Saratoga on a loser as Rachel Alexandra goes to Monmouth
Like everyone who has backed a horse to get themselves out of trouble the New York Racing Association had been banking on Rachel Alexandra running at their prestigious Saratoga summer meeting.
For those in Britain who bridled at a fourth day for the Cheltenham Festival, thought that a fifth day of Royal Ascot was too much or just cannot understand how anyone can summon up the blood and stiffen the sinew for long enough to survive the seven-day indulgence-fest that is the Galway Festival, this American institution is not simply from another continent but another planet.
The original summer meeting, of which the Travers Stakes dates back to 1864, was a quick-fire four days but the NYRA has stretched to a record of 40 days for this summer. Sadly the NYRA’s finances are not so elastic, which is why they were so glad to have Rachel Alexandra arrive at Saratoga earlier this week for her summer quarters.
It was assumed that her trainer, Steve Asmussen, had been preparing for Rachel Alexandra for either the Ruffian Handicap on August 1st or Saratoga’s Personal Ensign Stakes four weeks later and the track executive are promoting her residence on the course with promotional activities. However, three weeks before the opening day came the bad news. Jess Jackson, who owns Rachel Alexandra in partnership with Harold McCormick, has said that filly will run next in the Lady’s Secret Stakes at Monmouth Park July 24th.
Unlike the Grade One alternatives, the Lady's Secret is an ungraded race and its prize money of $150,000 is only guaranteed if Rachel Alexandra runs; and there has been no mention of appearance fees. “We had a great experience at Monmouth Park,” Jackson told the Daily Racing Form, “and we appreciate the overwhelming show of support the fans there have given us. It's the perfect place to start what we hope will be another championship run.”
Last season’s run that took Rachel Alexandra to the Horse of the Year title included a six-length win in the Grade One Haskell Invitational Stakes at Monmouth – and also the Woodward - and Bob Kulina, the track's vice president and general manager, said: “Having Rachel return will be an exciting moment for racing fans in New Jersey and would undoubtedly be one of the highlights of our season.”
The NYRA may have been unprepared for this move but its president, Charles Hayward, said in a prepared statement: “We are puzzled and disappointed that Rachel Alexandra, who performed so well at Saratoga last year, is passing up the Grade One Ruffian to run in a non-graded race at Monmouth over the same distance. We remain hopeful that the Saratoga fans will have the opportunity to see Rachel later in the meet.”
Hope has been a scarce commodity within the NYRA in recent times. The NYRA, which runs Aqueduct, Saratoga and Belmont, have been trying to balance the books for the last eight months. In December there were doubts that the group would be still be operating due to its parlous financial situation.
The NYRA’s ship was only kept afloat through a $25million state loan in late last month just to stave off a shutdown and fund this summer’s racing. The NYRA is still awaiting funds that would be derived from a plan to install video slot machines at Aqueduct. This would generate revenues of approximately $1million per day, not only securing the future of all three tracks but also providing long-term capital to the state and $200million in licensing fees that is sorely needed to fill this year’s budget deficit.
The decision to expand the Saratoga is a calculated gamble. It is a profit generator for the NYRA, attracting more than 900,000 customers and taking in $513million in total on and off-track wagering last year.
But the crowd at last year’s meet was the lowest since 1997 and on-course business has dropped 9% in two years, which equates to difference of something like $10million.
As one NYRA board member said grimly: “If you adjust for inflation, you’d have to go back more than 60 years to reach wagering numbers that are that low in New York. We’ve really taken the brunt of it. It would be a big win if NYRA can duplicate the numbers from last year.”
Hayward is preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. “We are getting close to the bottom,” he said: “If we were flat on attendance, that would be great,” he said, adding: “the rest of it is really going to be the weather.”
Doubtless he is backing a sunny outlook with an appearance by Rachel Alexandra as a silver lining to any cloud.
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