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| By | Keeneland Trip | |
| jeff 4/23/2009 7:14:54 PM | Just a quick update... Day 1 - Thurs I'm sitting here at KEE with some of the guys... I'm on my second beer. We have a table on level 2 right in front of the paddock. Laptops and printouts everywhere. Richard Bauer is here... Stuball... Bill W... Tom S... Charli125... Miesque... Corby from BRIS... Mike Maloney joined us for a while... and a few others.... And we're having an absolute blast. Stuball already paid for his trip. He nailed the exacta in R3... and a then followed that up by (after waiting for what seemed like ages for the results of the nose photo to be announed... and then sitting through an abjection afterwards) cashing on the 50-1 shot (CPace 1) in R8. We're here and having a blast... live racing in a great venue. Win or lose you can't ask for a better day than that. If you're in the Lexington area shoot us an email and make plans to meet up: horseplayersassociation @ gmail . com (remove the blank spaces first) -jp . ~Edited by: jeff on: 4/23/2009 at: 7:14:54 PM~
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| jeff 4/21/2009 7:26:43 PM | Wrap Up Day Two Met with Hank Zeitlin - President and CEO of Equibase. Hank was kind enough to sit down and talk with us - and then introduce us around and give us a tour of the IT Center. I never before realized that Equibase was part of the Jockey Club and just how much they do for all of us. One thing we did do was start a dialog about one area where (my opinion) the industry could do a better job of disseminating information to players: Scratches and changes in real time. I plan to follow up that initial conversation with ideas about accomplishing the desired goal: Getting a system in place where scratches and changes are published on the web in one location in real time. We also met with Keeneland President Nick Nicholson. I can't say enough about the hospitality he has shown us. He really rolled out the red carpet for us. On a crowded Fri afternoon he set us up with a private room... monitors everywhere... a fully stocked fridge... our own betting machine... food and drink vouchers... and even let us present the trophy to the winning connections after race 6. Link: http://www.horseplayersassociation.org/hanapresentation.wmv I have to second what Richard Bauer said about Mike Maloney. I can't say enough good things about this guy. Not only did he pass out HANA flyers and talk to people for us, and let us use his private "office," I found him to be completely laid back, open, and approachable about his handicapping. How many serious players can you say that about? We had dinner with him tonight - at a place where he knows the owner... we talked horses and betting and told jokes and just had a good time... Like I said, I'm just blown away by the hospitality everybody here has shown us. -jp . ~Edited by: jeff on: 4/21/2009 at: 7:26:43 PM~
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| jeff 4/19/2009 1:23:31 AM | Day 3 Wrap Up Sat HANA Day at the Races Sat 4-18-2009 The day began with breakfast at the Horseman's Kitchen on the backside. On the walk over from the kitchen to the front gate we stopped to let a man on horseback pass us near the shedrow. HANA member Fred Palmer recognized him and called out "Larry Jones!" Larry stopped and chatted with us for a few seconds. It wasn't until Larry removed his helmet that I recognized him myself. We met with Keeneland President Nick Nicholson. He described the incredible amount of forethought and detail that went into many of the things that most visitors at Keeneland might take for granted... for example the height of the infield toteboard in relation to line of sight - so that horses running down the backstretch are always visible from the grandstand... how the poles marking the finish line have the mirror located in the right place: the exact center of the pole marking the finish area. This causes the line in photo finishes to match up perfectly with the area marked as the finish line by the pole. Note: This is something that should be a no brainer for all tracks everywhere. I can think of a lot of tracks where the mirror is placed several feet away from the pole. IMHO this is bad practice. It gives you a pole marked "Finish" when in fact the mirror several feet away from the pole is used as the actual finish line. As with a lot of things - Keeneland has this part exactly right. Then we talked about some of the things that matter to us players: 1. Track Signal Availability to ADWs 2. Takeout 3. Drugs 4. Pool Integrity We started a genuine dialog on these areas. And even though we had blocked off more than an hour for the meeting we ran out of time. Nick had to leave to introduce the chior members who sang the national anthem. But he graciously agreed to sit down and meet with us again tomorrow. Then we met with Tony Allevato of TVG - who asked me to be a guest on their live broadcast. I've never been on TV before and didn't know quite what to expect. Todd and Matt asked some questions about HANA, takeout, and drugs. One thing I didn't want to do was bash the industry too hard while on camera. HANA is all about giving the player a voice and making the industry aware of customer needs and wants. I hope it came off ok. Then there was a day of live racing. I managed to have a good day. But in the post parade before the Lexington I noticed that #11 Advice was acting up, tossing his head, and shying from the crowd. Theresia, who posts as Miesque, was sitting next to me and liked the horse. I'm afraid my negative comments about his pre-race antics were a little too strong. I think I talked her off the horse... who came rolling over the top of them late to pay $33.60 to win. If I had it to do over again I would have kept quiet as a MOUSE. After the races we had dinner and drinks with Mike Maloney and Matt Carothers. Mike told some racing stories that had me laughing so hard I literally couldn't breathe. It was a long day - one that was over all too soon. I'm really starting to like this place. It grows on you... the hospitality... the racing... the people. -jp .
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| jeff 4/21/2009 2:47:27 PM | Wrap Up Day 4 Sun 4-19-2009 It rained today... but that didn't stop us. Met again with Keeneland President Nick Nicholson. We discussed (in some detail) the issues of track signal availability, takeout, drugs, and pool integrity. We talked about HANA goals and racing industry goals - and how they are basically one and the same. I came away from today's meeting with two things: 1. A realization that a positive relationship now exists between the management of Keeneland and HANA where none existed before. 2. There actually ARE track execs that get it. Nick certainly fits that description. I'll just leave things at that. Today was also Military Appreciation Day. Nick explained to us the idea behind this event. Several thousand US Army soldiers - who are still in basic training - are given one day off at the race track. Banks of phone booths are set up, and the soldiers are allowed to make phone calls to anywhere in the world. They call home to their families... wives, children, etc. Nick explained that the first year of the event people were thanking the soldiers for doing what they do and just handing over their cell phones. And I saw lots of that going on first hand today myself. He also explained that the soldiers bought so much ice cream that first year that Keeneland ran out! This year he made sure they had enough on hand for all of them. Then there was a day of live racing. Miesque headed up to the dining room on level four - while a few of us took over Mike Maloney's "office" again. Stuball had another good day and so did I. Purple Power stopped in. And so did DBantu. He and I talked about HANA goals for a while. Then we talked shop about programming, handicapping methodologies, and professionalism amongst horseplayers. He brought along a buddy who is a sports bettor and poker player... who oddly enough has almost no interest whatsoever in playing horses. We discussed at length the reasons why... which only highlighted the things HANA is trying to get across to the industry. After the races we found Mike Maloney in the dining room and said our goodbye's. I can't thank Mike enough for the doors he opened for us at HANA and for all his hospitality here in Kentucky. I really am at a complete loss for words here. Afterwards we drove out to visit a horse farm.... Zach Kinneman's Tahoma Stud http://tahomastud.com/default.aspx Zach, his wife Kate, and their Farm Manager Otto were kind enough to show us around. We got to pet some of the foals. Zach and Kate then took us to the pasture where 23 year old Mr. Bolg still romps. (They rescued him from a kill pen.) And let me tell you he still looks magnificent. They were even kind enough to give us a tour of the farmhouse (built in the 1820's) that they are restoring. Again, I am simply blown away by the hospitality and the openess of the people here. If you've never been here you're missing out. -jp .
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| jeff 4/23/2009 7:09:43 PM | Wrap Up Day 5 Mon 4-20-2009 KY Horse Park We visited the KY Horse Park today. http://www.kyhorsepark.com/index.php Wandered through the museum. And then walked the grounds including the Hall of Champions - which was my favorite. Cigar, Kona Gold, and Funny Cide were there. Cigar ignored us. But Theresia (Miesque) was able to call Funny Cide over to us and soon I was scratching his forehead. It's kind of an overwhelming feeling (at least for me.) As a computer player most of the time I think of the game in terms of 1's and 0's. Scratching the forehead of such a magnificent animal was both exhilirating and humbling at the same time. It was my first time at the Horse Park and I know I'll be back. Meeting with HDW Data I met with the guys at HDW... They're based in Georgetown, KY - not far from the KY Horse Park where I was staying. We talked about HANA objectives: improving the game in the areas of signal availability, takeout, drugs, and pool integrity. Then we talked a little bit about quirks in the data itself - and about the need from a player perspective to push for scratches and changes in real time - and where breakdowns in reporting of scratches and changes actually occurs. Meeting with Equibase Equibase was gracious enough to meet with me a second time. Present were Equibase President & CEO Hank Zeitlin, Matt McCoy, Rhonda Norby, and Ellis Starr. My goal was to communicate the need from the player's perspective of having one source (Equibase.com) be a place where horseplayers can go to get changes in real time. To clarify, when I say changes, I'm talking about scratches, races off the turf, and rider changes. The problem isn't a lack of computer power or the ability to report changes quickly on the Equibase site once information is received from the tracks. All of the tracks currently have access to a computerized reporting system. The system itself appears perfectly capable of getting the job done. The problem appears to be that that human beings (at the track level) occasionally fail to use the system in a timely manner or occasionally make mistakes when they do. We discussed ways to stop this from happening. My goal in setting up this meeting was to communicate customer needs and wants to the industry. I think that was accomplished and more. One result of this meeting is that a positive relationship now exists between Equibase and HANA where none existed before. I came away with a very strong sense that Equibase is on the same page as we are. They understand the importance of accuracy and timeliness in reporting scratches and changes. A dialogue on this issue has been started and the parties involved are now much more aware of player needs and wants on this issue than they were before. I'll leave things at that for now. -jp . ~Edited by: jeff on: 4/23/2009 at: 7:09:43 PM~
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| jeff 4/22/2009 8:18:31 PM | Somebody YouTubed it... HANA on TVG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXBgXjdsbkY&feature=channel_page -jp .
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| Hdcper 4/23/2009 1:17:18 AM | Great job, Jeff!!!!!
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| ryesteve 4/23/2009 9:57:08 AM | Excellent spot!
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| freddie 4/23/2009 11:57:32 AM | A STAR IS BORN.........Freddie
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| theox 4/25/2009 6:53:53 AM | Jeff: Are you of legal age to play this game? You look like a junior in high school! Great job sir, and please keep up the good work. T.
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| JimG 4/25/2009 11:34:39 AM | He certainly does not look quite like the guy in the upper left-hand corner of the message board. :)
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| notchback 4/25/2009 11:37:12 AM | Nice job Jeff! Am I the only one that wishes I had Jeff's life? Rough work :-) Seriously, thanks for all you are doing Jeff.
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