NYRA Screws Up Big Time On Belmont Day.

Well -there's one advantage to getting older and not wanting to deal with crowds! I'm glad we stayed away and had our own party!

So much for hiring a CEO and a "Chief Experience Officer". both with zilch racing experience, for big bucks! But, with this NYRA, I won't be suirpirsed when bonuises are announced for both of them! Well - Cuomo showed. The question is was that a plus? LOL Bet he had no problems arriving late and leaving as soon as his cameo photo op was over!

From Forbes:

Belmont Stakes: A+ For Racing, But Customer Service Fails
By Teresa Genaro Contributor

California Chrome didn’t win the Triple Crown, but within hours of his failed bid to make racing history, the New York Racing Association declared Belmont Stakes day a success, pointing to high attendance and record-setting handle numbers.

Official attendance was 102,199, lower than the announced (and oft-questioned) attendance of 120,139 in 2004, Smarty Jones’ Triple Crown bid, but the third highest on record. On-track handle (money wagered) was $19,105,877; all-sources handle (money wagered on the races on- and off-site) was $150,249,399. Those numbers are up 23% and17% respectively from the previous records, both set in 2004.

NYRA president and CEO Chris Kay and senior vice president of racing operations Martin Panza re-envisioned the day of the Belmont Stakes this year, shifting major stakes races like the Metropolitan Handicap from other summer weekends to the day of the Belmont, in attempt to “build a day that is comparable to the Breeders’ Cup,” said Kay in February. He also said that the goal was to “introduce the casual fan to all that is great about horse racing.”

The quality of the racing was undeniable. A Triple Crown bid brings with it inherent excitement, but the Belmont Stakes was arguably overshadowed by races on the undercard, including a win in the Metropolitan Handicap by Palace Malice, last year’s Belmont winner who is now undefeated in 2014 and possibly the best older horse in training, an early candidate for Horse of the Year.

The Ogden Phipps featured the country’s three top older fillies, Beholder (2013 3-year-old filly champion), Princess of Sylmar, and Close Hatches, who all finished within strides of each other, the latter getting the win by a head.

The weather was spectacular, and Belmont’s massive grounds filled as soon as the gates opened at 8 am. The stage was set to do exactly what Panza and Kay had hoped: to show off the best of what Thoroughbred racing, and Belmont Park, has to offer.

Glitches began early, as people who had purchased parking passes ahead of time showed up in assigned lots, only to be told that the lots were full and they were on their own. By mid-afternoon, hours before post time for the Belmont Stakes, evidence of inadequate planning and execution was plentiful. Lines for bathrooms, particularly the women’s rooms, were long. Concession stands ran out of hot dog rolls, water, and beer. Ushers were ineffective in preventing those with general admission tickets from sitting in reserved seats, creating acrimony when ticketed patrons showed up, and unsafe conditions as post time for the Belmont arrived, with people crowding aisles, making them impassable.

Despite assertions from NYRA that cell and wifi services would be bulked up in anticipation of a big crowd, service was largely non-existent for most of the day, obliterating the possibility of mobile wagering, which would have been an attractive alternative to the long lines at the betting windows, staffed by poorly trained reinforcements brought in for the day.

s the day came to an end, the situation was worsened. Edith Wharton wrote in 1920 that “Americans want to get away from amusement even more quickly than they want to get to it,” and that is as true today as it was a century ago, but on Saturday night, NYRA’s customers waited literally hours before they could get on a Long Island Railroad train or out of the parking lots. The Belmont was run at 6:52; at 10:00, people were still waiting to leave.

Customers reported that there was no one directing traffic out of the lots, that they were unlit, and that there were no clear lanes for exiting. Local police set up what seemed to be nonsensical patterns on roadways, confusing drivers.

A NYRA spokesperson told the New York Times that the train problems were an “L.I.R.R. issue,” and indeed they were, but as lines spilled back into the grandstand and waiting passengers were told to get off the platform because police feared it was unsafe, and as people tweeted about the complete absence of any assistance in the parking lot, the silence from the New York Racing Association was astounding. “Come,” they seemed to say. “It will be a great day.” But when it’s over? You’re on your own.

For the first time in recent years, there was racing at Belmont Park on the day after the Belmont Stakes; piles of garbage remained from the day before, and the Daily News reported that Kay and other executives had taken the day off, as their employees, many of whom had worked 12+ hour-days without a day off for weeks to prepare for the Triple Crown bid, tried to get the place ready to receive whoever showed up to wager on yesterday’s races. (Curiously, the official attendance, at the end of the chart for yesterday’s races, reads “zero.”)

There has so far been no comment from NYRA on the problems customers faced at Belmont on Saturday, a day that the organization had planned as a way to introduce people to horse racing and to create new customers. Tens of thousands of people left Belmont on Saturday with, no doubt, some positive impressions of what a day at the races can be like. But tens of thousands also left having had a terrible experience, and they are not likely to return. A card of graded stakes races isn’t likely to obliterate memories of many unpleasant hours.

Last month NYRA hired a chief experience officer whose role during this year’s Belmont Stakes was largely to observe. Among her first priorities should be an analysis of what happened, of how an organization that had to expect at least 100,000 people to show up failed to prepare adequately on one of the few days that Thoroughbred racing attracts the attention of the general public.

Kay’s mantra since he assumed leadership at NYRA last July has been “enhanced customer experience.” Poor planning, insufficient supplies, and inadequately prepared staff didn’t do much to enhance his customers’ experience on Saturday. He hoped that Saturday would create new fans, but he might need to worry that he doesn’t lose the ones he already had.

The author of the Forbes article IS a racing columnist and writes for others such as The Saratogian and The Horse, as well. Besides, doesn't take a racing writer to list customer service screw ups. She praised the racing.

George - Why do feel the need to defend this crappy NYRA? C'mon man - they did a rotten job which really sucks since Kay has been all about enhancing "guest experience". This is what they get hiring racing novices. Please - the racing "business" is different than corporate America. Kay's a fraud. He was hired to plan a mall and/or a hotel complex. And he just got a 750K bonus. Yeah - like he deserves that. Less than a year and he mishandled Belmont's biggest day. OK - The Big A got some new TV's and paint - guess that was worth the 750K although some of that 750K should have been used to purchase a new tractor so races don't have to be cancelled!

Can anyone name another track that has a Chief Experience Officer? LOL Who's girlfriend is she? Did her Daddy contribute big $ to Andy? To help pay for these 2, admissions were raised. Yep - excellent "guest experience" - NOT

Pathetic! Kay's statement is completely out of touch with reality. It wasn't just the LIRR.

NYRA Execs take the day off after the Belmont Stakes
BY JERRY BOSSERT
NY Daily News

Despite piles of trash littering the building and backyard, Belmont Park opened for racing on Sunday, a day after California Chrome came up short in the Belmont Stakes.
The horses are here, and so are the jockeys but the door to the executive office on the second-floor at Belmont, where New York Racing Association President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Kay operates out of was locked.

Kay isn’t at Belmont Park on Sunday, the day after California Chrome failed to become horse racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner.

This was the first time NYRA raced the Sunday after the Belmont Stakes since 2006.
Many of the minimum-wage workers, who work two jobs at the track to make a living, arrived for work at the barns around five in the morning on Sunday after an extremely long day of work on Saturday, and then worked the afternoon at the track.

Sure, NYRA set records with on-track handle over $19 million and all source handle over $150 million on Saturday, but at the expense of the fans who attended the Belmont Stakes and expressed their frustrations through the social media site – Twitter – on lack of food, long lines, problems leaving the facility either by car or by the Long Island Rail Road.

Here are some examples:
David B. Clement @clementauctions tweeted “Irony. Kay says it’s all about fan experience. My years attending big events this one failed.”
David Bruder @dbyankees1 tweeted “Kay proved himself unworthy of his position yesterday.”
Laura Albanese @albaneselaura tweeted “People straight up leaving their cars since there hasn’t been movement in about half hour. I’d sleep here were I not afraid for my life.”
John Deyeso @johndeyeso tweeted “Not critiquing acknowledgement of a problem & solutions. Last night was scary & I live here not tourist.”

The NYRA recently hired a new Chief Experience Officer, but she too was off on Sunday.

Later, the NYRA emailed the News a statement, saying it was from Chris Kay that read, “In January, The New York Racing Association engaged in a long term plan to transform Belmont Stakes Day into an outstanding guest experience for our patrons. We believe our first year in the new era of the Belmont Stakes was a smashing success, with more than 102,000 people on hand, perhaps the biggest sporting or entertainment attendance for an event in the New York area this year. In executing duties on such a grand scale, NYRA staff and employees maximized efforts to put on a great show. Fans responded with gusto to our remarkable lineup of 10 stakes races resulting in a record handle of more than $150 million, and enjoyed a lively, diverse entertainment and dining program. At the same time, we recognize the transportation problems that ensued at the end of the day and will work quickly with LIRR officials and local law enfo

Alan once again you try to spin the situation by referring to the Super Bowl and trying to knock the Forbes reporter. NYRA was totally unprepared. Friends of mine from Pittsburgh who come to the Belmont every year said it was crazy. It took them 3 hrs to get out of the parking lot after the had to get thru a maze of uncontrolled moving cars to get to their own. They confirmed everything that was written. No lights no NYRA personnel. How the hell can you over sell preferred parking. You should know how many cars the lots will hold and how many tickets you can sell. And seating explain to me how people without seat tickets got past security. And how do you run out of food. The Belmont is not a one shot deal it happens every year. And no it doesn't happen at every big event. In my 34yrs with the NYPD I was involved with events bigger then the Belmont including mass demonstrations and parades. We planned for the worst case events. Hell with get a million people out of Times Square in an 1/2 hour on News Years Eve. Face it all NYRA wanted was the bucks and didn't give a damn how they got. Kay and NYRA are full of crap and should be run out of town.