Horse Racing Symposium in Tucson

[ReplayRandall]

The Symposium on Racing and Gaming this year kicked off on Tuesday in Tucson with the focus on "new ideas".....A quick question; Does anybody know of anyone associated with PA who's been asked to attend this meeting?
Did anyone who lives in the vicinity of Tucson go on their own?.....Would like some feedback here, please:

http://www.drf.com/news/symposium-45-ideas-panel-proves-popular

[rastajenk]

I attended one a long time ago. In fact, as the president of the RTIP students' club, I opened the week with welcoming remarks and a brief description of the program in a short speech.

But that was another lifetime ago, it seems. In some of my past capacities I've fished for a paid trip back out there, but it never happened.

[MonmouthParkJoe]

I was there for the three days it took place. I thought it was great. As a graduate student here, I can really appreciate being able to network with so many industry professionals. I was fortunate enough to win the Turf Publicists Scholarship award and sat with Steve Byk on his show. I am extremely fortunate. Even had Baffet come up and congratulate me.

What would you like to know, I was pretty much present for everything.

[Tall One]

Good stuff, Joe..congrats. :ThmbUp:

[MonmouthParkJoe]

Good stuff, Joe..congrats. :ThmbUp:

Thank you very much. I def hit the jackpot this year. A very successful semester, I was also awarded the Jack Goodman Scholarship and another one from the program itself.

I will be in Vegas covering the NHC for the program and possibly the NTRA. I already have plans to meet with some significant writers as well as one person from the board here. If anyone would like to meet up and have a beer or twelve and crush a pick six, def let me know :D

[ReplayRandall]

I was there for the three days it took place. I thought it was great. As a graduate student here, I can really appreciate being able to network with so many industry professionals. I was fortunate enough to win the Turf Publicists Scholarship award and sat with Steve Byk on his show. I am extremely fortunate. Even had Baffet come up and congratulate me.

What would you like to know, I was pretty much present for everything.

Thanks for the feedback Joe, congrats on the award. It seemed the focus in this gathering was to come up with new ideas for the sport, something like "45 ideas in 45 minutes", plus there was a contest awarding $15K to the best idea for immediate implementation by a business or consortium.....Care to share your thoughts?

[MonmouthParkJoe]

The 45 ideas in 45 minutes I thought were very successful, with some great ideas. These ranged anywhere from making racing a commodity with a cap on attendance for all days to go pro views for in race footage. Others were investments in club ownership for horses with a one time investment of say $500 for a share with no costs after that. Some were a little far fetched, but it still got people talking about them. Other ideas were for more transparency in stewards decisions and having a centralized stewards center for all tracks. Another one that I really liked was the idea of horse racing in the olympics. There are plenty of equestrian sports in the olympics already, and while hard to implement with no real financial reward and the race taking place every four years, I think it would be cool to see. The Breeders Cup does a great job with foreign talent, but usually only in the turf. Maybe the governments can come up with a purse to increase interest? I doubt it, but it would be something to see.

The Innovators circle has four presenters. One was for a standing standing 3d mri that would take a minute to do and could test all horses for soundness. There was 20 for a $1 million. Similar to ESPN's streak for the cash. Free to play and you would have to select 20 winners from 20 designated races to get $1 million. The odds are astronomical for this to happen but you would get rewarded along the way like three races in a row you get a $10 voucher. Another as the Tbred stock exchange. just like the name suggests owners of horses can list their shares based on market value, and would increase based on the potential of the horse. I thought it was a cool idea but apparently its been tried before.

The winner was an idea i actually had thought of in some fashion. the premise is you buy in for a quick pick for a designated number of races. If you advance along the way players can sell their ticket to another person based on a predetermined value.

I envisioned something alone the lines of an ebay style forum on an ADW. Say you bought a pick 5 ticket and are moving along the sequence. Something happens like a jockey change or late scratch that alters the race flow. You can offer it up for an auction to combat the 30 minutes between races. Both with a buy it now function or highest bidder. Naturally as you move along the more appealing the ticket becomes based on coverage and prices of the horses hit, as well as what leg you are in. The ADW can charge a horse or commission fee for the facilitation.

Overall, I thought it was very well done. The price point is decent (as a student it was free), but if you have something to do with racing the whos who of the industry were present.

[sharkie187]

My idea...bring Fixed Odds Wagering to the track!

[sharkie187]

The problem with Horse Racing in the Olympics is that we will never see the true superstars running. There are so many factors to consider: cost, risk, timing, etc.
How will they be grouped: 2/3/4+? Grass and dirt?
I wouldn't send my 2/3year old who has potential for something bigger.

What about the course and distance from the Olympics? For instance, if the olympics were in Bejing...the closest track is in Hong Kong that suits both Grass and Dirt.

Do you think AP's owners are going to risk sending their champion to Brazil, risk getting him put down due to injury and end their endless breeding fees?
Would you run your own horse for a gold medal half way around the world or enter him/her in the Travis?

Do you think the jocks will surrender making money for over two weeks just for a medal and run for free? The USOC does provide a small living wage, but thats not enough. And then what happens they take a spill during the Olympics?
At least the world's jockey challenge, they run for purse money!

We already have two world class horse racing events: The Breeders Cup and The Dubai World Cup. If you live in Europe (esp in the UK) the Dubai World Cup is something to look forward to every year. Horse racing and Olympics just wont doesn't make sense.

[Dave Schwartz]

My idea...bring Fixed Odds Wagering to the track!

(First, please forgive the negative trend of this post.)

This is a wonderful idea :ThmbUp:

...but will likely never be considered.

The problem is that this involves risk on the part of the bookmaker and, in this age, there are limited people willing to take that risk.

It works in Australia and could obviously work here.


My limited experience in consults with race track management indicate a complete lack of openness to any ideas that focus on any of the areas that any customer will tell you is breaking the deal for them.

[RXB]

The winner of their "Innovators' Circle Award" was an idea for a wager with a 30% takeout. Why am I not surprised? They just never get it.

[biggestal99]

The problem is that this involves risk on the part of the bookmaker and, in this age, there are limited people willing to take that risk.



Limited risk in this day and age. In the UK it works too.

Hell I'd book bets in a heartbeat in New York i'd give better odds than PM too.

Its about just managing the risk.

There are lots of people who would book bets if it was legal.

Allan

[whodoyoulike]

The winner of their "Innovators' Circle Award" was an idea for a wager with a 30% takeout. Why am I not surprised? They just never get it.

Seriously??? Innovators Award??

Do you know what it was exactly and who proposed it?

[RXB]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/96469/symposium-innovators-offer-variety-of-ideas

"The judges awarded SwopStakes, a pari-mutuel game that incorporates exchange wagering, the top award of $15,000. The audience voted on a separate $1,000 award that went to use of an equine 3D CT Scanner to gather information toward using it in pre-race exams.

Shaun Pyrah of a social gaming company in Australia, Six Faces, outlined SwopStakes, a multi-race wager idea that would play as a pari-mutuel bet but offers aspects of exchange wagering. Bettors in the wager would initially buy a number of tickets in the game with SwopStakes generating all possible tickets. As outlined, the game would have a 30% takeout rate."

[Track Phantom]

In my opinion, the only ideas that should really be considered are ones that entice people to go to the track. Even though I would never benefit from it being so far from a track itself, I think wagers made on track should be subject to a significantly less takeout rate than those wagered online.

Not sure how it would be incorporated or managed but I think ideas that give players an incentive to wager on track are the way to go.

Basically, there should be a charge for the convenience of wagering from home, or better said, a bonus for those who wager ontrack.

[Stillriledup]

In my opinion, the only ideas that should really be considered are ones that entice people to go to the track. Even though I would never benefit from it being so far from a track itself, I think wagers made on track should be subject to a significantly less takeout rate than those wagered online.

Not sure how it would be incorporated or managed but I think ideas that give players an incentive to wager on track are the way to go.

Basically, there should be a charge for the convenience of wagering from home, or better said, a bonus for those who wager ontrack.

The 'charge' is why people don't go live. Most people who are attending live racing are people who have seen thousands of live races, yet the track charges them for the 'novelty' of the event, for most people the novelty has worn off.

[EMD4ME]

In my opinion, the only ideas that should really be considered are ones that entice people to go to the track. Even though I would never benefit from it being so far from a track itself, I think wagers made on track should be subject to a significantly less takeout rate than those wagered online.

Not sure how it would be incorporated or managed but I think ideas that give players an incentive to wager on track are the way to go.

Basically, there should be a charge for the convenience of wagering from home, or better said, a bonus for those who wager ontrack.

I've suggested that at symosiums, got a nod and that was it.

Great idea but I'm afraid they don't want us there. Less tellers, less benefit cost etc.

[eqitec]

The Challenge to Innovators was to present ideas that would "save" racing. I don't see that happening with the Challenge winner's idea. Many better ideas with potential to save racing have been discussed on this board.

[Stillriledup]

The Challenge to Innovators was to present ideas that would "save" racing. I don't see that happening with the Challenge winner's idea. Many better ideas with potential to save racing have been discussed on this board.

The trainers don't want to 'save racing' they want status quo, that's why they won't 'permit' exchange wagering, which is one way to grow the game.

[HorsemenHeist]

I like the idea in principle, about a pick six with exchange wagering capabilities. It adds a new level of intrigue about when to sell your wager, etc. But it will never be sold on a 30% takeout rate.

But lets be real, a game with a 30% rake isn't going to save racing. A business model that actually caters to its customers might, and even then, many have just given up on the game entirely.

The LIVE product is the best way to get people introduced to the game, so I love the idea of a rebate for players on track. That could easily be done by instituting players cards and putting a 5% rebate as a balance on the card, either after each bet is graded, or at the end of the race card. Free, or $1 admission, as well as a greatly reduced cost of the DRF is a no brainer.

To me, the best 'innovation' to racing in the U.S. wouldn't be an innovation at all. Something as simple as odds changes happen way to frequently after the bell. This creates a huge black eye toward racing. Instantaneous odds changes like they do in Australia, HK, and most other parimutual jurisdictions is an absolute no brainer and maintains racing's image in those places.

Because of the impropriety, I would support bookmakers at the track. Having the option to shop for best odds is greatly intriguing, and adds competition, which leads to better odds and a lower take. Nothing worse than a horse that you think is 6-1, could've locked in 6-1, and gets hammered to 5-2 late.

[biggestal99]

.

Because of the impropriety, I would support bookmakers at the track. Having the option to shop for best odds is greatly intriguing, and adds competition, which leads to better odds and a lower take. Nothing worse than a horse that you think is 6-1, could've locked in 6-1, and gets hammered to 5-2 late.

That. Way the crw boys still get their pm bets against other adw fish but the on track win bettor gets fixed odds, ths year at monmouth and any other track that takes exchange bets, my win bets will be fixed odds, and that my fellow horseplayers will be great and away with the late crw money effecting the win pools for me.

Allan