Overview Of Our Unscientific But Trendy “Readers Poll”

We are fascinated with the results of our unscientific but trendy “Readers Poll” we have had up for the past several days. Our readers chose Russell G. Lloyd, Sr as the mayor who did the best job, and that is not hard to understand. The handsome and extremely likable Republican was a big change from his three-term predecessor, Frank McDonald, Sr. who was a Democrat. We find it interesting that Mayor Frank McDonald, Sr was a close second choice for best mayor to the senior Mayor Lloyd.  Both men have sons who followed in their fathers’ footsteps.

Mayor McDonald,  Sr. created a smooth-running political machine, first as Vanderburgh County Sheriff for eight years and then as mayor for twelve years. The McDonald machine did little to conceal the practice of nepotism and  political patronage that was a hallmark of the tight grip he held on his party, and in later years spilled over into the Republican party. Those were the days of the “Two percent Club” when City Hall workers were expected to pledge 2% of their gross annual salaries to the party who held the department where they worked. It was a good idea for workers and all of their families to show up to help with re-election campaigns, too.  Bottom line, he was the mayor whom made USI a reality.

We wonder if some of the reader approval for the senior McDonald and Lloyd might be nostalgia for better days here in Evansville. Chrysler was gone, but we still had Whirlpool and the City’s budgets were balanced. Bonding capacity and capital improvements didn’t cause the anxiety among the electorate that they now do, and mot people just accepted that there were going to be some questionable governmental practices. It was politics, after all.

Our two least popular mayors come as no surprise. Democrat Mike Vandeveer followed Russ Lloyd Sr. in a seemingly competent administration, that worked to begin neighborhood and downtown revitalization efforts. Unfortunately, things were not what they appeared to be. It became necessary for Vandeveer to resign abruptly during his second term, under a cloud of allegations of serious impropriety on his part. The mayor who received the fewest votes was our current City Controller, Russell G. Lloyd Jr. We wonder if his dreams of a baseball stadium on the riverfront and the millions of dollars he wasted trying to make that happen are the sole reason for the distaste our readers have for his administration, or if some of it is because of the budgetary difficulties that Evansville is suffering at the hands of Lloyd Winnecke, his current boss.

The junior Mayor McDonald and Jonathon Weinzapfel finished in the middle of the pack. McDonald II presided over three reasonably uneventful terms and left office unscathed. Weinzapfel is most remembered for the construction of the Ford Center and the events leading up to the unsuccessful bid for office made by the late, well regarded Rick Davis.

We were most surprised at the dismal showing made by the present Mayor Lloyd Winnecke. Only 11% of CCO readers voted for him as the best Mayor of Evansville. That comes as a shock in light of the fact that he won a landslide victory over Gail Reicken just seven months ago. We wonder if this stems from a bad case of “buyer’s remorse” on the part of voters who have a growing concern about the City’s solvency, or if the victory is a reflection on the badly-run campaign waged by the Democrats and Mrs. Reicken, We suspect that it may be a combination of the two.

There is a trend that we see in the evaluation of each mayor’s performance, and that is the more fiscally conservative and “down to earth” the mayor, the better he is liked by our readers. We don’t believe those voting in our non-scientific poll are unusual. Those qualities seem to be more important to the opinions of of our readers than party affiliation or other qualities. Potential candidates for office, take note!

Todays “Readers Poll” question is:  Who do you feel was the most effective President of Evansville City Council in recent years?

Ellis Park president Ron Geary, well-versed as a horse player and handicapper, is betting that this summer will be his best meet since buying the track nestled on the Ohio River in 2006.

In fact, by featuring enhanced purses for horsemen, restoration of a 2-year-old stakes and continued player-focused emphasis, Geary expects the 30-date session that runs July 2-Sept. 5 to be the strongest in more than 20 years.

“We’ll have one of the best meets we’ve ever had,” Geary said. “We had almost 8.3 horses per race last year, and we think we’ll have an opportunity to improve on that this year. The momen-

tum has been building for this for several months and now it’s looking like reality, which is ex-tremely exciting.’

Thanks to burgeoning business with its Instant Racing parimutuel games and a $1.35 million contribution by Kentucky Downs, Ellis Park’s races will offer purses averaging $210,000 a day

for its 30-date summer meet, Geary said. That’s up from $155,000 a year ago at the 1 1/8-mile track nicknamed “the Pea Patch” because of its signature soybeans growing in the infield.

“I’m incredibly pumped about our upcoming meet – it will be outstanding,” said racing secretary

Dan Bork. “I think we’ll have a great number of quality horses running here. More people are interested in running with us than ever before, and our jockey colony shapes up as its strongest ever. With Ellis becoming stronger in the summer, it also helps the whole circuit.”

Maiden races for Kentucky-bred horses (the majority of horses racing) will have pots of $38,000 – up $9,000 from last year, while allowance races will range from $39,000 to $42,000, including the supplements from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund for horses born and sired in the commonwealth.

“Those numbers are going to make me seriously consider whether it’s worth going to Saratoga or Del Mar,” said Louisville-based trainer Dale Romans, whose two-time Grade 1 winner Brody’s Cause first raced at Ellis Park. “l just hope more people don’t start staying behind and it gets tougher to break a maiden at Ellis. I mean, Brody did get beat at Ellis.

“A lot of horses get beat in 2-year-old races and go on to be top horses. It’s the time of year for

2-year-olds to get started, seems the most productive. And it’s a good safe racetrack to get started on. With this kind of money, I’ll definitely leave more horses in Kentucky this summer.”

Scott Blasi, chief assistant to newly-elected Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, said the en-hanced money makes Ellis an alternative starting point for quality horses.

“It will give you a good option for horses that aren’t quite ready to go to Saratoga yet, that are still here in the development stage,” Blasi said.

The stakes schedule is highlighted by the $100,000 Groupie Doll for fillies and mares at a mile.

The Grade 3 stakes was renamed for the 2012-2013 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint and two-time Eclipse Award champion who raced three times at the track, including victory in the 2011 stakes and third in 2013 when it was known as the Gardenia.

Also on that Aug. 6 card is the return of the $75,000 Ellis Park Juvenile, giving Kentucky a much-needed 2-year-old stakes in the summer. The seven-furlong Juvenile promises to be well-populated, given the strength of Ellis’ maiden races, which last year launched Brody’s Cause (winner of Keeneland’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity last fall and Blue Grass this spring), Grade 2 winners Venus Valentine and Dothraki Queen, Grade 3 winner MO Tom and G2 Fair Grounds Oaks runner-up Dream Dance.

Ellis Park’s juvenile program also produced future Breeders’ Cup winners Cat Thief (Classic), Boston Harbor (Juvenile) and Caressing (Juvenile Fillies), older male champion Lawyer Ron and Grade 1 winners Noble’s Promise, Request for Parole, Turallure, Pure Fun, Pure Clan, Ja-va’s War and Richter Scale.

“I’m thrilled,” said Kenny McPeek, trainer of Noble’s Promise, Java’s War and Pure Fun and whose five wins with 2-year-olds led the 2015 Ellis meet “We’re going to point a bunch of young

horses there. It’s right up our alley, and it gives us more motivation to keep these horses local.”

Said Ron Moquett: “Ellis has always been a pet meet of mine. We love Ellis. Now that they’ve got the money working the right direction, it’s enough to make our owners run more horses

there. I’ll leave some good horses here to try to run. The Pea Patch just got very interesting.

Instant Racing wagering at Ellis set a record each of the past three months, including April’s $7.17 million, according to Kentucky Horse Racing Commission statistics.

“The last couple of years now, we’ve started to have very significant growth, about 50 percent a year,” Geary said. “Every dollar that’s bet on Instant Racing, a portion goes to the purse fund. The parimutuel taxes on Instant Racing contribute to getting extra money to the Kentucky Thor-oughbred Development Fund. Between those, it’s really done well.

As part of the tracks’ strengthening relationship, Kentucky Downs is marketing and distributing Ellis’ simulcast signal nationally. The all-grass track in Franklin, which pioneered parimutuel wa-gering on historical horse racing in the commonwealth, also is transferring $1.35 million to Ellis for purses to help build the circuit — an arrangement endorsed by the Kentucky division of the

Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association, the group representing the state’s owners and trainers. When Churchill Downs balked at any overlapping days between its September

meet and Kentucky Downs, Geary resolved the thorny situation by giving Sept. 3 — the Satur-

day before Labor Day — to Kentucky Downs for its opener. Ellis’ closing weekend is Sept. 2, 4 and 5.

“We were trying to make it a win-win,” said Geary, whose minority partner in Ellis is Saratoga Harness Racing Inc. “And I think it did. I think it will work out really well and help the circuit be stronger during the summer and the fall.

“The last several years we’ve worked hard to get the track in the best shape. We put down 2,000 tons of sand and clay this year on top of what we did two years ago. And we’ve worked hard on getting our turf in top shape. The horsemen like that their horses leave here in great

shape. We’ve had some outstanding horses going on to national accomplishments after starting

right here at little Ellis Park.”

Ellis Park condition book:

htt ://www.e uibase.com/ remium/e bHorsemenAreaDownloadAction.cfm?sn=CB-ELP-

20160702-20160731D

For more information, contact Ellis Park racing secretary Dan Bork at dan.bork@ellisparkracing.com

Ellis Park’s 2016 summer meet at a glance

Location: 3300 US-41 , Henderson KY.

Dates: July 2-Sept. 5 (30 days), Fridays through Sundays, plus Mondays July 4 and Sept. 5. No

racing Saturday, Sept. 3.

Post time: 12:50 p.m. CT/1:50 p.m. ET.

General admission: free. Reserved seating in Sky Theatre and Clubhouse.

Parking: free; valet available

Multi-horse wager minimums: 10-cent superfecta; 50-cent trifecta, Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5; $1 exacta, Super High Five.

Stakes: July 9 – $50,000 Ellis Park Turf, fillies & mares 3yos & up, 1 1/16 miles (turf). July 16 –

$50,000 Don Bernhardt Memorial, 3yo & up, 6 1/2 furlongs. Aug. 6 – $100,000 Groupie Doll (G3), fillies & mares 3yos & up, mile; $75,000 Ellis Park Juvenile, 2yos, 7 furlongs. Sept. 5 -$50,000 Cliff Guilliams Handicap, 3yo & up, 1 1/16 miles (turf).

The long, hot months of summer seem to inspire some citizens to take to the streets, sometimes in violent protest. Evansville witnessed its own drama on June 11, 1945, when the “bingo battle” that had simmered between the young Men’s Democratic Club and Republican Mayor Manson Reichert suddenly erupted. It had been triggered by Reichert’s threat of a police raid if members played bingo at their club at First and Main streets. State regulations banned gambling, but some organizations were exempt from the law if games were played to raise money for charity. In this image, part of the 7,000 protesters on hand witnessed the overturning of an EPD patrol car.  Several arrests were made for disorderly conduct.