Sat, 18 May 1996
Hi Al,
I've had info to send you, but I had been a wee bit too busy to send it along. However,
Preakness telecast over, so no time like the present.
First, the most wonderful news for TX is that Lone Star simulcasting is continuing to do well. The numbers in attendance have dropped from opening weekend (~4-5,00 down to 2500-3000), but the handle has done well, now running around $600,000+ per day (weekday number). This is a good sign.
Even more astounding, is that the attendance at Lone Star does not seem to be pulling attendance away from Trinity Meadows very much. Take, for instance, these figures written up in the Dallas Morning News for May 11th: LSP attendance was 3180, handle $663,585. TM on that date in 1995 had an attendance of 2457, handle of $664,929. This year, TM had 1850 people w/$348,704 in handle. This means that we have increased the market by, say, half again. Wow. This couldn't be better news.
It seems the TTA has made it on to the web at http://www.equineonline.com/ttba/ They have info on the TTA itself, the Tx accreditation programs, upcoming sales, etc. Anyone who has ideas about what the TTA might like to offer on their page that they don't have can e-mail the editor, Brock Sheridan at brocks@texas.net I have already sent some suggestions along. The more the merrier.
I'm anxiously awaiting the yearling sale, which is August 19-20 in Ft. Worth. I have a long time to wait. Fasig-Tipton is also having a yearling sale--in Houston at the polo grounds, on Sept 23rd. I have no idea how many entries they will have, but the Ft. Worth sale has 585, which is pretty high. Maybe since things are going well at Lone Star, we'll have alot of buyers,...I hope.
Retama is repairing their racing surface under the supervision of Dennis Moore, track superintendant at Los Alamitos, in order to be ready for the June 8 opening date for this year's TB meet. Apparently, the surface had had too much clay, making it slow to drain water. Not that that should be any problem this year, as dry as it STILL is. And it looks as if opening day will be all TX accredited races, including 3 stakes.
One horse that probably won't be there on opening day is Sally's FirstChoice, the Barcelona colt we sold. Ken Shuffield e-mailed me that he had run into Neil Locke at SHRP and had asked him how Sally was. Neil reported that Sally had come back from his last race with a sore knee, and that he had since sold him. I have no idea who has him now, whether they are into racing or something else. I had noticed that the Lockes had sold a number of the 3 yos that they had had last year running with Sally. I had figured they had sold him--maybe to NM, Ariz, or Mexico. Maybe they sold him to someone as a hunter--who knows? Such is racing. I'd still like to find out what is happening with Itchy Knickers, the other colt we sold that year (he is now a 3yo).
Well, seeing as it's Roger's B-day, I guess I ought to go spend some time with him. I hope all is well with you and yours (tell them I said hi).
Later. Jill
The Running Horse (http://www.isd1.com/alauck)