The City of Oklahoma City has a proposal to demolish the State Fair Speedway to make way for a Grand Entrance and other buildings on the property.

A group has formed to combat this action. They are submiting the facility to the Historical Society, organized a vote against the MAPS3 Funding which would pay for the project etc.

While seaching for an early photograph of the grandstands I ran across an article that covered the early histoy of the Fair Grounds.

This particular sentence caught my eye.

In 1913 the state legislature banned gambling on horse races, souring one of the Fair's popular attractions.

But the public's interest in automobiles and air flight was exploited as the fair held car races and, sponsored hot air balloons and beginning in 1912, air shows.

Query, Do Horse Race Fans attend because they are allowed to bet on the races, or do they genuinely enjoy Horse Racing? Apparently not in the early 1900s, as identified in this story.
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/S/ST021.html

Marketing opportunity, AMP.

Over in Japan there is a flat track race that is a betting race. The bikes have real funky looking handle bars!! There is no cheering for the riders so all you hear is the bikes. I want to say that the race is actualy done on asphault.. I may be wrong? Anyone else ever see this??

Rüger

On any sunday 2

I have seen it, Kawasaki had a movie machine that was available to dealers. We had one, and there was footage of those events on one of the tapes from Kawasaki.

Appeared they had a large crowd at those events.

From Parimutual to Calcutta, there are many different formats to allow wagering on sporting events. Simple admendment to a states existing gambling law could bring this back into play. The Horse People, Golfers, and Bowlers were able to get this done.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcutta_auction

150r357 wrote:

QUOTE:
Over in Japan there is a flat track race that is a betting race. The bikes have real funky looking handle bars!! There is no cheering for the riders so all you hear is the bikes. I want to say that the race is actualy done on asphault.. I may be wrong? Anyone else ever see this??

Rüger

Japanese Speedway One:
http://www.flattrack.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=46&func=view&id=29422&catid=3#29422


Japanese Speedway Two:
http://www.flattrack.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=46&func=view&id=31542&catid=3#31542

Dale

Delaware county fairgrounds, a buet of a halfmile,60000 people always gather there on the 3rd thur of sept for the LITTLE BROWN JUG , the 2nd leg of race horse pacings triple crown,$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ everywere,650,000 dollar purse, grown ups acting like fools cause the horse they bet on didnt win, ( I put 2.00 on one race,won 14.00, horse I picked (PLEASE DONT SQEEZE THE BABY, name of the horse I picked won the race. My point is a local horse race at our MARION COUNTY FAIR GROUNDS where betting is little to none, hardly has any spectators, talk is they may do away with the hayburners cause they lose $$$ on them during the fair.I would be willing to bet, that betting has more to play on atten at DELAWARE with big money involved then people there to watch a horse run the mile in 1.55. I would just as soon go to watch a bike run the mile in 36 to 40 sec and not lose money on a bet.

To add to Chew's comments, above:
This past year, we attended one of these Delaware horse races, courtesy of company money footing the bill. Once there, we discovered that EACH of the two Grandstand tickets we held cost $360. Had we not been issued a parking pass, that would have been $20.00 more. So, nearly $800 for two people.
When we got inside, the place was PACKED. There we were, mingling with people who were almost DRIPPING $50s like pocket change, seated on the front straight of the beautiful track... and WE were the only people watching the race. Every one else that we saw had their backs towards the track, watching the closed-circuit action on their portable TV sets, as close to the betting booths as they could get. It was miserable, in actuality. The highlight of our day was doing the best Blue Collar Beverly Hillbillies impressions we could, and watching the looks of disgust and shock on these snotty snobs' faces.
We have WAY more fun at the flat track races, where we can shake hands to greet friends instead of receiving pretentious air-kisses, and we can snap a photo of a Pit Pooch in shades, rather than hear some hag whining that she "and hubby almost didn't make it because the sitter backed out on watching the dog, and you just can't leave a PUREbred with ANYone..."
-Mia

Kevin, Mia......
People will gamble on most anything.
Flat Track is an untapped resource.

Granted not all rainbows.
Such being said...... imagine the possiblities.

Televised Event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjrfCm1rW2Q

Minute 4:03 captures one of many great position changes.

Dale

I neither condemn nor condone gambling, personally. The description of our Brown Jug adventure was merely meant to portray the difference in the crowds of people at each event.
The sportsbar I work at attracts a large portion of its customers with online State gambling... lottery drawings every four minutes. Believe me, I see the pros and cons of it on a daily basis!
I'm not saying anything bad about horse racing or the Brown Jug, either. I spent my teen and college years in Delaware (Ohio), where the "Jug" is held. The event has a HUGE influence on the community. Kids get off of school on the day of the big race. Parades are held. We even have "Little Brown Jug" as the official Town Song. It brings in a lot of the stuff that pays bills, and we all knew it.
I further confess, we have friends who are involved in the hayburner racing community. In fact, there are a few "Winner's Circle" photos hanging at Scioto Downs in which I am awkwardly posing.
When the question was asked, in the initial thread, whether people who come to the horse races come to watch the races or to gamble... well, that's where I was going with my previous thread. These people had the PRIME SEATING! Canopy-covered private tables all along the front straightaway... clear view of the entire track...it would have been a spectator's dream site for any race. When the racing began, however, there was not an eye on the track. Crowds were huddled around tiny monitors near the betting booth. Grown men were jumping up and down in their mirror-glossed shoes and screaming, "Get her, Baby, Get her Baby, Come on! Give it to Daddy!" and waving their tickets in the air like Charlie in that Chocolate Factory movie. One suit-clad older man shredded his ticket, sobbing curses, and left after race one... and he had paid nearly $400 just to BE here. Just how much had he wagered on that RACE???
Bored wives of gamblers and horse owners mingled in the pavilion, with falsetto smiles and airkisses followed by smirks and catty behind-the-back remarks. It was a totally different crowd than we see at the flat track, and I'm not sure that I liked it at all.
The people who DO like to watch the races? The "average guys" who just like the action, and don't have a spare dollar to wager? They were mainly clustered outside of the stands, standing on lawnchairs to peer over the fence. A lot of people couldn't afford TICKETS, much less betting slips, and they gathered like peasants preparing to storm the Bastille.
As for the possibilities, I think it is a good thing to contemplate any and all of the "what-ifs" that could impact The Sport as long as we consider both the profits AND the costs. Sometimes, the biggest costs are not financial ones, JMHO.
-Mia

I spent the afternoon with Chuck E. Cheese.
I pondered, just how does Mr. Cheese do it?

I observed.

Mr. Cheese captivates the children who then convince
elders to drop silly amounts of cash on Pizza and Gaming.

Buy the tokens, play the games, collect the coupons, cash
said coupons in in for a wiggly straw.

Over and over.... all day long.

Marketing. Right?

What / who is Flat Tracks demographic target?

Gamblers are simply a sure bet. Pun intended.

Dale

You know Dale, the more I think about it, it could be a wide open untapped resorce, for -sure.I lucked out at THE LITTLE BROWN JUG horse race though, I made a 2 dollar bet and won 14 back, my past history as far as the horses go has been, telling MIA it will be the 5 horse, the 7 horse 2nd and the 4 horse third, they finish that way if I stay away from the betting window and keep my loot in me pocket. When, the few times I have put a few dollars on the ponies, the 4 horse is slow, I mean my 92 year old grama could out run it in her fuzzy slippers, the number 7 horse will run the wrong way on the track and the number 5 horse who i bet would win would break down with a foot or leg injury on the 3 quarter mark. T0 make a long story short, should it come to betting on the bikes, I better just stay away from the betting windows and just watch. I DONT WANT TO JINX ANY OF OUR BELOVED RIDERS. LOL CHEW