Interesting article on Churchill's takeout increase

[Capper Al]

http://www.equinometry.com/2014/07/02/bringing-down-the-twinspires/

I'm glad that CD's handle went down!

[Appy]

I'm glad too Al, and that is an interesting article, but...
"Even if you combine both the expected drop in wagering handle caused by a decrease in average field size and number of races the total is around $10 million.
That accounts for only 20% of the $49 million drop, which begs the question: what caused the additional $39 million drop?
The answer is one the corporate geniuses will never admit: the increase in takeout rates."

Given the dates used for sample the "study" seems to completely ignore what I would think is one very crucial fact, which is that the national economy also neared economic collapse during the exact same time frame.
Don't you think that might have been a major contributor to a decline in what has to be considered entertainment spending?