Slot Money for Customer Development Press Release

[DeanT]

Many of you, in and out of HANA, have asked for some of the vast amount of slot cash to be used for more than just purses. There have been dozens of threads on Pace alone about that topic. A jurisdiction is trying that in Ontario, for the very first time. They want to lower effective take, seed pools, offer a betting exchange etc - and horse owners are the ones who came up with the idea. We think it is worthwhile to support and did today.

We hope places like Aqueduct and elsewhere are listening - slot money only to purses is another nail in the betting coffin in racing. We need plans like this in every slots jurisdiction in North America.

With places like California squeezing us like a lemon and treating us like we are dengenerates, it was a welcome thing to do. If you wish, please leave any comments on that site.

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/news/9-26-10/hana-announces-full-support-rdsp.html

[RXB]

Why is it that the harness tracks seem a little more willing to try this stuff than the t-bred tracks?

Watch out if this starts to spread; I'll be going over to the dark side and betting Freehold, Monticello, etc. like Mel and his gang of rickshaw degenerates. :) Just that little matter of figuring out harness racing...

[trying2win]

Many of you, in and out of HANA, have asked for some of the vast amount of slot cash to be used for more than just purses. There have been dozens of threads on Pace alone about that topic. A jurisdiction is trying that in Ontario, for the very first time. They want to lower effective take, seed pools, offer a betting exchange etc - and horse owners are the ones who came up with the idea. We think it is worthwhile to support and did today.

We hope places like Aqueduct and elsewhere are listening - slot money only to purses is another nail in the betting coffin in racing. We need plans like this in every slots jurisdiction in North America.

With places like California squeezing us like a lemon and treating us like we are dengenerates, it was a welcome thing to do. If you wish, please leave any comments on that site.

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/news/9-26-10/hana-announces-full-support-rdsp.html


Great post Dean: :ThmbUp:

I plead guilty of mentioning in some of my previous posts, that the racetracks' share of slot machine money shouldn't go mostly to greedy horsemen groups.

In my opinion, the customers are the most important part of the horse racing scene, and should receive a share in the slot machine revenue loot in one form or another.

T2W
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~“It takes a man to stand up for what he believes, ... Especially in a society where everything is supposed to be politically correct.”

--Carlos Delgado

[Stillriledup]

http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53433&highlight=slots+owners

A little more discussion on this topic.

[DeanT]

I was just checking back at that link and I saw a good comment from a horseplayer. I know people like him - people who would play $4000 or so a harness card. A lot of them have left, and as pools grow smaller at smaller t-bred tracks ($300k-$800k in handle) it is a snowball effect because those players do not have pool size to play into.

Anyhow, thought this was a good comment.

It is nice to see an organization like Hana standing up for the horse player. I wish them luck because i really think they are going to need it. The jackpot wagers and exchange wagering which they support can be part of the solution but if and only if the track takeout is reduced to a maximum of 10% in every pool along with it. Here is why in my opinion this has to happen.

First off the majority of people will not use an exchange wagering system, some people will, i for example would but the truth is the majority of people whom go to the races won't and that's a fact. So for the people who won't they need a fair takeout, even for those who don't realize the importance of it. By paying back more to the customer it keeps people in the game and the game seems more fair.

I have not bet the races in approx 15 months but when i did play for example in superfecta wagers in a 10 horse field i would key a horse on top with another horse for 2nd,3rd and 4th-- example 1 4 all all-- 1 all 4 all-- 1 all all 4. This ticket would cost $168.00 Now quite often my key horse would be paying in the range of 8 to 10 to 1 which set up the possibility of a large superfecta possibly in the range of 3 to 5 thousand right up to 15 thousand. Now can anyone tell me how exchange wagering is going to allow me to buy exoctic tickets that will offer this type of payout. Exchange wagering is basically good for win betting only.

So if the takeout in the superfecta pool is not reduced to 10% max i for one would never bet into it as the current takeout rate is highway robbery. For me to ever play the races again i need 3 things. A 10% takeout rate in every pool, full competitive fields and to play at a racetrack that has a handle of a million plus every card. When i wagered i wagered in the range of $300. to $600. dollars on every race i bet so i need a large handle so i am not affecting my own odds.

For the race game to start to turn things around they need to re- brand themselves, they need to show they are competitive with other forms of gambling and they need to make this clear with an advertising campaign. I am around sports forums a lot. When the subject of horse racing comes up for the most part it is ridiculed. People on sports forums say all the time people who play the races must be donks, why would anyone in this day and age wager on something with such an excessive take out. Now those who love the race game can get there back to the wall but the truth is this is not a false perception, this is reality.

For the race game to survive they need forward thinkers running the tracks and in key positions in the industry and the industry is sadly lacking in this area. Other then the track management team at tioga downs i have not seen anyone else in a position of power speak out forcefully on the importance of competing with other forms of gambling. The silence is deafening. Sooner or later they have to accept that they are now competing with other forms of gambling not other race tracks. It is as simple as this, you cannot compete unless you are competitively priced and the race game hasn't been in years. Yes the good old days are gone forever, you are no longer the only game in town. If you want customers you must fight for them until then i will stick to sports and poker.