Mckinney

Arlington Park is doing lots of great things right now. It seems like every so often for the last two months, I'll get a news release from them about something new they're going to do this year. The first big thing I liked was the way they've created a heavily discounted season admission pass that includes a wagering credit, parking, and other perks well above the cost of the package. While this won't change much for really serious horseplayers who are already receiving admission discounts (or free admission) based on wagering activity, it certainly does seem to be a result of realizing that more bodies at the track is a good thing. Sure, some may take advantage of it purely as an avenue for entertainment thanks to Friday Parties in the Park and other events, but nobody starts wagering on horses without first being exposed to them. More bodies equals more handle, plain and simple.

This is especially worth noting on the same day that it was announced that Hollywood Park submitted a proposal to actually increase admission prices. In the current economic times, it's no secret to anyone that disposable income is down. Less disposable income means that for the casual horseplayer, bankroll has been slashed as other monetary concerns take center stage. I'm pretty thrilled about this move. Anything that brings more folks to the track where they can be introduced to the excitement is a good move by me.

Their stakes schedule this year is also fantastic, but perhaps I'll get to that another day (I'm especially glad they reinstated some of the Million Day overnights that had gone by the wayside...).

What originally prompted me to write this blog was an email I received today regarding Million Preview Day and the entire series of races that lead up to the main events on Million Day. For those who don't know, Preview Day is a Saturday afternoon with three big stakes races, for each of the three divisions represented with graded stakes on Million Day.

The graded stakes races that make up the Million Preview Day program - a staple at Arlington since 2001 - are the Grade III $200,000 Arlington Handicap, which serves as the final local prep for the Grade I Arlington Million; the Grade III $200,000 Modesty Handicap, which is the last local prep for the Grade I $750,000 Beverly D.; and the Grade II $300,000 American Derby, the second leg of the Mid-America Triple and a prep for the series' final leg the Grade I $400,000 Secretariat Stakes.

The new twist is that the top three finishers in each of these three races (Arlington Handicap, Modesty Handicap, and American Derby) will now have their entry fees and starting fees waived if they enter the corresponding event on Million Day. This is an idea that many have advocated in a different sense to make the best use of the Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" series - that perhaps we could in some way compensate those winners to encourage them to head to the Breeders' Cup and actually reward them for scoring in one of the designated races. Most winners of those events would never be left out of a Breeders' Cup field anyway, so it's largely a symbolic gesture for all but the wildest of longshot winners.

What Arlington has done here is to potentially provide that little extra nudge to some connections whose horse ran a big race on Preview Day but who may be just on the edge of entering three weeks later. I realize that most horsemen will not enter their runners in a spot in which they don't belong anyway, but I like this move all the same. Arlington is going out of their way to make it easier for horses to race in their main events, and that can only be a good thing.

As an example, say you have a horse that runs second in the Arlington Handicap. He'd have earned you $40,000 for that performance, but it would set you back $15,000 to run him in the Million. Not anymore. If your horse is nominated to the Million, you're in on Arlington's dime. Same goes for the winner and third finisher, and this applies to all three races.

Overall, Arlington is offering up to $93,000 worth of paid entry and starting fees to these nine horses for the three races on Million Day.

In addition to that, the Mid-America Triple (the three race series for sophomores, consisting of the Arlington Classic, the American Derby, and the Secretariat) has some rewards of its own. $3,000 will be paid out to the owner of any runner that starts in two of the three races, and if the runner starts in all three events, that will be bumped to $6,000. Not to mention the $500,000 bonus attached to any runner that can accomplish a sweep of all three. All in all, when the math is done, this is a huge opportunity for three year-old turfers.

Entering and running in all three would set you back $12,800, but they'll turn right around and refund $6,000 of that just for the heck of it (thanks for visiting?). An on-the-board finish in the American Derby knocks another $6,000 off your total price anyway (owing to the free start in the Secretariat), so the owner of a talented runner could theoretically wind up paying just $800 out of pocket for a chance at their share of $850,000 in purses and the $500,000 bonus. That's free money.

I don't mean to get all bogged down in the math of it, but the incentive is huge in those terms.

Will this result in a tangible, noticeable improvement of the racing stock on Million Day? Maybe not, but I'd love to be proven wrong, as many of the big guns will be waiting for Million Day anyway. Still, there is something very important going on here. Arlington is doing something to make racing more accessible. They're making it more accessible to fans, serious and casual alike. They're making it more accessible to owners.

When it sometimes seems as though we get nothing but bad news as racing fans and horseplayers, it's nice to at least see a track trying. I also happen to be proud that it's my home track. Wouldn't it be great if something like this wasn't so shocking and out of the norm? Wouldn't it be great if this didn't strike me as so innovative -- lowering admission prices with good parking and putting their money where their mouth is in encouraging horses to run? It should be common sense. I know that I'd be happy to see tracks everywhere going out of their way to make it easier for horses to race and easier for the fans to be a part of it.

Now if I can just get a call in to a sympathetic ear about the beer prices, I'm pretty sure I'd be set for the summer.