Monmouth 2010: Field Size-Purse Size-Starter Fees-Takeout

[Andymays]

We do have a Track that tried several things at once with huge starter fees and huge purses and that would be Monmouth 2010.

Using Monmouth as an example is a little tricky because it is a B Track. I know I played some races there in 2010 because of field size and I believe they had a low takeout P5 that was all the rage.

The author of the article in the next post is comparing Monmouth 2010 to Belmont. You can't really compare an A Track to a B Track in my opinion because New York and California have a large group of loyal followers for the most part.

The Monmouth Experiment was NOT a success in my opinion because purses and starter fees were too high and I believe they ended up with huge increases in handle and field size but they spent more than they took in.

It all goes to optimal pricing and finding the right spot for any given track. Finding the right number for purses, field size, takeout, starter fees if any, is essential to success. The only way to find the optimal price is to play with the numbers until you do.

[Andymays]

http://businessofracing.blogspot.com/20 ... mbers.html

Excerpt:

Field Size: The edge in handle for Belmont is even more impressive when one takes into account that Monmouth averaged 9.0 starters per race during the period, while Belmont barely managed 7.0 starters. Since handle generally increases in an almost linear relationship with field size, it's clear that Belmont would have done even better had it managed to come closer to its long-term target of eight starters per race.

Some of the difference in field size was unquestionably accounted for by the high purses offered at Monmouth, as well as the guarantee of a $1,500 payout for every starter at Monmouth. When you can pick up a $1,500 check for finishing 8th in a $5,000 claimer, the Monmouth entry box looks pretty attractive.

Purses: Monmouth had been touting "a million a day" in purses, and it's true that the condition book did add up to $1 million each day -- but only if you considered not only the 12 races that were actually run, but also the races in the book that weren't used and the extras put up by the racing secretary. In fact, for the 13 days in question, actual purses awarded topped $1 million on only two days, and the average was $807,000 a day, or $67,300 per race. True, that was a lot more than was paid out at Belmont, where purses averaged $452,000 a day, or $46,300 per race. But with higher purses on offer by NYRA at the upcoming Saratoga meet, the per-race difference may not be as big as some New York-based owners and trainers feared.

[Kermit]

I also played some there to support their efforts. I'm an amatuer player and I can only familiarize myself with so many trainer patterns, tracks and jockeys. I do SoCal and New York, some Mid-West. Have to pass on most of the 'others'.

[Andymays]

I also played some there to support their efforts. I'm an amatuer player and I can only familiarize myself with so many trainer patterns, tracks and jockeys. I do SoCal and New York, some Mid-West. Have to pass on most of the 'others'.

Since I stopped buying the form at the lIquor store a couple of years ago and buy online I rarely play more than one track unless they have an unusually strong card. I almost always play So. Cal.