Wednesday, November 07, 2007

No More Beer!

The latest hit to Maryland racing has nothing to do with purse money or slots. The fine folks at the Maryland Jockey Club have announced that they will no longer allow patrons to bring beer into the grandstands for the Preakness Stakes.
"Fans at next year's Preakness will not be allowed to bring alcohol bought outside the track into the grandstand and clubhouse areas of Pimlico Race Course, ending a long-standing tradition."
I think this may have a greater impact than one may think. If you have ever gone to the Preakness, you would know that about half of the grandstand patrons bring beer, lots of beer! If these people are forced to purchase alcohol inside a $5 a pop, they will be taking away from the one one thing that matters most, HANDLE. If all 10,000 grandstand patrons buy 1 beer at $5, for a total of $50,000, that is $50,000 less they have to bet. OK, this is peanuts in the whole scheme of the total handle, but I did not have much else to post about today. My idea.......Not less beer, MORE Beer, and give it to the right people!

2 comments:

Nick said...

Doesn't more of that $5 wind up in the track's pocket if it's spent on beer? I'd imagine the profit on a $5 beer is more than the takeout on a $5 bet.

Alan Mann said...

I think that the alcohol ban at the Belmont Stakes has had a bigger effect on attendance than NYRA would like to admit.

 

blogger templates | Make Money Online