A post to Gary West @ the Star Telegram

[jasperson]

Gary, I can’t believe the article that you wrote Friday that increasing the purses at Lonestar will bring out more fans. We are not going to get the stake stars that they get in the east and west coasts which would bring out more fans. Increasing purses will benefit the horsemen but will do nothing to bring out more fans. I would be interesting to do a poll of the present fans and ask them if increasing the purses by 50% would cause them to come out more often. My guess is that they would say a resounding no. Ask them it lowering their prices like the Rangers is doing and the answer would be yes. As for the stars they don’t race often enough to really be called stars. Rachel and Mind That Bird and Quality Road don’t race often enough to really be called stars in my opinion. Where are the rivalries like Greton vs Precisionist, Typecast vs Convenience and John Henry vs any body? What we need is an increase in the fan base and then the purses will come up not increasing purses and then hoping the fans will show up. Maybe with the new management they will come up with some fertile ideas about that.

[BillW]

gwest@star-telegram.com

[Snag]

When you spend all your time in the press box, suties, and office, you lose contact with those that make racing.

I've come to the conclusion that track management see themselves as ONLY an intertainment complex. They compare themselves to major league sports teams and price themselves accordingly. They forget they are open for simo 360+ days a year, provide food and beverage, and have many of the same "customers" day after day. You only hear about the concerts, live racing, and special days.

Getting people to come out to the track depends on IF they think they will be able to have fun AND make a few bucks. The tracks do nothing to encourage betting and even seem a little reluckent to take or say anything about the wagering.

JMHO.

[DeanT]

That's a good point (imo). Most of the scribes and other insiders treat us like a sport at all times and if you repeat something enough times it becomes fact and law. "If we up purses and get better horses more people will come to the track" sounds wonderful, but it is not the way it is. The people who pay the freight bet horses.

For folks like the above, here is a link to a study done on the factors which affect the business (i.e. handles). Purse size comes in a bad third. It is a study from over ten years ago, but clearly it was correct then, and should be correct now. Some places with huge purses have lost 40-50% of their handles.

In 1998 the University of Louisville came out with a comprehensive economic study of some of the factors that effect wagering (http://cobweb2.louisville.edu/eip/Newsletters/research/economic%20analysis.pdf). They looked at a few factors and how our customers react to them: Field size, size of purses, takeout reductions and number of races. What they found should not be surprising: A reduction of takeout results in the highest increase of handle (e=-2.3), followed by field size and number of races (e=~ 0.60) and coming in last was purse size (e=0.06).

So in a nutshell, if we place money into increasing purses from the mean it will have literally no effect on overall handles. If we place cash into field size and number of races it will have a small effect on handle. If we place cash into lowering takeout, it will result in a large hike in handle.

The report states: ".... wagering would increase by only 6% if purse were doubled. This is a surprising finding considering the importance that is attached to the purse variable in all major policy decisions to increase the wagering in this industry."

[Robert Goren]

Speak volumes on why Monmouth Park this year was such a failure.

[The Hawk]

Speak volumes on why Monmouth Park this year was such a failure.

You're right. If they just would have lowered the takeout, they would have been up 300% instead of 150%.

[rwwupl]

That's a good point (imo). Most of the scribes and other insiders treat us like a sport at all times and if you repeat something enough times it becomes fact and law. "If we up purses and get better horses more people will come to the track" sounds wonderful, but it is not the way it is. The people who pay the freight bet horses.

For folks like the above, here is a link to a study done on the factors which affect the business (i.e. handles). Purse size comes in a bad third. It is a study from over ten years ago, but clearly it was correct then, and should be correct now. Some places with huge purses have lost 40-50% of their handles.


Horse players do not care how much a horse costs, or how much the purse is...

What horse players do care about is which horse will win today.