average daily handle within a year.

What we've seen lately in racing is a consolidation of dates, and fewer races put on just for the sake of putting on races. This, if passed, is simply another spoke in the industry maturation wheel.
flagship track. This has not translated to higher handle.

I would predict that if Frank ends up owning and managing the track, we'd see a consolidation of racedates, and if the betting menu is revamped, a doubling of average daily handle within a year.

What we've seen lately in racing is a consolidation of dates, and fewer races put on just for the sake of putting on races. This, if passed, is simply another spoke in the industry maturation wheel.

Philadelphia Park to Uncle Frank? Handle is Sure to Zoom Apr 3, 2016 10:11:01 GMT -5

Quote

Post by Evelyn on Apr 3, 2016 10:11:01 GMT -5

How will the horsemen will manage to work with the strong minded Stronach.

If Parx is Up for Grabs, Horsemen Want In
TD Thornton
TDN

After learning that the live racing portion of operations at Parx Casino and Racing might be up for bid and that The Stronach Group (TSG) could be the lead suitor to take over, the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (PTHA) has moved swiftly to initiate negotiations with Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment Inc., the track’s corporate owner, about managing the suburban Philadelphia track.

“When we became aware that Stronach was going to talk to them, I approached [Greenwood] and said ‘If you’re interested in doing this, we would like to be participants and have a similar discussion with you,’ and they agreed,” PTHA president Salvatore DeBunda said in a Friday phone interview.

While DeBunda readily acknowledged the rumors that have been swirling for several weeks about a potential change in racing operations at Parx, getting the other parties to confirm their levels of involvement remains elusive.

Joe Wilson, Greenwood’s chief operating officer, did not return a Friday voicemail message requesting comment prior to deadline for this story.

Tim Ritvo, TSG’s chief operating officer, told TDN he was not at liberty to say whether or not his company is in the process of brokering a deal with Parx, although he did acknowledge that scenario is “not totally out of left field.”

TSG owns six United States racetracks, and over the past year has demonstrated remarkable commitment to revitalizing Laurel Park. In the mid-Atlantic region, TSG also owns Pimlico Race Course, and Ritvo has been on the record since last summer about TSG’s desire to bring the mid-Atlantic tracks together to form a cooperative circuit.

At any given time of the year, tracks in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and West Virginia are all competing for essentially the same shrinking population of horses. To consolidate operational costs while enhancing the region’s racing product, TSG has floated a number of ideas, such as establishing a “centralized racing office.” Having TSG take over the racing aspects at Parx could be a major step toward eliminating overlapping regional race dates while boosting both field sizes and betting handles.

“A lot of stuff I’m reading [about TSG and Parx] is not true,” Ritvo said. “But we’re always out there trying to figure out what makes the most sense in the mid-Atlantic. We’ve talked to Delaware. We’ve reached out to a bunch of jurisdictions to see who wants to talk about what a competitive race schedule looks like, but that’s really all of where we’re at. There’s stuff I have to be careful with. I just can’t say much right now.”

Although the “less is more” approach to bolstering pari-mutuel business sounds like a worthwhile idea in theory, in practice it has been difficult to get horsemen in any U.S. region to give up race dates for the sake of harmonization among competing tracks.

“We have a live racing agreement that’s in effect [through 2018], and we would assume that any provisions of that live racing agreement would govern no matter who owns or manages the Parx racing,” DeBunda said. “There are dates in there and a lot of other things that have to do with regulation between Parx racing and the PTHA.”