What are your biggest concerns with racing?

[njcurveball]

Dan made a great post (as usual) in another thread. I think it is worthwhile to talk about here. I will list his below and then reply with my thoughts.

This is a good topic for everyone to join in, as there are many concerns and even the smallest should be a concern for Racetrack Managment.

Dan's top 3

I have three primary concerns with our sport… (The 4th being excessive taxation.)

1. Pool integrity; lock down the betting before the horses enter to at least ensure past posting can be traced after the massive simulcast dump.
2. Ownership in sharp decline; this sport will exist without one single betting dollar. Similar to Jump racing and completely unrecognizable, but it will exist in a limited form. It will not exist however without owner incentives to provide the stock at great personal risk.
3. Ken has the only ticket to the BC pick-6; then purchases half the south pacific and we are lost at sea without HTR.

[njcurveball]

Here are mine.

1.) Government and State taxation of winnings aka "signers".

In 2010 there should not be anyone in public office who thinks a majority of people win big at the track. If there is, then give them a straw hat with a ticket sticking out of it and a big cigar.

More than a few years ago I hit a signer and wanted to share some money with my Uncle Freddy. He was literally scared to death to cash the ticket, worried the Government would go after him. Public perception should be the track WANTS you to win, not report you to the Government.

Now with 10 cent bets, the laws only punish the honest and the innocent. If they want to have a signer law then it should be $600 for every 10 cent bet. Gas is $3 a gallon, $600 is a ridiculous amount and even more insane when you cannot write the losses off of most state tax returns.

States already take a cut of the handle, then they take a cut of the winnings as well. Didn't we toss tea in a famous harbor over double taxation?

2.) Cost of Information

I witnessed people at ACRC betting tracks they couldn't locate on a map with 3 states. Then the Management there decided it cost too much to make sheets with program numbers, morning line odds, and jockey names. They probably saved $10 a day in paper and lost $1,000 or much more in handle.

The difference between the casinos and horse racing is the avaialability of information for analysis. Ken will smack me, but I would give away all "public" information for free. Last race odds, running positions, times, trainers, jocks, etc. All would be given for free as they do in many other countries.

Special information and incredible content like HTR should cost more and I would be glad to pay even if I got the programs for free (which I did for some time).

Bottom line is this game should be sold to "thinkers" not gamblers. Charging $4 for a simulcast program sends many fringe players to the casino or the lottery lines.

3.) Free video of all races.

For some reason, owners of tracks have decided they hold a golden goose with this. Why? With stations like TVG, HRTV and some others not readily available all races are shown to someone. Again, only the honest and innocent suffer here.

4.) Limited areas in tracks for children under 16.

As a father, my daughter came to the track for the pony rides, bouncy rides, face painting, and all the other festivities. And as a bettor this simply meant I had little to no time to handicap, made less bets for less money.

As a simulcast player, the worst thing (next to smoking which is banned now) is a loud or crying kid. The track is for adults not kids.

The actual kid time should come in the mornings during workouts. Many tracks use to have "morning glory clubs" and they could draw over a hundred people on a sunny Saturday morning. This is what kids remember, the sunny days, the horsies they got to watch, the nice trainers and jocks who spoke with them and the friendly ambience.

A few years ago I walked out of ACRC behind a Father and a young boy around 6 years old. The Father continually yelled at the kid, "you are not coming back here if you cannot behave". And the kid was probably thinking "Thank you Lord". :eek:

[DanG]

Great topic and list Jim;

One of my greatest concerns is something we not only can’t fix, but it will accelerate in years to come. Where does the next generation of players come from and who inspires them?

My brother and his friends & their fathers were my initial inspiration. In my early teens I was fortunate to meet a man who attended Mth every day and he was the first person who proved to me the game can be beaten with intense work.

Today…

Chances are that same Mth teacher / motivator is behind 4 walls in a bath robe watching a computer screen. He or she is participating, but virtually anonymous to the world. The internet (a BBS like HTR’s) can be a Godsend in terms of exchanging ideas with people you would never have met decades ago, but its hard to replace the learning tool of watching live play. I have no solutions btw; I’m guilty as charged in terms of playing on line and until a live venue can duplicate the inherit advantages it must stay that way.

This is not Poker where the basic premise can be explained to a 6yo; or Gupta in minutes. :D This game requires years of study (and initial failure) and that flies in the face of the current American attention span. Combine that with some of our best would-be teachers are in the shadows and you have the recipe for declining market share.

There is a great photographer that goes by the handle ‘Easy Goer’ who shows his work on the sharing site ‘Flickr’. This photo was sent to me a while back and I wonder when this ‘Jersey Boy’ is our age will have a game resembling the one we all grew up loving?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/easygoer/4637301781/

[tomcat]

Concerns:
1. The shortage of horses changes everything. The payoffs smaller and chances
of profits less and less. I rarely play any races before the 6th at most tracks.
In addition, with online wagering, I don't go to the track much anymore.:(
2. I am very mixed about online wagering. I like the convenience, but I miss the old gang. I really enjoyed the live meet at Keeneland this year when HTR folks and others met at a big table, plugged in their computers just like the good old days. That was fun handicapping.

[Mayo]

As is usually the case with most who post on this board, many good thoughts, ideas, suggestions and concerns about this wonderful game we all love. A few of my thoughts:

1. Track management (in most cases) still does not get it. They charge for parking, programs, and admission. How many of us would eat at a restaurant that charged a cover charge at the door or charged to look at the menu? They clip the small bettor $20-30 bucks before they ever sit down. All of us have hit a big tri or super on a $30 ticket. Unfortunately, all of us have probably made the mistake of putting all of those winnings right back through the window that same day.

2. Gupta's favorite "Takeout". Enough said. We all know about that one too. You have to wonder what calculator the track "bean counters" are using? The old abacus or fingers and toes method comes to mind.

3. I agree very young children (less than teenage) should not be at the track during wagering hours. They are simply not ready at that young age to learn the game. However, a kid from about 14 and up should definitely be exposed to the sport. Someone must mentor the kid and teach him/her the game. Most all of us had someone who got us started and helped us along the way. Unfortunately with most teenagers and young adults (20s/30s) of today,all want to fast forward life and live how their parents do (without the 30 or so years of pain and work). Drive fancy cars, travel and live a carefree life. Many (although very smart) have very short attention spans and want instant gratification. Not a good recipe for learning the complex game of horseracing. Blame for this goes to the parents and the high tech world of today.

4. Speaking of high tech. Yes it is here to stay and will only get better. Track mangagement and State Governments must accept this. Texas is one of the states where online wagering is still not legal. Yet, because of its size and population, there are probably as many online account holders in Texas than in any other state except California (where it is legal). Our legislature realizes everyone is doing it, but they also know they do not have the budget or manpower to stop it. They simply turn the other way. Yes, they are still politically afraid to pass it (tax it) because we are still in the southern bible belt. In the mean time, Texas racing and breeding is in real trouble. There is talk of combining the race meets of three tracks into only one next year.

5. Slots and gaming at tracks. I have never agreed with this but it may be the only way to attract new customers to the sport.

6. Too many tracks, too many racing days, and not enough horses. Enough said.

In closing this long post, I will share with you a situation that happened in my business/industry years ago and can certainly apply to horse racing. I got into the nursing home business/management in 1980. At that time (and today) most all nursing homes in the U.S. had Medicare/Medicaid contracts with their respective state governments. Most of the funding came from the Feds with some from the states (about 70/30 split). However, (as with horse racing) each state had its own set of rules and regulations governing these Medicare/Medicaid contracts and how the care was to be administered to the residents of these facilities. Now someone tell me the difference in an 80/90 year old person (in a nursing facility) living in New York, California, Texas or any other state for that matter? Most all people of this age share many of the same health issues and require the same type of care regardless of their geographic location. The Feds figured this out in 1987 and decided to fully mandate all rules governing Medicare/Medicaid. We in the industry were ALL for it. It made our lives much easier. The states were reluctant at first but most now welcome the changes as well.

You probably see where I am going with this. What is the difference in a horse in California, Texas, New York, etc? They all require the same daily care. We definitely need to have uniform federal rules for horse racing and eliminate all the different state rules. There also needs to be a Commissioner, just like in all of the major sports to enforce rules, hand out suspensions, and police the industry. Until this happens, horse racing will continue to decline.


Mayo

[OPM]

5. Slots and gaming at tracks. I have never agreed with this but it may be the only way to attract new customers to the sport.


Have to disagree with you here, it has never been shown that this will attract new customers in any study, anywhere and I have looked for it. Not a PRM, Yonkers, Saratoga Raceway, Fairgrounds, etc.

Why would they be attracted to racing when the tax is 20% and at slots, it only 10% or less. Poker players will never, ever switch also since the tax there is only 5%.

How about breakage, try to explain to a newbie that although you should be paid $2.39 we are only going to pay you $2.20 just because!!!

Horseracing will go bankrupt before they get it and that's where we are heading and in my opinion not a second too soon.
I wonder how many on this board will continue to bet once the NHC goes under(with the NTRA)?

[jbw]

I would like to reinforce what Mike has said. Most everyone that reads this board knows I am of the conservative leaning. Many "R's" would say I am too liberal but although I do not like the government in my business, racing will not survive if we do not move to a National Standard. The NFL, NBA, baseball, etc have a commissioner that takes the lead in enforcing national standards, rules, guidelines, etc. Ex. why do we have individual states issuing racing licenses that are not recongnized nationwide? Many owners race in more than one state. We must move past the small markets, the boutique markets, the blueblood market states and recognize a 2 yr old is a 2 yr old in CA, LA, NM, NY or anywhere. We need uniform rules, standards and guidelines in all areas of racing that are recognized nationwide. We must move past the politics in racing. In many states the state commissions are very political. We must get past the idea that states are conceding their power if we move to uniformity nationwide.

With severe financial crisis in almost every state their could not be a worse time to try to implement such a plan. But let me give you food for thought. With severe cutbacks in many states it does not matter if your state is blue or red if budget cuts are necessary what would your state say if they had the choice of cutting special education in public schools, services to the disabled or have a hiring freeze in state agencies? We all know what the outcry would be. O K now you have 2-3 state stewards to retire/resign and you can not hire any new personnel. You can not conduct racing without stewards. What happens to racing in your state? My home state is experiencing one cut after another. Our state commission had built up a surplus BUT guess what happened - it has been moved out of our control. Racing ,or IMO for that matter anything associated with "gambling/wagering" is like a target for budget cuts. Until the entire industry can get on the same page and stand together we are only as strong as the weakest link.

We have too many racing days. States can not support expanding meets. We must recognize all racing venues can not survive with the fan base and players we have now. With the constant decline in wagering and on track attendance, just to open the doors for an extra day of live racing is a loosing proposition for many tracks. You must have stewards, ambulances, horsemen bookkeepers, starters, etc, etc. IMO it will get worse before (and hopefully it will) gets better. The smaller owners can not longer stay in the game. Trainers, vets and their staffs must make a living but the small time owners can not afford $3K-$4,500 per month if the horse has to be laid up or should not be racing at all. Many horses are not getting the proper care. Out of desperation many horses are entered into races, many claiming, that should not be running for owners that do not have strong staying power to get rid of a non producer. Now you are facing the breakdown issues, illegal drug issues, jepordizing the safety of the jockey, etc. This is a terrible cycle we are experiencing.

This post is far too long and rambling but I agree as horseplayers we have many issues but the entire picture is very bleak unfortunately. I hope we can all live to see our grandchildren enjoy a healthy racing industry.

JW