Protest Site - trackthieves.com

[rrbauer]

My new protest site, www.trackthieves.com, is up and running.

Still short on some content but I will open the "Comments" line next week and will start posting horseplayers comments about high takeout, breakage and ADW wrangling. State-by-state research into what it takes to get takeout and breakage changed is time consuming but that's what I signed on for and it will be coming up as the info is gathered. Anyone with specific info about their state's regs vis-a-vis takeout and breakage is welcome to contact me and point me in the right direction.

Also, to come, will be "guest" columns on the issues that are being tackled. I prepaid the hosting fee for 2 years so the site will be "live" for at least that long (not sure about me though!).

Take a look and help out if you can.

PS. Thanks PA for letting me get in a plug.

[BillW]

Great start, Rich! :ThmbUp:

[SMOO]

Good job, keep up the good work. :ThmbUp:

[shanta]

My new protest site, www.trackthieves.com, is up and running.

Still short on some content but I will open the "Comments" line next week and will start posting horseplayers comments about high takeout, breakage and ADW wrangling. State-by-state research into what it takes to get takeout and breakage changed is time consuming but that's what I signed on for and it will be coming up as the info is gathered. Anyone with specific info about their state's regs vis-a-vis takeout and breakage is welcome to contact me and point me in the right direction.

Also, to come, will be "guest" columns on the issues that are being tackled. I prepaid the hosting fee for 2 years so the site will be "live" for at least that long (not sure about me though!).

Take a look and help out if you can.

PS. Thanks PA for letting me get in a plug.

Will definitely check it out Rich.

Fwiw I think you,Bonc and Speedking should get together as the LEADERS of the "movement" man.

We need
1) Organization
2) Cohesive plan
3) MORE players signed on. Only 450 or so in the petition. We need THOUSANDS man if we are gonna influence these jokers like Daruty,Tvg etc

Let me know anything I can do.
Richie Pizzicara

[Indulto]

Thank you, rrb, for stepping forward with clarity and respectability.

Fantastic job on the website.

[toetoe]

Good for you, rr. :ThmbUp:

Isn't it outrageous that we consider 20% the breaking point ? TWENTY PER Cent !!! Just shows what horseplayers are accustomed to dealing with. :faint:

[ezrabrooks]

My new protest site, www.trackthieves.com (http://www.trackthieves.com/), is up and running.

Still short on some content but I will open the "Comments" line next week and will start posting horseplayers comments about high takeout, breakage and ADW wrangling. State-by-state research into what it takes to get takeout and breakage changed is time consuming but that's what I signed on for and it will be coming up as the info is gathered. Anyone with specific info about their state's regs vis-a-vis takeout and breakage is welcome to contact me and point me in the right direction.

Also, to come, will be "guest" columns on the issues that are being tackled. I prepaid the hosting fee for 2 years so the site will be "live" for at least that long (not sure about me though!).

Take a look and help out if you can.

PS. Thanks PA for letting me get in a plug.

A voice against high take out and breakage...a cause I can support. Good luck, and will support your site.

Ez

[DeanT]

Bravo!

[Zaf]

Nice job Rich ! :ThmbUp:

Z

[Bill Olmsted]

Horseplayers have been bitching about takeout, lousy treatment, etc., etc., etc., forever. It is admirable that you are taking on the role of Sysiphus (sp?) and I wish you luck. But, judging from history, I don't think anything will change. Horseplayers will always be second class citizens.

Why? Because the good people that post here are but a small percentage of the overall market. Most racegoers don't care about PaceAdvantage forums nor do they care about the politics involved. All they care about is the next bet.

However, I wish you the best.

B :)

[DJofSD]

Good on ya!

Let me take a bold step at the risk of upsetting Rich. Make it a "closed" site -- no lurking, if you want to participate, sign up and have to sign in. Why? That way you're not broadcasting thoughts, ideas, evolving plans. Nothing illegal or immoral, you sometimes just do not have an edge if all of your planning and discussions are done in public. Please consider it.

[Tom]

Hip hip :jump:

Nice work.

[rdavislake]

What do we have to hide? Certainly no need to be like the bonehead from Churchill not publishing handle........

[JPinMaryland]

First off the key to the internet is the free expression of ideas. At least in terms of message boards and stuff like that.

YOu can tell Richie has real street organization skills. One thing that Saul Alinsky (Rules for Radicals) always said was that you had to personify the evil you are fighting. You cant just say that you are against High Tuition Rates. You have to have a picture of the University President as the poster boy for such things. Or a pic of Frank Stronach or something. You need to show people who it is you are fighting.

Similarly with respect to his emphasis on organizing and setting goals. Even small objectives are good because that builds camaraderie and morale. But that is tricky issue; you have to set small, do able goals but they need to be significant toward keeping you toward your main goal.

In the case of take out. Perhaps a first step would be to set a reasonable track take out that would be national. How much is fair 10%? 15% 18%? Perhaps that would be a good opening discussion pt.

Good work so far and good luck.

[shanta]

Good on ya!

Let me take a bold step at the risk of upsetting Rich. Make it a "closed" site -- no lurking, if you want to participate, sign up and have to sign in. Why? That way you're not broadcasting thoughts, ideas, evolving plans. Nothing illegal or immoral, you sometimes just do not have an edge if all of your planning and discussions are done in public. Please consider it.

Excellent idea DJ :ThmbUp:

[Indulto]

Good on ya!

Let me take a bold step at the risk of upsetting Rich. Make it a "closed" site -- no lurking, if you want to participate, sign up and have to sign in. Why? That way you're not broadcasting thoughts, ideas, evolving plans. Nothing illegal or immoral, you sometimes just do not have an edge if all of your planning and discussions are done in public. Please consider it.DJ,
I respectfully disagree, but not because of my preference for anonymity.

Open communication with the widest possible distribution has to be the goal here. Our objectives are legitimate and since our primary weapon is wallet control, no-one is likely to get caught by surprise -- at least until after an action has taken place.

Now if rrb is planning to establish a group to fund actions beyond 'cotts to pay for advertising, licensing, and whatever else might be involved, then that may be another story. Hopefully he will explain in detail how we can help.

IMO the more people that know about this, understand why it's important to get involved, and can observe the process to determine how they might contribute to progress, the greater the chance our numbers will grow.

Besides, how would you unmask determined opponents withholding their true identities and purposes?

[rrbauer]

Horseplayers have been bitching about takeout, lousy treatment, etc., etc., etc., forever. It is admirable that you are taking on the role of Sysiphus (sp?) and I wish you luck. But, judging from history, I don't think anything will change. Horseplayers will always be second class citizens.

Why? Because the good people that post here are but a small percentage of the overall market. Most racegoers don't care about PaceAdvantage forums nor do they care about the politics involved. All they care about is the next bet.

However, I wish you the best.

B :)

I didn't walk into this thinking it was a rose garden. It's a lot of hard work and other than some "atta boys", the rewards, particularly in the early going, will be slim. However, I have the advantage of knowing how to do this both from a tactical perspective and from an info-distribution perspective and I've managed enough large, lengthy projects to keep it on track; and, I know enough about the politics of the game to know where some of the hot-buttons are that have to be pushed to get action. The Internet is the great equalizer and will, in time, allow this effort to reach way beyond any single forum to attract support. In the beginning of the Magna boycott I was ridiculed and laughed at by many. 13 months later, after losing $100 million in handle, Magna capitulated, reversed course and gave us no reason to continue our boycott. Looking back and then looking forward Magna was an easy target. Success this time will come much harder. But it will be much sweeter!

[rrbauer]

[color=black][font=Verdana]DJ,

Open communication with the widest possible distribution has to be the goal here. Our objectives are legitimate and since our primary weapon is wallet control, no-one is likely to get caught by surprise -- at least until after an action has taken place.



1. We are in control. We just haven't figured that out yet!

2. We are "right" in demanding to become a more active part of this game where decisions about how the game is played, where the game is going and what our money is being used to support are concerned.

3. If the future and survival of this game depends on our participation then we need to have some say about the rules for our participation.

The "email comments" channel is opened over at the protest site so if you have comments, suggestions, criticism, yada, yada, let 'em rip.

[highnote]

Nice looking site RR

[INFRONT07]

GREAT JOB;IM WITH YOU ALL THE WAY:)

[trigger]

Nice site!

Here's Pricci's thoughts on takeout:
Disparate Industry Factions Short Sighted On Takeout Issue

In terms of how takeout affects revenue optimization, modern math experts believe the rate of take that optimizes revenue lies between eight and 10 percent, which shows how much times have changed
In March of 1991, the University of Louisville commissioned a study to determine the optimum rate of takeout. It was found at the time, when simulcasting was in its infancy, that number was 12.5 percent. Based on that figure, Raffetto came up with a blue skies scenario:
“This would work best at tracks with slots to offset short-term losses,” he explained. “In a perfect world, takeout at all tracks would be 12.5 percent. All outlets then would have to agree to charge no more than 2.5 percent for its signal. The shortfall could be made up by charging rebate shops 4.5 percent.”

http://www.horseraceinsider.com/blog.php/On-The-Line/comments/disparate-industry-factions-short-sighted-on-takeout-issue/#comments