International Racing waiting on NA

[GameTheory]

Fred Pope is president of The Pope Advertising Agency in Lexington, Ky., which specializes in the Thoroughbred industry. He has written a white paper which examines problems caused by lack of central authority and why the International racing world is waiting on North America.Article:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/56211/the-pope-whitepaper

White Paper:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/pdf/Pope_Intl_Racing_is_Waiting.pdf

[horses4courses]

Article:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/56211/the-pope-whitepaper

White Paper:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/pdf/Pope_Intl_Racing_is_Waiting.pdf

Don't have time right now to look at this closely.
My immediate reaction, however, is that this will be greeted with much apathy.

[startngate]

While Mr. Pope did make some good arguments early, he went right back to his 'the economic model is broken and the tracks and horsemen need to get more money' position, which will make most people write it off as more ramblings from someone that really doesn't understand the economics of the business and totally discounts the player in the equation.

If his economic model is implemented, handle will go down dramatically because rebates will be slashed to the bone, yet takeout will remain high. It will drive players from the game at a more rapid rate than is currently occurring, and will not be able to replace them with enough new handle.

I would like to see a central authority that is empowered to make decisions for the betterment of the 'entire' industry. That will unfortunately not be good for all individuals (or factions) of the business, but it's needed for the long-term success of racing. It's probably the only way to take care of the big issues that need to get fixed, like tote technology and the drugs in racing, but getting the major players to give up power to a central authority will probably never happen. At least I'm not going to hold my breath.

[LottaKash]

Other than the Greedy "takeout" & "Drugs" in American Racing, I see the following, as the chief reason why, at this juncture of our history and it's accompanying economy, that racing in North America is on it's downward spiral:

(an excerpt from Frank Pope's white paper)
"In France, they maintain 4,500 races and enjoy handle of U.S. $6-Billion...That means France gets half as much handle as the $12-Billion wagered on 50,000 more races in North America...Less is more"

best,

[toussaud]

Other than the Greedy "takeout" & "Drugs" in American Racing, I see the following, as the chief reason why, at this juncture of our history and it's accompanying economy, that racing in North America is on it's downward spiral:

(an excerpt from Frank Pope's white paper)
"In France, they maintain 4,500 races and enjoy handle of U.S. $6-Billion...That means France gets half as much handle as the $12-Billion wagered on 50,000 more races in North America...Less is more"

best,
holy shit