Welcome to Simulcastland

The owners of Philadelphia Park, Greenwood Racing, Inc. recently announced their wishes to leave the remodeled racino as is and not build a new slots facility next door or complete the renovations that would turn the racino back into a premiere racing facility.

The recently remodeled racino was designed with the intent to make horseplayers as uncomfortable as possible and it has succeeded in driving horseplayers away, live and simulcast handle are way down.

The message for horseplayers is clear, stay home and bet on Philadelphia Park’s cable outlet, Phonebet TV (which is what I do) or plant your ass at one of their simulcasting Turf Clubs in the Philadelphia area. It doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots when you look at the fact that across the Delaware River in New Jersey, Greenwood is a partner in a series of OTBs set to open across the state. The newest one proposed in Cherry Hill, about 15 miles from Philly Park. One has to ask oneself why Greenwood Racing would spend millions building OTB facilities in NJ and at the same time spend hundreds of millions totally renovating Philadelphia Park. The answer to that is pretty obvious.

If nothing changes soon and thoroughbred racing at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park cease as predicted, there will, in effect, be nowhere to actually watch live thoroughbred in New Jersey or eastern Pennsylvania. Welcome to Simulcastland.

I Remember Extreme Exclusivity

When I became a fan the only slot machines were Las Vegas. There was no simulcasting, no OTB, no telephone wagering on cell phones or otherwise and no internet. If you wanted to place a bet off track you had to know a bookie and I didn’t know any bookies. If I wanted to bet on a race I got in the car and my dad drove us to Aqueduct, Belmont or Monmouth Park. Between November when Aqueduct closed (there was no inner track in those days) and mid-March when it reopened; I never bet on a race, I did not know it at the time but I was experiencing what you might call extreme exclusivity; one track, one race at a time and twenty five minutes to think about the next race. I did not feel deprived.

Nowadays here in PA I have so many opportunities to place a bet my head spins. On any given Saturday, I can bet on literally hundreds of races. I can bet off-track at a Turf Club, on my phone and/or the internet. I usually bet on the internet but if Phonebet’s servers go down I experience AB Server Unavailable Anxiety Syndrome (ABSUAS) My blood pressure rises and small anger rises in me when I can’t get a wager in with the click of a mouse in less than two seconds, so I click again, no response. I feel deprived. I go to Plan B. I get up walk all the way across the family room pick up the phone and press speed dial #1 ( yes Phonebet is #1 on my speed dial, are you surprised?) Ah, relief as I hear Welcome to Phonebet, and I am prompted to enter my account number and PIN. I no longer feel deprived.