U.S. horseplayers are tapped out - and need help !

[The_Knight_Sky]

Indicators: Handle Off $100 Million in August - By Tom LaMarra
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/58712/indicators-handle-off-100-million-in-august


Pari-mutuel handle was off by about $100 million in August compared with the same month in 2009, yet another indication any rebound will take longer than some in the industry imagined.

August is a key month with premier meets at Del Mar in California and Saratoga in New York, and this year, an enhanced meet at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. The major meets are holding their own, so other tracks and wagering outlets must be taking the brunt of the decline.

There was, however, a sizeable 13.23% drop in race days—individual programs at each track—from 650 last August to 564 this August.

Total wagering on United States Thoroughbred races in August 2010 was $1,119,843,513, down 8.03% from $1,217,598,852 for the same month in 2009.

U.S. purses fell again—this time 7.92%--from $113,552,431 last year to $104,561,464 this year.

[turfnsport]

Pari-mutuel handle was off by about $100 million in August compared with the same month in 2009, yet another indication any rebound will take longer than some in the industry imagined.


Newsflash: it is not going to rebound.

[lamboguy]

Newsflash: it is not going to rebound.
it won't rebound even with a great economy which is not happening for years

[andymays]

And what's the solution?

Raise the takeout! :lol: :bang: :ThmbDown:

[Stillriledup]

And what's the solution?

Raise the takeout! :lol: :bang: :ThmbDown:

Not raise it a quarter of 1 percent mind you, but a TWO OR THREE percent jack. Why not just double it. In fact, the higher the takeout, the more they make (according to them) so why not just have a 100 percent takeout and take ALL the money.

Or, a better and quicker way would be to have people at the front gates with baskets so you can toss in your wallets (like they have at church when the basket gets passed around for donations). This step will save some grey hairs and ulcers along the way. Its a quick an easy solution to accomplish what's going to happen anyway.

[DeanT]

Newsflash: it is not going to rebound.

Agreed. Horseplayers are creatures of habit. When you leave it is hard to just pick up and get back in the groove.

When handle was down in Hong Kong the dude there who runs wagering (they have a gambling expert who runs wagering there instead of TOC/CHRB types) said that something had to be done, because of that point. Despite HK having a virtual monopoly, he made some takeout moves/rebates to try and kickstart things to keep people playing.

Here we have done the opposite, unfortunately.

[Stillriledup]

Agreed. Horseplayers are creatures of habit. When you leave it is hard to just pick up and get back in the groove.

When handle was down in Hong Kong the dude there who runs wagering (they have a gambling expert who runs wagering there instead of TOC/CHRB types) said that something had to be done, because of that point. Despite HK having a virtual monopoly, he made some takeout moves/rebates to try and kickstart things to keep people playing.

Here we have done the opposite, unfortunately.

What the industry is doing, especially California, is akin to going to a AA meeting and passing out coupons for 5 dollars off 6 packs of beer and bottles of wine.

CRDTM
(cali racing dead to me)

[Charlie D]

Agreed. Horseplayers are creatures of habit. When you leave it is hard to just pick up and get back in the groove.

When handle was down in Hong Kong the dude there who runs wagering (they have a gambling expert who runs wagering there instead of TOC/CHRB types) said that something had to be done, because of that point. Despite HK having a virtual monopoly, he made some takeout moves/rebates to try and kickstart things to keep people playing.

Here we have done the opposite, unfortunately.



Someone in racing should listen to people like Dean imho otherwise they may be looking for other ways to make a living in the not to distant future.


Cal racing???

[Tom]

The economy is the blame.
Nothing you do to the game is going to get past that.
People are looking for jobs, not pick 4's.
Racing is dependent on people having disposable income, let alone income.

[Robert Goren]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that horse racing was not doing all that well before the recession.

[DeanT]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that horse racing was not doing all that well before the recession.

That's correct. When the economy was growing, handle was falling.

GDP 2003-2009

[DeanT]

And (real) pari-mutuel handle 2003-2009


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CG5TVR2hGjE/S1Mode4MCHI/AAAAAAAAAOM/7MYCfkeO2JE/s1600-h/handle.jpg

[Charlie D]

When the economy was growing, handle was falling.



I'm certainly no expert, but that may indicate the public thinks your store does not deserve thier custom.

[The_Knight_Sky]

People are looking for jobs, not pick 4's.




But the ones who do have jobs are the ones smoking out http://i56.tinypic.com/347fiur.gifThe Pick 4's.

And they deserve to have their bankrolls kept healthy
or they ain't coming back to the track to keep the business running.

For every one veteran bettor how many newbies
will the tracks need to recruit? That's not a trick question.

[JustRalph]

it's a perfect storm against racing. On the way down and a bad economy

Not good........ I am gonna look up my own personal handle over the last few years........truthfully......... I only know ball park numbers.....off the top of my head........ this should be interesting

[OTM Al]

Interesting, but if I calculate the numbers I get

2009: $1,873,229 bet per racing date
2010: $1,985,538 bet per racing date

an increase of 6%

So is less more here or not?

[cj]

Interesting, but if I calculate the numbers I get

2009: $1,873,229 bet per racing date
2010: $1,985,538 bet per racing date

an increase of 6%

So is less more here or not?

I would say it shows people bet more with less opportunities, but it isn't enough to make up the amount bet on the extra days.

[InsideThePylons-MW]

Interesting, but if I calculate the numbers I get

2009: $1,873,229 bet per racing date
2010: $1,985,538 bet per racing date

an increase of 6%

So is less more here or not?

When you run 3 days instead of 5 and now on the 3 days you have 12 races instead of 9....or....when you run 5 days instead of 6 and you now have at least an extra race each of those days.......and the days dropped are Mondays, Wed, Thurs with those extra races added on Fri, Sat, Sun

I think that probably explains why handle per racing date is up 6%.

[OTM Al]

I would say it shows people bet more with less opportunities, but it isn't enough to make up the amount bet on the extra days.

So it is as expected. Less is more but not more enough.

[thaskalos]

Gentlemen,

This is the obvious question in this entire California takeout issue, IMO. And since the takeout has steadily increased nationally over the last 70 years, it applies to all the other states as well:

Why does the racing industry continue to increase taxes on the already overtaxed horseplayer...without fear of any negative consequences that might ensue as a result?

The answer is easy...it's because this tactic has worked so well in the past.

The takeout has escalated during the sport's prosperous times and the "trying" times...and the horseplayer has remained largely uninterested throughout.

High takeouts, post-betting incidents, jockey-fixing scandals, illegal drugs...the horseplayer has seen it all, and so far, nothing has deterred him from enthusiastically playing this game.

Sure the mutuel pools have plummeted, but the industry attributes it to the economy, and to increased competition from other gambling sources. No way would they give credit to the much maligned horseplayer, for finally figuring out that he is being "played" for a fool.

And now that the takeout is about to be raised yet again...what makes us think that the horseplayer is going to be any more interested than he has been in the past?

How is he to be convinced...that only through great effort and sacrifice do we get what we want in this life?

I am afraid he can't. It is the horseplayer's stubborness that defines him...and he seems to have made up his mind on this one. THIS IS HIS GAME...and he will play it, no matter what.

And as a result...he has become his own worst enemy.

[lamboguy]

And what's the solution?

Raise the takeout! :lol: :bang: :ThmbDown:
raise the takeout now makes it worse because they aren't raising anything and they will scare away what little track players they have. i have a friend in saratoga the last 2 days and there were only 6 people sitting on the benches.

i have posted at least 100 times what i would do for starters, one of the first things i would do would be to lower takeout on pick bets to a bare minumum, and if that didn't help the situation i would lower the take on supers and tris until it has the necessary effect. i would probably shut the whole game down every where all over this country and revamp the game. get the state out as the boss of the racetracks and start to police itself. when i get that part right i would then raise the takeout back up and have different plan in place to redistribute the signals. i have alot more ideas, and of course the problem we have is that racetracks want to fight each other instead of teaming up. tracknet sucks.

[InsideThePylons-MW]

So it is as expected. Less is more but not more enough.

It's not less is more.....it's re-positioning

If Hollywood Park raced only on Sat/Sun with 20 races a day, their avg. daily handle compared to last meet would probably be up somewhere around 75%-100%.

[skate]

And (real) pari-mutuel handle 2003-2009


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CG5TVR2hGjE/S1Mode4MCHI/AAAAAAAAAOM/7MYCfkeO2JE/s1600-h/handle.jpg


I would guess that the Slot Handle is way UP, under the same conditions.

Race track handle could be way up, if your chart only has Pari Betting?