Posted on 08/21/2020 1:47:58 PM PDT by Severa
After several attempts to dwindle down the capacity, the decision has finally been made to hold this year's Kentucky Derby without fans.
Churchill Downs made the announcement to reverse course on Friday. It said, in part:
"Churchill Downs has worked diligently over the last several months to plan a safe Derby with a limited number of spectators in attendance. We were confident in that plan, but dedicated to remaining flexible using the best and most reliable information available. With the current significant increases in COVID-19 cases in Louisville as well as across the region, we needed to again revisit our planning."
(Excerpt) Read more at wlky.com ...
And with no fans, there is no betting revenue. I don’t know if the state or Louisville get a cut of gambling revenue, but if so, they can say bye to that.
And don’t thousands of people from out of town come to Louisville for the Derby? Say bye to all that tourism revenue too.
They are going to shut down the country until we are begging to take the vaccine.
Hat makers everywhere are deeply saddened.
The only out of towners we seem to get right now are the protesters (I wish I was joking, a week or two ago we had some bussed in from GA to march through our streets)
Time to play the grammar NAZI.
“After several attempts to dwindle down the capacity,”
Usually, I’m not that persnickety about grammar, but the proliferation of media types, spoken and print, who insist on being redundant.
“Dwindle down”? Has anyone ever seen anything “Dwindle UP?”
(Sorry about the Grammar rant. I’m tired of the COVID rant, the BLM/Antifa rant, the DNC/MSM/Biden rants. So, for variety, I’ve thrown in a redundancy rant.)
;-)
Just in the last day or so our idiot Dem city mayor said he wasn’t gonna go to the Derby cause of everything going on. This numbnuts and his equally idiotic Dem state governor have pretty much let protesters walk all over the city for months, downtown looks like a warzone right now.
Oh man, I bet those were the days (Secretariat’s Triple Crown was before my time) I have paid my respects at his final resting place at Claiborne Farm in Paris, KY. There will never be another like him.
Just as Governor Beshear planned. He’s on a power trip with his Covid19 powers. No school, no bars, no sports, no restaurants, crowds limited to 10 people.
I just watched the announcement here on our local news. (I live about 25 minutes from Churchill Downs). I am not surprised by this decision.
Dunno ‘bout the on track vendors, etc, but the surrounding neighborhoods are gonna miss the revenue. “Park in my front yard. I’ll watch your car. $500 for the entire day.”
That photo of Ron Turcotte looking back at the rest of the field in the Belmont is my favorite sports photograph.
Not true.
Saratoga has no fans, and their daily handle has been good. Just under $29 million for 11 races last Saturday. Last year (also Alabama Stakes Saturday) just over $25 million also for 11 races.
ML/NJ
HORSEFACE PSYCHOPATH John F’n Kerry & HORSETEETH PSYCOPATH AOC will be crap-kickin’ happy in their stalls tonight.
The most exciting 2 minutes in sports history. I was at the Derby on the infield 2 years prior on or near my 21st birthday. I was with two Kentucky born buds who I worked with at Great Lakes Steel in Ecorse, Michigan. The best “sports” day I ever had in my life...whew was it wild on the infield.
Protests for sure are the deciding factor.
Anyone have a back-of-envelope total for the amount of lost tax revenue from all the protests? Add in the virus losses after that.
Derby,and the other music venues during the spring and summer bring in money. Not for 2020.
I was on the infield at the Preakness when Affirmed beat Alydar. It was absolutely jammed and after the eight seconds of all the horses passing us we all had to crowd around a guy with a small radio calling the race for everyone. Great fun, even though our bar owner horseplayer buddy who inspired us to go at 4 am convinced us that Alydar was the horse to bet on.
WOW, I am so jealous you saw Secretariat run!!
I was in a cemetery recently and someone had etched that Ron Turcotte moment on his tombstone. I have seen that Belmont race countless times and it still makes me cry.
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